Making Your Own Trails
Friday, May 21st, 2010
Hiking almost always involves following established trails. But what if there are no trails? Then what do you do? Make your own.
Of course, as with anything, there are certain parameters that must be followed when blazing your own trails, and if you really want to get involved with this hand-dirtying job, it’s always best to consult your local park district first. Parks are usually maintained by a paid team of workers who often have backgrounds in forestry, geology, and other earth sciences. They know how nature works and what works best in nature. If you don’t know what you’re doing when you cut a trail, you could be stirring a brewing recipe for erosion, cut through poisonous species of plants or even happen upon a buried gas or electric line without knowing it.
So, first thing’s first – consult the park district. Often times they will be looking for volunteers to help cut and establish new trails, and if you want to be involved in your community, there is no better and more fulfilling way to do it than to know that your handiwork is what went in to creating these trail systems.
But let’s say you’re a landowner yourself. First thing you will need to do is chart a path, which involves surveying and staking out where the path is to go. You may need a machete or small chainsaw for this preliminary charting session. After you’ve selected your trail, you will also want to investigate what plants you may be cutting through. You don’t want to cut through a patch of poison oak and inhale the dust from the saw. Once you cut all of the trees and plants (which shouldn’t be done too liberally), you’ll need to upturn some of the earth and lay down mulch or gravel to at least hold off the weeds and plants for a while.
Trail blazing is a lot of work, and requires a lot of continual upkeep, and trails keep people on the path and lessen the human footprint in the forest.
Tags: Blazing, Trail | Posted in All About Hiking, Sports | No Comments »