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Clearing Trails The Old-Fashioned Way At Lassen Volcanic National Park

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By NPT Staff - July 19th, 2015
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Since power tools are prohibited in officially designated wilderness, Lassen Volcanic trails worker Ben Darnell and PCTA volunteer Robert Parks used a freshly sharpened saw to clear a large lodgepole pine from a trail/NPS

Sometimes, you just need to resort to sweat and muscles to get the job done. That was the case recently in the wilderness backcountry of Lassen Volcanic National Park in California, where crews worked to clear trails of trees knocked down by a wind storm back in February.

Especially hard hit was an eight-mile stretch of the Pacific Crest Trail at Lassen’s northern boundary near Badger Flats and Soap Lake.

“This was an extremely productive project, which was safely accomplished through our partnership with the Pacific Crest Trail Association,” said Superintendent Steve Gibbons.

The PCT traverses about 17 miles of Lassen’s designated wilderness, necessitating the use of cross-cut saws to clear trails. Eight volunteer Pacific Crest Trail Association cross-cut sawyers worked with six members of Lassen’s trail crew for four days to buck out the downed trees along the trail. Crews cleared 368 trees from the park’s northern boundary to the Nobles Emigrant Trail junction with an additional 50 trees cleared south to the Rainbow Lake area. The 17-mile section of the PCT running through Lassen Volcanic National Park is now clear of fallen trees, in time for the influx of thru-hikers currently making their way from Mexico to Canada.

The project attracted some of the most skilled volunteers and cross-cut saw aficionados from across northern California due to the sheer number of trees that needed to be removed. The project was proof positive that no blow down event is too big for a team of cross-cut sawyers to handle efficiently and safely.

“We are fortunate to have a dedicated trail crew and willing volunteers with specialty cross cut saw training under their belts to help take care of our park,” said Gibbons.

For trail information, campground openings, and current conditions to plan your trip, please visit the park website at www.nps.gov/lavo or contact the visitor center at 530-595-4480 or [email protected].

Comments

Submitted by tahoma on July 21, 2015 - 10:15am.

Hats off to the volunteers who performed all that hard work and sharpened all those saw teeth!  Also to Lassen’s management for not taking the easy way out.  The use of chainsaws for such work is more the rule than the exception in many western parks.

 "Some land managers with wilderness responsibilities may regard wilderness as an impediment rather than a valued resource. Wilderness designation constrains not only how the public may use the lands (e.g., no off-road vehicles, no bicycles) but also how the agency administers it. That is the very point of wilderness. Wilderness designation intentionally constrains both the public and the federal manager.

Managers who seek to sidestep the act’s severe constraints may adopt a liberal minimum requirement interpretation. A now-retired National Park Service manager known to the author promoted the opinion that once NPS determined that an activity is “necessary” to administer a wilderness area, then any and all seven otherwise prohibited acts automatically pass the minimum requirement test. This convenient interpretation would remove the Wilderness Act’s constraints (the seven prohibited acts) by a simple conclusion that the proposed activity is “necessary” for the purpose of wilderness administration. All that is needed to employ any of the prohibited means is for the manager to sign a minimum requirement analysis (MRA) that concludes an activity is necessary for the purpose of wilderness."

http://www.georgewright.org/283buono.pdf

Some might disagree with this story’s statement that “the project was proof positive that no blowdown event is too big for a team of cross-cut sawyers to handle efficiently and safely.”  At NW parks, especially Olympic, strong windstorms can leave hundreds of trees up to six feet in diameter stacked three high on top of each other, often on steep slopes.   The oldtimers didn’t bother with crosscuts for such blowdowns.  It was easier and safer to drill holes with a large hand auger and dynamite the trails clear. .


Submitted by ecbuck on July 21, 2015 - 5:29pm.

"Also to Lassen's management for not taking the easy way out."

God forbid we get 2-3x as much accomplished using the right tools. Banning chainsaws for trail work makes as much sense as banning bicycles.


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