Trail work done in 2023.
Previous year I was one of the Volunteer of the Year 2022.
Summary (to date) Total 39 days. 120 hours trail work, 168 hours total including travel time.
| Count Days | Day | Work Hours | Location | Travel Hours | Type |
| 39 | Sun, Dec 31 | 1 | Olallie | 1 | trees |
| 38 | Sat, Dec 30 | 3 | Olallie | 1 | trees |
| 37 | Sat, Nov 18 | 3 | Harris Creek | 1 | trees |
| 36 | Sat, Oct 28 | 6 | Harris Lake | 1 | brush |
| 35 | Sat, Oct 21 | 7 | Harris Lake | 1 | brush |
| 34 | Sat, Oct 14 | 5 | Harris Creek | 1 | brush |
| 33 | Sat, Oct 07 | 5 | Alpine Baldy | 4 | brush |
| 32 | Sat, Sep 30 | 4 | Hansen Ridge | 2 | brush |
| 31 | Fri, Sep 29 | 2 | Harris Creek | 1 | trash |
| 30 | Sun, Sep 24 | 3 | Raging River | 1 | trees |
| 29 | Sat, Sep 23 | 5 | Harris Lake | 1 | brush |
| 28 | Wed, Aug 16 | 2 | Harris Creek | 1 | trash |
| 27 | Thu, Jul 20 | 3 | Raging River | 1 | trees |
| 26 | Sun, May 28 | 3 | Alpine Baldy | 4 | trees |
| 25 | Thu, May 18 | 2 | NF-9020 | 1 | trash |
| 24 | Sun, May 14 | 4 | Alpine Baldy | 4 | trees |
| 23 | Fri, May 05 | 2 | Raging River | 1 | trees |
| 22 | Thu, May 04 | 3 | Raging River | 1 | trees |
| 21 | Sat, Apr 29 | 4 | NF-9020 | 1 | trash |
| 20 | Mon, Apr 24 | 1 | NF-9020 | 1 | trash |
| 19 | Sat, Apr 22 | 6 | NF-9020 | 1 | trash |
| 18 | Wed, Apr 19 | 2 | NF-9020 | 1 | trash |
| 17 | Sun, Mar 26 | 4 | Raging River | 1 | trees |
| 16 | Sat, Mar 25 | 2 | Raging River | 1 | trees |
| 15 | Sat, Mar 18 | 5 | Raging River | 1 | trees |
| 14 | Fri, Mar 17 | 2 | Raging River | 1 | trees |
| 13 | Thu, Mar 09 | 1 | Raging River | 1 | trees |
| 12 | Wed, Mar 08 | 1 | Raging River | 1 | trees |
| 11 | Tue, Mar 07 | 1 | Raging River | 1 | trees |
| 10 | Thu, Feb 09 | 3 | Raging River | 1 | trees |
| 9 | Wed, Feb 08 | 2 | Raging River | 1 | trees |
| 8 | Mon, Feb 06 | 2 | Raging River | 1 | trees |
| 7 | Sun, Feb 05 | 3 | Raging River | 1 | trees |
| 6 | Sat, Feb 04 | 3 | Raging River | 1 | trees |
| 5 | Wed, Feb 01 | 3 | Raging River | 1 | trees, stump, tread |
| 4 | Sat, Jan 21 | 2 | Raging River | 0 | trees |
| 3 | Tue, Jan 17 | 3 | Raging River | 1 | trees |
| 2 | Sat, Jan 14 | 4 | Raging River | 1 | trees |
| 1 | Sun, Jan 08 | 3 | Raging River | 1 | trees |
Sun, Dec 31, 1 hour
Cleared a tree that had fallen on the trail previous night. There were several trees that fell in the drains nearby, so I cut them into firewood size and tossed them away from the trail and out of line of water flow.
Sat, Dec 30, 3 hours
Cleared a large tree that fell on the trail 3 days prior. This fell into a drain, so required 15 cuts to take out enough of the tree to clear both the trail and the drains.
Sat, Nov 18, 3 hours
I took the pole saw to Harris Creek trail, mostly small and a couple medium size logs to clear. The Rock Creek crossing detour had enough brush to trip me up and tangle into the spokes, so I took the hand saw to finish it a bit nicer. I took out logs on the way back to Alice Creek. The creek crossing at Alice Creek also was overgrown and tangles into the bike on the push out of the creek, so I used the remaining battery on the pole saw to widen it a bit.
Sat, Oct 28, 6 hours
Harris Lake trail. Worked with Maarten van Dantzich with electric brush cutter, hedge trimmer and hand saw. We cleared around 4/10 of a mile of trail that was severely overgrown. Worked in the snow all day.
