Tools to evaluate for brush clearing.
Trimmer with blade
Brush hog
Flail mower
DR Trimmer
Friday, March 08, 2024
Monday, January 08, 2024
Trail Conditions along I-90
Links to help get trail conditions along the I-90 corridor
============ WEATHER AND OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS ========
Useful for feeling if Alice Creek crossing is reasonable.
============ LIVE CAMERAS ===========================================
Tiger Summit. Elevation 3004 feet. East Tiger (hamwan.net)
Snoqualmie Pass (camera + conditions). Snoqualmie Pass I-90 | WSDOT
Snoqualmie Pass (all cameras). The Summit at Snoqualmie - YouTube
Snoqualmie Pass. Elevation 3022 feet. Summit Central - Live Cam YouTube
Snoqualmie Pass. Elevation 3022 feet. Summit Central - Central Express - Live Cam YouTube
============ TRAILS BY ELEVATION ===================================
Red highlight is where you begin a ride. Green highlight is end of ride or trail segment.
| Elevation | Trail or milestone | Trail Cam | Weather | Notes |
| 3824 | Olallie Trail | 3824 max, 3248 end | ||
| 3279 | Harris Lake Trail | n/a | 3-way intersection (start), 3279 feet. NF 310 | |
| 3022 | Snoqualmie Pass | Summit at Snoqualmie | ||
| 3004 | East Tiger Summit | East Tiger | By the Tiger Mountain Summit radio towers | |
| 3361 | Raging Ridge | Top of Raging Ridge. | ||
| 2451 | Tiger - Master Link | Top of Master Link | ||
| 2200 | Harris Lake Trail (NF-9020) | Bottom of actual trail. | ||
| 2111 | Raging Ridge #1 (bottom) | Bottom of RR-1 | ||
| 2103 | Upward Mobility #3 (top) | Top of UM-3 | ||
| 1734 | Upward Mobility #3 (bottom) | Bottom of UM-3 | ||
| 1734 | Upward Mobility #2 (top) | Top of UM-2 | ||
| 1524 | Upward Mobility #2 (bottom) | Bottom of UM-2 | ||
| 1524 | Upward Mobility #1 (top) | Top of UM-1 | ||
| 1472 | Tiger - Master Link | Tiger Begin - Parking Lot - Bottom of MasterLink climbing trail | ||
| 1322 | NF 9020 (Access Road only) | Access road to Harris Lake Trail, not actual trail | ||
| 1157 | Olallie Trail | Olallie Trail - TH after riding Palouse to Cascades trail segment | ||
| 1072 | Upward Mobility #1 (bottom) | Bottom of UM-1 | ||
| 1070 | Grand Ridge | Top of Grand Ridge | ||
| 954 | Olallie Trail | Cedar River Parking lot. Before Palouse to Cascades trail segment prior to Olallie TH. | ||
| 496 | Grand Ridge | Bottom of Grand Ridge |
Sunday, December 31, 2023
Trail Work 2023
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.
Friday, December 01, 2023
My Favorite Trails
Kind of a silly post, but this is for my benefit to share some of my favorite trails and to bookmark links for trail conditions / directions
FAVORITE TRAILS by area
HANSEN RIDGE
- Hansen Ridge
- Carter Creek Trail (part of Hansen Ridge)
- Upper 5510 RD - Gated (part of Hansen Ridge)
- NF-510 (part of Hansen Ridge, connector to Harris Creek and Harris Lake trails).
- Harris Lake Trail (part of Hansen Ridge, the end)
- 5510 (Road to Hansen Ridge, to avoid driving thru potholes. Best to park at Annette Lk).
- 5510-510 (Spur to Hansen Ridge, a favorite of mine, poorly maintained)
- Hansen Ridge Site listing by WTA, others are TrailForks
- Little Saint Helens (hiking trail as spur to Hansen)
- Hansen Ridge (AllTrails)
HARRIS CREEK
The Harris Creek trail is composed of 3 trails linked together as below, located in North Bend, WA.
MOUNT SAINT HELENS
- Trail #234 Ape Canyon - Forest Service, lower TH
- Ape Canyon TH, upper
- Lower Smith Creek
- Upper Smith Creek
- Smith Creek Trail #225 - Trailforks
- Marble Mountain Sno Park - location for SHIFT event
- June Lake Snotel - Snow conditions
- Friends of Ape Canyon - Facebook site
- Friends of Coldwater - Facebook site
- SHIFT - Facebook site - annual event for trail work
- SHIFT 2022 - Event invite for this year's work, Aug 19-21, 2022
- Volcanic 50 - Running race starts at Marble Mountain Sno Park. Aug 06-07, 2022. See also Volcanic 50 Web site.
