On September 30, 2017, nine WMHCTA volunteers cleared about a mile of brush and logs from the Chief Joseph Trail above Wallowa Lake. Volunteers returned on the weekend of October 21 & 22 to continue the work. On Saturday, seven WMHCTA volunteers, eight University of Idaho students and one U of I staff member spent a wet, windy day clearing brush and logs and improving tread on the trail, north from the BC Creek crossing to Wallowa Lake State Park….
Seven WMHCTA volunteers and one USFS employee worked to clear the McCully Creek trail on September 8. Two of us concentrated on removing brush along the lower part of the trail, and the rest continued about 5.5 miles up the trail removing approximately 50 down trees along the way. One step-over log and a jumble of other logs (with an existing, easy detour) plus about 100 yards of brush near the start of the trail remain to be cleared at…
From Randi: In late July, Jon and I scouted the North Fork Imnaha trail and found LOTS of down timber obstructing the trail around the Middle Fork (photo). Kudos to the USFS trail crew (of 2!!) for clearing around 150 logs out of that in just under 5 days this month! Love that trail.
On Friday, August 18, 2017, nine WMHCTA volunteers and one USFS supervisor worked on the Maxwell Lake trail out of the Lostine River drainage. The crew leapfrogged in small groups up the trail, using crosscut saws, bow saws and hand saws to remove about three dozen down trees from across the trail. One section required about an hour’s work to reroute a 25 foot section of trail around a large root wad hole. On the way down, the crew cleaned…
On July 9, 2017, a group of a dozen WMHCTA volunteers and three mules traveled about 2.5 miles up the Falls Creek Trail (USFS #1753) to where a very large tree had fallen, completely blocking the trail. The tree was so large, almost 4 feet in diameter at the base, that trying to remove the tree was clearly beyond our capabilities. Instead, we rerouted the trail above the fallen tree and down to a creek crossing just beyond. Work included…
On June 21, 2017, Rick Bombaci hiked the Temperance Creek Trail (USFS #1778) from Warnock Corral down to the site of the old Wisenor Place and back. Rick’s overall impression is that dense brush and almost 100 down trees make this section of the trail nearly impassable to either hikers or stock. Thanks to Rick for negotiating all of the obstacles and the roughly 4,000 feet of both elevation loss and gain to provide this report. To top it off,…
On June 23, eleven WMHCTA volunteers participated in USFS saw training and certification at Shady Campground in the Lostine River drainage. Everyone took part in the crosscut saw training, but a few left before the chain saw part of the program. The training was for bucking only, not felling. Of special interest was a down tree that was wedged between three standing trees to create a serious side bind. With guidance from instructors, we figured out which way the down…
Jennifer and Shaun Bristol report that on June 18, 2017, they hiked in about 5.5 miles on the McCully Creek Trail #1812. They encountered 7 trees down that need to be cut out. Jennifer reports that there was a lot of water running down the trail, which they rerouted to go over the bank. Thanks to Jennifer for the report, and thanks to both Jennifer and Shaun for taking the time to direct the water off the trail. Their work…
In honor of National Trails Day on June 3rd, 2017, we invited northeast Oregon trail users to a work party at Salt Creek Summit on the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest. National Trails Day, sponsored by the American Hiking Society, involves thousands of volunteers in trail maintenance events all over the country. The Salt Creek Summit area trails are used by horseback riders, cyclists, hikers, skiers, and snowmobilers. At 8:30 a.m. on the appointed date, a group of 25 volunteers and 5 United…
Beginning of the season trail work day of the Wallowa Mountains Hells Canyon Trails Assn. A team of 12 volunteers cleared brush on the Lower Imnaha River Trail #1713 on Saturday, March 11, to get the trail ready for spring hikers. The day was cool and perfect for field work. Trail work started at 9:45 am and ended at 4 pm – everyone was back in Joseph by 6 pm. 2.75 miles were cleared, with another 2 miles needing further…