Sat, Oct 21, 7 hours
Harris Lake trail. Worked with Maarten van Dantzich with electric brush cutter and hedge trimmer as well as rake and hand saw. We cleared around half mile of trail that was severely overgrown. After cutting, I raked most of it and threw the debris far off the trail. The latter section was such thick alder I just removed it by hand, too big for the rake. I also cut a few alders with the hand saw that were too thick for the power tools.
Sat, Oct 14, 5 hours
Harris Creek trail (aka NF-9020), for brush work. I cleared 300 feet. This section was so thick you couldn't really see the trail before. I did two passes with the hedge trimmers. I then raked not just the trail but almost 2 feet on each side and tossed the debris far off the trail. After raking, I was able to use the loppers to cut down to the ground.
Sat, Oct 07, 5 hours
At Alpine Baldy trail, I worked a single section that was severely overgrown, about 2.4 miles into the trail, for 750-foot section of trail. I cleared alders on both sides of the trail, down to the ground, then raked it off the trail. A finishing touch, I used loppers after raking it for some of the brush that was too thick for the electric hedge trimmer.
Sat, Sep 30, 4 hours
I got in 4 hours of brush work with Olaf (Stihl Electric Hedge Trimmer) today at Hansen Ridge. I cleared around 500 feet of brush on both sides of the trail midway through the Carter Creek trail.
Fri, Sep 29, 2 hours
I cleaned the Harris Creek Trailhead. I picked up 456 bullet shells, a lot of tiny shards of broken glass, and shot up cans. I filled two pails, or 1 kitchen bag, full of the trash. I went into the woods to collect all items used for targets, mostly broken glass and cans. Of the bullet shells collected, around 50 of them were from the first 100 feet of the trailhead on the trail itself.
Sun, Sep 24, 3 hours
I worked with Mike Westra, Erik Bedell, and Travis Cox. We used chainsaws on snags to clear the line for new trail currently referred to as A3 at Raging River.
Sat, Sep 23, 5 hours
Trail work on Harris Creek and Harris Lake trails. At the recent washout at Rock Creek, I cleared alders for the main crossing. I cut a detour route higher up. I cut a few trees along the way to Harris Lake trail. At Harris Lake Trail, early section was pretty much not passable. I spent much of my day cutting alders there and tossing the branches to the side of the trail.
Wed, Aug 16, 2 hour
Picked up 3 pails of trash at the trailhead. Removed barbeque lid that was stashed 1.7 miles into the trail near Rock Creek.
Thu, Jul 20, 3 hours
Chainsaw work on A1 at Raging River with Evergreen. Worked with Mike Westra, XM, Jeff, Alec.
Sun, May 28, 3 hours
I returned to Alpine Baldy today to polish up a section with a big log partially in the trail that was causing a bend in the trail. I used my pole saw and cut two logs, took 4 batteries so I had a spare. I rolled each log down the trail and over a switchback. I spent over an hour cleaning up, again, because this left a lot of debris from sawdust, bark, and rot. This is in a section of trail that is very much overgrown.
Thu, May 18, 2 hours
I cleaned up the trailhead, again, of broken glass, targets, 434 shell casings ranging from small 22's to large rifle shells and shotgun shells. All of this was from shooting from a road used as a trailhead.
Sun, May 14, 4 hours
At Alpine Baldy, I started with small stuff using my hand saw at the beginning section prior to the avalanche debris crossing just before the climbing begins. Around 10 minutes past the avalanche crossing the trail went from dry to nearly 3 feet of snow. Being blocked, I turned around and hit a couple large logs with an 8-inch pole saw, the second one I measured and was 23 inches. To cut large logs where the blade can't make ends meet, I cut parallel cuts around the log, then a series of perpendicular cuts a few inches apart to make a square, then used a long screwdriver to pry the blocks out. Once initial blocks out, it allowed me to make a second cut deeper into the log to finish the job(s).
Fri, May 05, 2 hours
I delimbed and cut a small tree blocking the trail on Raging River #3. Later I cut logs in a few drainages for better access and water flow.
Thu, May 04 3 hours
I was cutting small, downed trees from drains starting from the upper half of Upward Mobility #3 (UM-3), all of Raging River #1 (RR-1), and the beginning of RR-2. Most of the work was with a pole saw and 4 batteries, but I finished with a handsaw once the batteries were spent. In the parking lot there was a lot of dark broken glass. I had a brush, dustpan, and plastic bag to sweep it up what I could.
Sat, Apr 29 4 hours
I removed 2 tires, a 4 foot crumpled section of metal culvert, and 2 kitchen bags full of trash, that was down a few embankments. Other than the trash which I'll dispose of myself, I took the tires and metal trash to a special recycling event hosted by the Snoqualmie Tribe.
Mon, Apr 24 1 hour {This post is to a FB group, so must be member to view}
Blake and I removed a refrigerator from the NF-9020 illegal shooting pit. This was 50+ feet down a steep embankment. Blake has a pickup truck, so he opted to take care of the disposal at an upcoming recycling event.