- Smith Creek Loop (Ape Canyon) - voice over trail reviews. 13:21-14:00. I get to listen to someone complain about sub-section of trail I've been clearing for 11 of the last 12 years as of 2019 when it was filmed. Video would be more dramatic if he had filmed it a month prior, before I put 3 days of volunteer work into it - you would be climbing over this maybe 50 times.
- Strongly disagree with his assessment of the climb out of Smith to Ape, he needs to give me credit for my hard work on the trail instead of complaining about the need for trail work. Also, it is much better to take the forest road instead of the road. Frankly, it is a silly thing to complain about, otherwise I endorse this video aside for the other parts of it.
- July 21, 2019. Date of VOTR video, after I did 17 hours trail work.
- Saturday June 02, 2019. 5 hours.
- Saturday June 15, 2019. 6 hours.
- Sat Jun 22, 2019. 6 hours
ALPINE BALDY
Directions: Take Highway 2 to Skykomish. 1.9 miles after passing the ranger station, take a left turn on FR 6066 (a sign indicates this road). When you see the sign, immediately slow down and prepare to turn--the turn comes up very quickly. There is a fork 1.8 miles up FR 6066. Bear right, uphill. It will be 6.6 miles total to the trailhead. Keywords: Using your phone for GPS, you may want to map it to "Jennifer Dunn Trailhead" or "Beckler Peak Trailhead". Alpine Baldy and Beckler share same parking lot.
- Alpine Baldy - Trailforks
- Beckler Peak Hiking Trail #1240 - Trailforks - hiking trail adjacent to Alpine Baldy.
- Beckler Peak - WTA
OLALLIE
Elevation Start: 949 feet.
Elevation End:
Elevation Gain: 3,060 feet
Mileage: 9.0 miles
- Olallie-trail - TrailForks
OTHER / MISC FAV'S / RANDOM BOOKMARKS
410 area
Ranger Creek Trail - Greenwater, WA This is connector trail above Ranger Creek
Wednesday, November 01, 2023
Trail Tools and equipment
For my reference, some of the tools and equipment for trail work.
PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) requirements for chainsaws - personal notes for shopping. Includes some key tools too due to interrelationship of quality tools to safety.
Pants - need apron style which is lighter and cheaper, or pants style which is more convenient. Favorite suppliers include Clogger (goclogger.com) and Arborwear within Evergreen sawyers, but also seems very good are Husqvarna. Another consideration is extra cost for wraparound the calf, not sure why that is necessary, but I decided to just pay the money and get the (?) safer product. I do have concerns that wraparound calf may make feet hotter, and pants may be hotter than apron, though maybe ok if pants option eliminates having other pants underneath. I landed with Clogger pants and Stihl apron. Having both, I currently prefer the apron style.
Felling Axe - Suggested is 3–6-pound axe. I'm leaning towards fiberglass handle for lightweight, shock absorption and durability.
Helmet assembly - I've heard some brands are cumbersome where the attachments for face shield and/or earmuffs break or fall off. I think Husqvarna may have that issue. Stihl helmet includes a 25db earmuffs, but you can upgrade to 29db which is annoying that the good one is not standard, so you have a useless one out of the box. I landed with a Pfanner helmet, in general I love it, only issue is the ear muffs tend to fall off frequently.
Monday, December 26, 2022
Trail Work 2022
Trail work done in 2022. I was one of the Evergreen Volunteers of the Year.
Summary Total 41 days. 115 hours trail work, 158 hours total including travel time.
The Harris Creek trail is composed of 3 trails linked together as below, located in North Bend, WA.
