Thanks to the USFS employee(s) that cleared the Dike Trail!! What a great surprise! I had a great 8 mile run yesterday from one end to the other and back, with no stops for climbing over trees.
I had given up on trying to keep the far 2.5 miles clear because between pine beetles, aspen worms and high winds, there was a tree down every few yards. I counted about 60 in one mile a few months ago. I know it was a lot of work to clear that section!! Thanks to the USFS!
Ok, it was March when the first tree fell a few feet from this one, but I sat on my a** most of the spring and summer and was away from home the last 3 months. So it really does feel like I just cleared it just a few weeks ago. This one was a little smaller in diameter, but still too big for the Pocket Chainsaw.
Yes it was warm today. Warm enough for shorts at 9300 ft.
I have spent the last couple of weeks in Idaho. I am on Lisa Smith-Batchen‘s 508 crew and I have been doing some training with her and helping with the Grand Teton Races that Jay, Lisa and Zach put on at Grand Targhee over Labor Day weekend.
The races were great. One of the highlights was getting to meet Olga. She wasn’t able to run this year and many of the competitors can be thankful for that. She was out the entire 36 hours of the race giving runners great assistance at the main aid station. She was filling water bottles, helping with drop bags, taping feet, giving massages, encouragement, ultra-wisdom and smiles. I don’t know how many shoes and socks I saw her change. Her energy was amazing. She never seemed to tire.
On the drive from Colorado to Idaho Bonnie and I stopped and for an early morning trail run near the “Lincoln Monument” east of Laramie. There are some beautiful single track trails in the area. From I-80 West I took a right from the Happy Jack exit and another right past the Lincoln Monument and about 1/2 mile on a dirt road to a trail head. I started on the “National Headquarters” trail and looped around on a couple others for about a half hour. Bonnie loved it and helped me find the way back to the car. I had just picked up my orthotics the afternoon before. They felt great.
Trail work … on the Dike Trail. There has been a snarly blowdown about fifty yards from the trail head since December. There was passable route through the branches and I’d hoped my sister would help me with the chainsaw when she visited in January, but her plans changed. Then Rocky Raccoon happened and I spent several weeks lying on my a**. And honestly I was a little scared. I have never used the chainsaw by myself. But, today was the day!
I had mixed feelings about moving this. It has been my experience over the years that people who ride these things (circled in the photo), at least in this area, are unable to decipher pictographs and are possibly illiterate. When I have attempted to explain the pictographs, the riders’ cognitive abilities have proven below average. A big tree close to the trail head would stop them before they get up the trail, get stuck, and subsequently cause a lot of damage to the forest; the usual sequence of events.
On the other hand climbing through the branches on snowshoes, and especially skis, was a little treacherous. And, if this tree remained during the summer months, there would be a new trail beaten around it … possibly a new “trail head”.
So this is it. Job done. The biggest tree I’ve cleared by myself. My past efforts having been limited by the length of my 
Pocket Chainsaw; 10-12″ diameter. (BTW, the Pocket Chainsaw is absolutely the best handsaw I’ve used for clearing trails in 15 years.) The diameter of this tree was about the same length as the blade of the chainsaw I was using. I had discussed the strategy for dismantling it with my sister a few weeks ago. (Hmmm. She nearly broke her femur last year cutting up an oak tree. Maybe I should have done additional research. But it all turned out ok.)
Yeah, this tree is probably no big deal to chainsaw experts, but I am a wimp and was literally weak with fear until the final cut was finished. Cleared a couple other trees today, but nothing else worthy of photos.