[pct-l] Trail clearing with horses and chainsaws

[Dennis Phelan]

I just went through this area this weekend and there is extensive evidence
of both trail maintenance and horses traffic.  I assumed that they were
related.  Whether they were using chainsaws or hand saws I am extremely
grateful they cut the trees that had been across the trail, there were
many.  Thanks again.

On Tue, Sep 25, 2012 at 9:32 AM, Hank Magnuski <hankm at mtinet.com> wrote:

>
> A sharp, well maintained crosscut saw handled by a trained crew can be a
> very
> reasonable alternative to a heavy chainsaw that needs fuel and pack animals
> around to haul it from point to point on a trail.
>
> Believe me, they sing.
>
> Hank
>
>
> On Tue, 25 Sep 2012, Devon Taig wrote:
>
> > As I was walking across Oregon this year, I ran across a trail
> maintenance
> > group (I think from the PCTA) near Three Fingered Jack.  They didn't have
> > horses or chainsaws and were facing the daunting task of clearing dozens
> of
> > trees using handsaws that had apparently fallen during a wind storm the
> > previous winter.  When I inquired why they weren't using horses and
> > chainsaws, I was surprised to hear that they were banned on that part of
> > the trail.
> > I'm not clear as to why such a ban would exist in the context of people
> who
> > are actively performing trail maintenance.  It would seem to be at least
> an
> > order of magnitude easier to clear a trail with a chain saw and a horse
> > than by hand.  I would like to think that when I donate to organizations
> > that do trail work that they aren't hamstrung by federal bureaucracy that
> > impedes getting important work done.  Can anyone shed some light on this?
> >
> > Devon
>
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