| Count Days | Day | Work Hours | Location | Travel Hours | Type |
| 41 | Mon, Dec 26 | 2 | Raging River | 1 | trees |
| 40 | Sun, Dec 25 | 3 | Raging River | 1 | trees |
| 39 | Sat, Nov 26 | 2 | Raging River | 1 | trees |
| 38 | Sat, Nov 05 | 2 | Raging River | 1 | trees |
| 38 | Sat, Nov 05 | N/A | Harris Lake Trail | N/A | recon |
| 37 | Sat, Oct 29 | 4 | Harris Lake Trail | 1 | brush |
| 36 | Fri, Oct 28 | 2 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trash |
| 35 | Sat, Oct 01 | 4 | Harris Creek / Harris Lake Trails | 1 | trees, brush |
| 34 | Wed, Sep 28 | 2 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trash |
| 33 | Sat, Sep 24 | 3 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trash |
| 32 | Thu, Sep 22 | 2 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trash |
| 31 | Wed, Sep 14 | 2 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trash |
| N/A | Tue, Aug 30 | N/A | Harris Creek Trail | N/A | trash |
| 30 | Sun, Aug 28 | 3 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | brush, trash |
| 29 | Sat, Aug 27 | 3 | NF-9020 / Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trash |
| 28 | Tue, Aug 16 | 1 | NF-9020 / Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trash |
| 27 | Sat, Aug 13 | 3 | NF-9020 / Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trash |
| 26 | Fri, Aug 12 | 1 | NF-9020 / Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trash |
| 25 | Thu, Aug 11 | 2 | NF-9020 / Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trash |
| 24 | Wed, Jul 20 | 3 | NF-9020 / Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trash |
| 23 | Tue, Jul 19 | 3 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | brush |
| 22 | Sat, Jul 16 | 5 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | brush, trash |
| 21 | Sun, Jul 10 | 4 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | brush |
| 20 | Sat, Jul 09 | 2 | Hansen Ridge | 2 | brush |
| 19 | Sat, Jun 25 | 2 | Harris Creek Trail / Hansen Ridge | 2 | brush, trash |
| 18 | Thu, Jun 23 | 1 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trash |
| 17 | Sun, Jun 19 | 1 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trash |
| 16 | Sat, Jun 18 | 4 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | brush, trash |
| 15 | Wed, Jun 15 | 3 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trees, trash |
| 14 | Sat, Jun 11 | 4 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | brush |
| 13 | Wed, Jun 08 | 1 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | creek crossing |
| 12 | Sat, Jun 04 | 5 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | brush |
| 11 | Mon, May 30 | 4 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | brush, trash |
| 10 | Sat, May 28 | 5 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trees |
| 9 | Fri, May 27 | 3 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trees, trash |
| 8 | Sat, May 21 | 3 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trees |
| 7 | Sat, May 14 | 2 | NF-9020 / Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trash |
| 6 | Thu, May 12 | 2 | NF-9020 / Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trash |
| 5 | Tue, May 10 | 2 | NF-9020 / Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trash |
| 4 | Sun, Apr 24 | 5 | NF-9020 / Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trash |
| 3 | Sat, Apr 23 | 5 | NF-9020 / Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trash |
| 2 | Sat, Apr 09 | 4 | NF-9020 / Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trash |
| 1 | Fri, Apr 08 | 1 | NF-9020 / Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trash |
Mon, Dec 26 2 hours
Upward Mobility-2 and Upper Flow State. Mostly small trees for clearing. I went up UM-2 and back, then early section of Upper Flow State till I ran into Jenny who told me the remainder of the trail is cleared. My electric pole saw seems to have burnt out the motor, so todays work was with the Silky Big Boy handsaw.
Facebook, Sun, Dec 25 3 hours
Clearing trees at Raging River on Upward Mobility #1 and Lower Flow State. Both trails I completely cleared of downed trees, 10 on UM-1 and 3 on LFS. I also removed a lot of incidental branches along the way. This time I just hiked in because both trails were adjacent to the trail head. Most trees were cut with my pole saw, but the last 4 ones by hand with my Silky Big Boy because I exhausted both batteries.
Facebook, Sat, Nov 26 2 hours
Raging River. I cleared a couple trees at the beginning of Upward Mobility #1 trail. I then did a sweep to the closed section at Raging River #3 before turning back due to heavy wet snow.
Facebook, Sat, Nov 05 2 hours
Raging River. Removed a couple trees along the Raging River #4 trail.
Facebook, Sat, Nov 05 0 hours
Harris Lake Trail. Battled cold temperatures, hail, and rain. Only to find out that the culvert at Alice Creek washed out, so trail is not passable today. On return, spoke with ranger for long time about problems facing this trail, but he's not going to change anything to help.
Facebook, Sat Oct 29 4 hours
I took the eBike 5.2 miles to Harris Lake trail. I did brushwork with loppers for extremely overgrown trail to the point where you couldn't see the trail and, in some cases, it would stop the bike. Threw the brush debris off the trail.
Note: The distance to this work site was 5.2 miles with cumulative elevation gain of 1,940 feet. Trailhead elevation is 2,240 feet, work site at Harris Lake trail is 3,450 feet. No snow in sight today, but these numbers will be important later in the season to reference weather reports.
Facebook, Fri Oct 28 2 hours
I picked up 341 rifle shells and broken glass at the Harris Creek trailhead. The broken glass was embedded in the soil all throughout the trailhead so took much effort to remove.
Facebook, Sat Oct 01 4 hours
Harris Creek trail. Removed tree by side of trail as it was a hazard. Cleared alder brush in 2 sections just prior to and just after the three-way intersection to Harris Lake trail.
Facebook, Wed Sep 28 2 hours
Removed the Land Rover tire final half mile to the trailhead, then took it home for later recycling. Picked up 106 more bullet casings from the Harris Creek trailhead, mostly from 22, including a dozen unspent bullets.
Facebook, Sat Sep 24 3 hours
I recovered a Land Rover tire 200 feet down a scree field, then rolled it 1.1 miles down the trail towards the trailhead. Need to take it 0.5 mile further though, another day this was hard work. Picked up trash from the forest road, filled 2 pails plus some metal from destroyed signs for recycling.
