Field Program

When I decided to sign up as a trail crew member many months ago, I had an idea in my mind what I was getting into. Now, as my season comes to an end, it was much different than what I thought, in the best way possible.

I thought we would be clearing and making trails better than they were before. Which, in a nutshell, is what we did. But the technical skills we learned along the way to complete the work were so much more than what I could have expected.

The task we took on the most was digging new tread on trails to make them more accessible to the public. While it may seem like a simple task to just clear the trail, the technical skills and number of tools you need to complete the project are numerous. Learning the differences and effectiveness between all the tools is such a useful skill that you will be able to carry on further in this work and in life. To dig tread, we learned how to use a pick, pulaski, and McLeod. We learned when and how to use them, which made the work easier as the season went on.

Another part of trail work is removing plants and limbs of trees that can be protruding out on the trail. For that, we learned how to use loppers to cut out smaller plants and limbs. When it came to bigger limbs and smaller trees, we learned to take on the hand saw, which was more effective.

Then we would also run into bigger trees that needed to be cut out and removed from the trail. For that task, we learned how to use a chainsaw as well as the crosscut saw, which needs to be used in designated wilderness areas where chainsaws aren't allowed.

Later on in the season, we took on some projects that required some knowledge of the world of carpentry. We built a bridge and a staircase in parts of the trails that needed reconstruction. So we learned some skills with handling power tools like drills and circular saws to make the right cuts and angles in wood pieces we needed to fit in the trail.

So in conclusion, the amount of different tools we used throughout the season and the skills we learned to apply them in the field were more than I could have ever expected to learn as part of a trail crew. If you’re thinking of joining a trail crew, these are skills that you can carry on and broaden your horizons into the world of conservation. The number of different tools and tasks you take on can help you decide which ones you like best and can learn more about in your future work.