Sat, Apr 22 6 hours
I went up and down the NF-9020 forest service road picking up trash. Most of the work today was down steep embankments as well as many broken bottles that I meticulously picked up every shard possible.
Wed, Apr 19 2 hours
I removed a full carload of trash from the shooting pit 1.5 miles up NF-9020. Everything came from trash tossed 50+ feet down a steep embankment. Among the items removed was the door to a freezer.
Sat, Mar 25 6 hours (report is for 2 days, Sat, Sun)
2 hours work on Saturday and 4 hours on Sunday. Clearing logs from drains in Upward Mobility-1 from beginning to middle of the trail. Just about complete for logs in drains at first half of the trail, ready for replanting ferns and reshaping the drains.
Sat, Mar 18 7 hours (report is for 2 days, Fri, Sat)
2 hours work on Friday and 5 hours on Saturday. Friday evening cleared trees at start of Upward Mobility-1. Saturday, I cleared logs in drains from midway up UM-1 to the end, returned down Flow State but work was entirely on UM-1.
Wed, Mar 08 3 hours (report is for 3 days, Tue, Wed, Thu)
I got up at sunrise to get an hour of tree cutting in before work. Tuesday, I did same except during my lunch break. Working on the fallen trees that made a mess at the beginning of Upward Mobility #1 at Raging River. The trail is actually clear, it's just the drains off the low side of the trail that got hit with logs.
Thu, Feb 09 3 hours
Cleared trees on Upward Mobility -1 for an hour, recharged batteries, then did a second effort for 2 more hours at end of day.
Wed, Feb 08 2 hours
Cleared trees on Upward Mobility -1 for two hours. Cut into "firewood" size for better removal away from drainages.
Mon, Feb 06 2 hours
I removed a snag tree that was overhanging the Upward Mobility -1 trail that was posing a danger to people who walk under it along the trail. I then cleared 2 drains of trees that had fallen in them.
Sun, Feb 05 3 hours
I cut trees blocking a drainage at the beginning of Upward Mobility -1 at Raging River. This was a huge mess. It took much effort to clear a single drainage. Once it was done though, the drainage is accessible and will require work because it drains to a huge hole so will cause a puddle just off the trail.
Sat, Feb 04 3 hours
I was cutting up fallen trees at Raging River, at the beginning of Upward Mobility -1. This section has already been cleared of trees on the trail, but it's an ugly nightmare of snags (partially fallen trees) and fallen trees not hitting the ground.
Wed, Feb 01 3 hours
I removed a stump that was in the middle of the trail from a fallen tree. Rebuilt the tread in the trail so it's rideable again. Bonus, I took out a small tree along the way that was at edge of the trail, too close for standards. I worked on the stump while Jesse White raked what may have been as much as 3/4 of the trail for green debris.
Sat, Jan 21 2 hours
I cleared 4 trees on Raging Tiger that were partially sticking into the trail.
Tue, Jan 17 3 hours
I cleared 8 drainages on Upward Mobility. The trail was actually clear, but much work needed to clear the drainage exits. Took me 3 hours and 3 batteries on the electric pole saw to clear it all. Many more drainages need work, I just selected the worst ones as I inspected them. I finished after dark, so I had to ride down the access road.
Sat, Jan 14 4 hours
I cleared Upward Mobility 1-3, then down Poppin Tops (upper and lower). Many trees that had been cleared previously were sticking partway into the trail, so I just cut deeper to make it better. I also saw many drains that were clogged with trees from other work, so I cut into maybe 10 of them so the drain people don't have too much extra work. On Upper Poppin Tops, the first few steep berms were overrun with green debris, I scraped the steepest one.
Sun, Jan 08 3 hours
I cleared 9-ish trees today at Raging River, from Upward Mobility 1-3 to Raging River 1-2. Four of the trees were medium size, took a significant amount of effort with a hand saw. They had been cut at one end, but 3 of them were still sticking into the trail - good enough to ride past, but close enough to be below standards as it could catch a rider. The fourth medium tree had fallen lengthwise across the trail, so I cut two 8-foot sections out and trimmed the branches from the remainder. These were at the edge of what I could push off the trail. The other 5 trees were really groups of saplings (hence the "-ish" count) that again had been partially cut but far enough into the trail to make a rider dismount or risk poking your eye out.
================== NOTES ===
The Harris Creek trail is composed of 3 trails linked together as below, located in North Bend, WA.
Nearby is Mount Gardener (hiking) trail. A bit of misinformation, you can't drive it, but at least they mention it is gated and closed.
- First Aid class, Feb 18
- Sawyer certification with Evergreen.
- WorkSafeBC - YouTube - Great videos on sawing / safety.
- (3) BC Faller Training Standard - YouTube Base training, must watch this playlist as top priority.
- (3) Forestry | WorkSafeBC - YouTube 67 videos on Forestry. Includes the BC Faller Training Standard above.