Facebook, Thu Sep 22 2 hours
Removed 255 shell casings and much tiny fragments of broken glass from the first quarter mile at Harris Creek Trail. Removed destroyed equipment from highway work from the NF-9020 forest service road.
Facebook, Wed Sep 14 2 hours
Cleaned trailhead to Harris Creek. Removed 152 shell casings and remnants of explosive targets. Removed trash at trailhead as well as primitive campground a quarter mile from the trailhead.
Facebook Tue, Aug 30 0 hours
Actually 1 hour, but not counting it due to failure to achieve objective. Attempted to remove lug nut from tire discarded in woods, but socket got stuck. Attempted to remove metal parts of a barbeque, but bucket used to carry it broke. Illegal shooting by 3 people at end of day, they refused to stop, and trailhead was littered with hundreds of shells from them, trailhead was perfect shape a couple hours prior, as I started the effort.
Facebook Sun, Aug 28 3 hours
Lopper work to remove brush at Harris Creek trail. Also, removed a tire from the trailhead for recycling.
Facebook Sat, Aug 27 3 hours
Removed metal waste deep in the trail down a scree field. Picked up 55 shell casings and half pail of garbage from the trailhead to Harris Creek. Dismantled bed springs and removed metal from NF-9020 road.
Facebook Tue, Aug 16 1 hour
Environmental cleanup at Harris Creek trail. Hauled more of the barbeque parts from 1.6 miles down the trail. Picked up 193 casings from 9 mm handgun from people who were illegally shooting at the trailhead.
Facebook Sat, Aug 13 3 hours
Environmental cleanup at Harris Creek Trail. Removed part of barbeque from steep scree field 1.6 miles down the trail. Cleaned up trash plus 500 shotgun shells from illegal shooting pit.
Facebook Fri, Aug 12 1 hour
Worked with WA-Dept of Ecology to haul 55-gallon drum a quarter mile down the trail to the trailhead. This was to stage it for later removal, and it was removed next day by them.
Facebook Thu, Aug 11 2 hours
More Environmental cleanup at Harris Creek trail. Cleared trail in vicinity of Hazardous waste drum to aid in removing it shortly. Picked up 2,500 shotgun shells from illegal shooting pit and disposed of it.
Facebook Wed, July 20 3 hours
Environmental cleanup at Harris Creek. (1) Assessed car parts in scree field. (2) Assessed 55-gallon drum of hazardous waste. (3) Picked up bucket of trash along NF-9020 road. (4) Dismantled burnt bed by side of NF-9020 and disposed of half of it.
Facebook Tue, July 19 3 hours
Harris Creek with lopper for alder trees. Cleared the section at the beginning of the second climb, to midway through it.
Facebook Sat, July 16 5 hours
Loppers to get thick alder trees to the ground. I worked from the flat section after the first climb out of Harris Creek, to the beginning of the second climb.
Facebook Sun, July 10, 2022 4 hours
I was doing brush work today at Harris Creek, with loppers for alder trees. I completed the first climb out of Harris Creek, then I dealt with pretty fearsome overgrowth of alders on the flat section between the first and second climbs. In some sections, it was just not possible to bike through, you'd have to push, and the trees would be pushing back. I got a ton of work done today, lot of alder tree overgrowth higher up. Both creek crossings can be done with dry feet now.
Facebook Sat, July 09, 2022 2 hours
Hansen Ridge. Minor removal of small trees and brush on the trail. Some minor rock work to adjust for a small rockslide that blocked trail.
Facebook Sat, June 25 1 of 2 plus Facebook Sat, June 25 2 of 2 2 hours
First Harris Creek to pick up trash. Later, I went to Hansen Ridge and lopped brush on the spur road 5510-510 see link below for this seldom used trail.
Facebook Thu, Jun 23 2022 1 hour
Picked up shot up pumpkin from trailhead as that can be food for bears. Spent much time picking up broken glass that was shot into Corona bottles by a stump at the trailhead. Picked up 256 shell casings, mostly from 22 bullets.
Facebook Sun, Jun 19 2022 1 hour
Did not intend to do just trash cleanup, but something halted the trail work, so I reverted to the trail head. I cleaned up trash at the trailhead, 56 more shell casings and a moderate amount of trash. Trail head was not as bad as expected, and I wrapped it up in an hour.
Facebook Sat, Jun 18 2022 4 hours
Loppers for removing tree branches and thick brush at Harris Creek trail. Work done was just past the Harris Creek crossing, on the first climb out of it.
Facebook Wed, Jun 15, 2022 3 hours
At the trailhead to Harris Creek trail, I used the pole saw to remove trees that fell on the trailhead, as well as on a car tire. Removed 330 shell casings plus lots of broken glass from the trailhead.
Facebook Sat, Jun 11, 2022 4 hours
Brush work with Ethan Espie using loppers. We focused on brush and branches that obstruct the trail or otherwise encroach on it. Worked on 9 active areas that were impeding trail. Rock Creek to Harris Creek is now able to be biked non-stop, but for sustainable trail will require much more work with electric hedge trimmers for the smaller stuff. Harris Creek is flowing fast, cold, and deep from snow runoff. Recommend to turn around there instead of risking crossing.
Facebook Wed, Jun 08, 2022 1 hour
Worked on improving flow and creek crossing at Rock Creek along Harris Creek trail. Removed jammed log between stepping stones to allow proper flow. Removed small debris as beginning of effort to restore flow on the near side.
Facebook Sat, Jun 04, 2022 5 hours - National Trails Day
Brush work for section of Harris Creek trail prior to Rock Creek. Severely overgrown section with trees and thick brush required electric hedge trimmers for bulk of work, also loppers for small trees and brush too thick for the hedge trimmers. Removed all debris so final cut with trimmers able to get to the ground for best maintenance.
Facebook Mon, May 30, 2022 4 hour - Memorial Day
Finished a section of brush that had been cut but not to the ground, fixed it with loppers. Continued lopping small trees that were encroaching on the trail. Worked the section midway between Alice Creek and Rock Creek. Removed more trash from the trailhead, mostly broken glass.
Facebook Sat, May 28, 2022 5 hours
Mostly loppers to remove small trees and branches from Harris Creek. I worked mostly at Alice Creek and Rock Creek along Harris Creek trail as the nearby water source causes fast growth there. End of day, more broken glass removed from the trailhead.
Facebook Fri, May 27, 2022 3 hours
Used the pole saw to remove small trees from the beginning of the Harris Creek trail. Later spent final hour picking up broken glass and rifle shells from the trailhead.
Facebook Sat, May 21, 2022 3 hours.
I cut trees from the Harris Creek trailhead itself, then along the trail, using my pole saw.
Facebook Sat, May 14, 2022 2 hours.
I delivered 3 car loads of trash that I had recovered from the forest on NF-9020 to the recyclers today. 10 Auto tires, 5 of which were still on rims, a bicycle tire, and two televisions, one large one small.
Facebook Thu, May 12, 2022 2 hours
Trash removal from NF-9020, trail to Harris Creek. I recovered 3 more tires, 2 of which still on rims, a bicycle tire, and a fairly large television that was all shot up.
Facebook Tue, May 10, 2022 2 hours.
I removed 6 tires from NF-9020, the road leading to Harris Creek trail. All of this was at the location where people go shooting and bonfires, about 50 feet or so down a steep embankment. The tires that were mounted weighed 75 pounds; the others were in the range of 35-50. As always, people who dump crap have to make it difficult by pushing down a steep embankment.
Facebook Sun, April 24, 2022 5 hours
Trash removal from NF-9020, trail to Harris Creek, included lots of broken glass, cans, and shotgun shells as always. I snagged a television that was thrown 50 feet down a steep embankment. I removed the flare that was used to set the bed on fire (ref yesterday's work). Got a rusty bald tire still fully pressurized. The frame of a car seat minus the fabric. The frame of a desk still assembled. And 5 more gallons of paint from a different location than yesterday's haul of 20 gallons of paint. Second day in a row I completely filled my car with trash removed from the forest.
Apr 23, 2022. Saturday, 5 hours
Removed trash from the NF-9020 forest service road, leading to the Harris Creek Trailhead. Removed 20 gallons of paint that was disposed in a wet ditch. Lot of broken glass and cans removed.
Apr 09, 2022, Saturday. 4 hours.
I covered 2.7 miles of picking up garbage from the side of the road. This included a few firepit sites, bottles, cans, shotgun shells, someone's headlight, the list goes on. Worked in a hailstorm that later become a snowstorm, got pretty soaking wet.
Apr 08, 2022, Friday. 1 hour.
I went midway up the 9020 road, the one leading to Harris Creek trail, and picked up a fair volume of bottles, cans, electronics, etc. from where you park to ride the Palouse aka iron horse trail. I later stopped many times along the way to pick up bottles and cans in the ditch on the road.
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To understand the relationship between Harris Creek Trail (NF-9020), Harris Lake Trail, and Hansen Ridge, see image below.
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RESOURCES (personal notes)
- Snow Levels. See June Lake Snotel for snow levels at Mt St. Helens, typically good to go at Lower Smith when just a foot snow remaining. As of June 12, 2022, snow level at 42 inches (3.5 feet). Lower Smith Creek is lower elevation and melts out quicker. Confirm road access at Ape Canyon TH, in 2022 the road opened around June 11.
- Trash removal. The county can give a waiver for fees at the dump/waste facilities, if you call them. Illegal dumping hotline - litter and illegal dumping - King County
- IFPL. Industrial Fire Precaution Levels (IFPL) | WA - DNR
Sunday, October 16, 2022
Wildfires 2022 - preparation in WA state
This has been a terrible year for wildfires in Washington and Oregon. This post is to share some experiences and wisdom for preparation for next time this happens. Much of it relates to what I did but am trying to word it in context of the reader to be useful for others.
Good questions to ask yourself at a time like this:
- Does each member of your family have a go-bag that they could get into a car within five minutes to last three for more days?
- Can you immediately get all your emergency papers, insurance forms, financial info, and cash should you lose your home?
- If all you can take is what fits in your car, what will be included?
This is a timely opportunity to think through your emergency preparedness
PREPARE YOUR HOME
- Remove brush around the house.
- I filled 2 yard waste containers just prior to the smoke. A bit late and not as much removed as I should have, but an improvement.
- Clear other combustibles around the house. Move things from yard into garage that may catch fire, such as lawn furniture or coverings.
- Water the lawns. It's a bit late if it's already gone dormant, but do it anyway if water is not scarce.
- Purchase air filters for home. I have 3 HEPA filters and 1 ionic, many people can benefit from a 20 inch box fan and a furnace filter rated MERV 11-13, likely 13 is best but don't exceed that number, see How to make your own clean air fan.
- Purchase masks. A cloth mask is better than nothing, but very inadequate. Best to have N-95 or better, I have N-99. Charcoal filters are good for volatile pollution, but the biggest threat is particles, pay attention to PM2.5 numbers, as it relates to the need to filter out particles of size 2.5 microns or smaller. A full face mask may be handy if you spend a lot of time outside, such as PT-101 Full Face Gas Mask & Organic Vapor Respirator.
- Have buckets of water surrounding the house. I have around 30 buckets filled and ready, most people will likely do much less, but even a few is better than nothing.
- Have all exterior water outlets connected to a hose. Leave it in obvious location in case a good neighbor spots a fire and is able to help.
- Have tools ready to cut trees or brush readily available. For example, I have my electric pole saw by the front door and batteries charged, same for electric hedge trimmer and a couple bow saws.
- Go shopping for any essentials asap. Smoke lingers, plan on 2 weeks not just the standard 3 days that people typically recommend.
- Know where your fire extinguishers are and check they are current.
- Smoke and CO detectors functioning.
PREPARE YOUR PHONE
- Install apps to monitor air quality. Apps vary for AQI, Air Quality Index, so install several and figure out which is best. I have IQAir and Plume. Also, see AirNow
- King County Sheriff Office non-emergency line: (206) 296-3311
- Burn ban number: (425) 434-6333
- Snoqualmie Police non-emergency line: (425) 888-3333
PREPARE YOUR CAR
- Gas tank filled in case long drive necessary to evacuate
- Hand saw in car in case trees fall on road (important, don't cut trees if near powerline and don't get run over if tree is in the road, use common sense). Bow saw, Silky Big Boy, and loppers.
- Shovel, pickaxe, or similar to help put out small fire if observed.
- Cell phone charger inside. USB battery pack for recharging.
- Floor pump or similar for tires
- Jumper cables
PREPARE TO LEAVE WITH NO NOTICE
- Medicine prescriptions filled, especially if asthma, allergy or other issues from smoke
- Mentally know what to take, such as small valuables, documents, laptops and small electronics.
- Have carriers for animals and food
- 5-gallon container of water already filled ready to grab and go.
CHANGE HABITS
- Reduce driving
- Don't go out into the woods if not necessary.
- Share awareness with friends (good luck).
HELPFUL LINKS
- Facebook and other groups for local alerts.
- Loch Katrine Fire - Wildfire Aware
- Washington State Fire Wire (Facebook)
- Snoqualmie Fire Department and Emergency Management (Facebook)
- Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest - US Forest Service (Facebook)
- Zoom Earth
- Everything Snoqualmie Valley (Facebook)
- Snoqualmie Police Department (Facebook)
- Air quality sites
- Purple Air for air quality maps
- https://gispub.epa.gov/airnow/ Search for Washington and filter for PM2.5
- AccuWeather. They use Plume for data, which is also good to install on phone.
- Windy. Amazing maps for wind direction and PM2.5 forecast
- air-quality. They don't seem to have my town, but close enough.
- Wildfire Aware (livingatlas.arcgis.com)
- Weather sites
- Cliff Mass Weather Blog. Commentary on weather with insights.
- Forecast page: RAP Real-Time Weather (ucar.edu)
- Regulations:
- Burn ban (todo: link)
- Industrial Fire Precaution Levels (IFPL) - rules for power tools
- Washington Smoke Information
- Department of Ecology - Washington's Air Monitoring Network
- Department of Health - advice
- Washington Emergency Management Division - facebook site
- Puget Sound Energy outage map
- WS - DOT fb and WS-DOT travel alerts
Monday, December 27, 2021
Trail Work 2021
Trail work done in 2021.
Summary Total 30 days. 80 hours trail work, 113 hours total including travel time.
- Harris Creek Trail - 75 hours over 28 days. 103 hours with travel time.
- Raging River - 3 hours over 1 day. 4 hours with travel time.
- Alpine Baldy - 2 hours over 1 day. 6 hours with travel time.
- Mt St Helens - 0 hours over 0 days. 0 hours with travel time.
| Count Days | Day | Work Hours | Location | Travel Hours | Type |
| 30 | Fri, Dec 03 | 2 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | brush, trash |
| 29 | Wed, Dec 01 | 1 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trash |
| 28 | Wed, Nov 03 | 5 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trees, trash |
| 27 | Sat, Oct 30 | 3 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | brush |
| 26 | Fri, Oct 29 | 3 | Raging River | 1 | trees |
| 25 | Wed, Oct 27 | 2 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trees |
| 24 | Thu, Oct 20 | 2 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trees |
| 23 | Sat, Oct 16 | 5 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trees, brush |
| 22 | Wed, Oct 13 | 5 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trees, brush |
| 21 | Tue, Oct 12 | 2 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | brush |
| 20 | Sat, Oct 09 | 4 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | brush |
| 19 | Fri, Oct 08 | 2 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | brush |
| 18 | Sun, Oct 03 | 3 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | brush |
| 17 | Sat, Oct 02 | 2 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | brush |
| 16 | Fri, Oct 01 | 2 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trees, brush |
| 15 | Sun, Sep 26 | 3 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trash |
| 14 | Sat, Sep 25 | 3 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | brush |
| 13 | Fri, Sep 24 | 2 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | brush |
| 12 | Sat, Sep 18 | 3 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | drainage, trees, trash |
| 11 | Wed, Sep 08 | 2 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trash |
| 10 | Sat, Sep 04 | 2 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | brush, trash |
| 9 | Fri, Aug 06 | 2 | Alpine Baldy | 4 | trees |
| 8 | Sun, Aug 01 | 3 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trash |
| 7 | Sun, May 30 | 4 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trees |
| 6 | Wed, May 26 | 2 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trees |
| 5 | Sat, May 22 | 2 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trees, trash |
| 4 | Fri, May 21 | 2 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trash |
| 3 | Tue, May 11 | 1 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | road |
| - | Fri, Apr 09 | - | - Fail - | - | - |
| 2 | Sat, Jan 23 | 3 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | brush |
| 1 | Mon, Jan 18 | 3 | Harris Creek Trail | 1 | trees, brush, drainage |
Fri, Dec 03, 2021, 2 hours
Harris Creek trail. Brushing with electric hedge trimmer at 0.9 miles into the trail. More trash removal from the trail head and fire road.
Wed, Dec 01, 2021, 1 hour
Wed, Dec 01, 2021, 1 hour
Harris Creek road. Removed trash at turnouts along NF-9021 to beautify the experience as you approach the Harris Creek Trail.
Wed, Nov 03, 2021, 5 hours
Harris Creek Trail. Loppers to remove small trees encroaching the trail. I cleared 2 sections, a half mile in and a mile in. Later, I removed so much garbage from the trail head it overflowed the trunk of my car.
Sat, Oct 30, 2021, 3 hours
Harris Creek Trail. Brush work and small trees removal around midway to the Rock Creek crossing. Raked out debris because it was so thick that debris on side would have impacted future brush work.
Fri, Oct 29, 2021, 3 hours
Raging River. Removed 1 medium sized tree overhanging the access road, needing a high cut with a pole saw on 6 foot extension. Cleared around 10 blockages on both upper and lower Return Policy trail.
Wed, Oct 27, 2021, 2 hours
Harris Creek Trail. Cleared a bunch of small trees encroaching on the trail. It's a section I brushed earlier, but returned with loppers to finish the small trees.
Thu, Oct 20, 2021, 2 hours
Harris Creek Trail. Cleared small trees encroaching on trail at early section.
Sat, Oct 16, 2021, 5 hours
Harris Creek Trail. Made it to the Harris Lake Trail which is severely overgrown with alder trees. Cleared a difficult section that was not passable due to trees growing in the trail itself.
Wed, Oct 13, 2021, 5 hours
Harris Creek Trail. Mostly removing small trees encroaching on the trail using loppers, but also an hour on the hedge trimmers for smaller brush. All work in the area of 1.0 mile from trail head.
Tue, Oct 12, 2021, 2 hours
Harris Creek Trail. Brush work in reverse from Harris Creek back towards trail head.
Sat, Oct 09, 2021, 4 hours
Harris Creek Trail. Brush work in reverse from Rock Creek back towards trail head. I cleared around the creek crossing and ditch just above the creek, so that the path is clear once the creek is filled with water from seasonal rains. Brush wasn't as dense as other days, but was thicker stalks, at capacity to what my battery hedge trimmer can handle.
Fri, Oct 08, 2021, 2 hours
Harris Creek Trail. Brush work. I got about a tenth of a mile done today in the evening. This makes the trail clear for the first 0.45 miles in very good shape.
Sun, Oct 03, 2021, 3 hours
Sun, Oct 03, 2021, 3 hours
Harris Creek Trail. Brush work around 3/4 mile till the culvert around 1 mile in. Cut some pretty tall heavy brush.
Sat, Oct 02, 2021, 2 hours
Harris Creek Trail. Brush work near start till 0.36 miles in, looking good for early section only.
Fri, Oct 01, 2021, 2 hours
Harris Creek Trail Brush early section of trail for 3/4 hour, then over an hour removing branches and logs from side of trail that were impacting ability to get brush cutter into the thick underbrush.
Sun Sep 26, 2021, 3 hours
Harris Creek Trail. Trash removal from trail head. Mostly broken glass and clay pigeons used for target shooting. This was embedded over large area of the trail head and painstakingly removed even tiny glass fragments.
Sat Sep 25, 2021, 3 hours
Harris Creek Trail. Brush work at beginning of trail with Stihl eKombi borrowed from Jay.
Fri Sep 24, 2021, 2 hours
Harris Creek Trail. Brush work at beginning of trail with Stihl eKombi borrowed from Jay.
Sep 18, 2021, Sat, 3 hours
Harris Creek Trail. Worked on drainage in the rain, then brush clearing. Removed muffler from forest road.
Harris Creek Trail. Sep 08, 2021, Wed, 2 hours
Removed building materials including a water heater from the trail head. Very difficult to get water heater up the hill, attempted to dismantle it till that proved fruitless, eventually pushed it end over end out of the ditch. Huge struggle to get it inside the car. Filled car with more trash picked from the dirt.
Sep 04, 2021, Sat, 2 hours
Harris Creek Trail. Lopping brushes on trail. Removed lot of building materials, glass, and other trash from the trail head
Aug 06, 2021, Friday, 2 hours
Alpine Baldy. Removed 4 trees in area of avalanche debris.
Aug 01, 2021, Sunday, 3 hours
Harris Creek Trail. Removed trash and ash from 3 illegal fire pits
May 30, 2021, Sunday, 4 hours
Harris Creek Trail. I removed trees and branches clogging ditch and causing marshy wet section of trail. Made it out 3 miles but had to turn around due to bear bounding across the trail. The section of trail I worked on was between Rock Creek and Harris Creek.
May 26, 2021, Wednesday, 2 hours
Harris Creek Trail. Cleared trees till intersection with Carter Creek trail. Lot of small branches and debris removed from trail.
May 22, 2021, Saturday, 2 hours
Harris Creek Trail. Cleared to 2nd creek crossing at Harris Creek. Removed 4 small trees and one medium size tree. Picked up 2 more pails of garbage at trail head.
May 21, 2021, Friday, 2 hours
Harris Creek Trail. Picked up 2 pails of garbage, a helmet, and a broken TV. Mostly broken glass in the dirt which is very time consuming to remove tiny glass fragments all over the place.
May 11, 2021, Tuesday, 1 hour
NF-9020. Road work, to break up rock blocking road to trailhead. Follow up on May 18 with Justin's Makita RotoHammer with a drill.
April 09, 2021, Friday, 0 hours
FB friends only. https://www.facebook.com/kenobonn/posts/10222754247398895
I headed up the NF-9020 to do trail work, but hit a rock that busted my radiator. Had to get towed out. Cost me $700 out of pocket because State Farm Insurance sucks and called it a collision instead of comprehensive (road hazard).
Jan 23, 2021, Saturday, 3 hours.
Harris Creek Trail. Electric Hedge Trimmer, 2 batteries. I cleared sticker bushes back for the first half mile.
https://www.facebook.com/kenobonn/posts/10222114168517323
Clearing Harris Creek Trail. Electric pole saw, 2 batteries. I removed the trees in the ditches and side of the trail that get in the way of drainage work and brush removal, as far as Rock Creek along the Harris Creek Trail. Also took out a number of overhanging trees that may fall on the trail.
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Check the June Lake Snotel for snow levels at Mt St. Helens, typically good to go at Lower Smith when just a foot snow remaining. As of June 14, snow level at 6 inches and melting at 1-2 inches per day, so it's good to go because Lower Smith Creek is lower elevation and melts out quicker. Confirm road access at Ape Canyon TH, this year the road opened on June 07.
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