School Creek Trail Maintenance Day

[KC]

I am on call for work the weekend of the 23rd. I am off weekends of the 16th and 30th. The 16th is probably too soon to get organized and the 30th is right after Thanksgiving when many people may be out of town or have other family obligations. Aargh! If everyone else can set a "Best" date I will try to make arrangements on my end.
I have two strong arms and will'n to work, 'til the sun goes down... Wait, that's a country song.
I have a brand new chainsaw and will work hard most of the day.

[phil denk]

I'm in...I don't have a gas chain saw but I'm pretty good with my long handled pruning shears. Back in the day, when cutting trails for the Lawrence Enduro we used gas powered trimmers with a rotary blade. Very effective for cutting saplings at ground level.

[troy]

Saturday November 23
All important details at:
http://SchoolCreek.org/

[HanesAnizer]

Unfortunately I will not be able to attend this. I do have a chainsaw I would be happy to loan out.

[Rick]

We're in.

[KC]

I made arrangements for someone to cover for me at work so, I am IN

[rycomm]

I'll give my standard reply. I'd love to help. However working on call may interupt. I have a trimmer, loppers, and a chainsaw that needs a tune up. How about carpooling ect?

Also, I'm pretty good with a grill and I'm willing to help in that way too. Maybe a vacation day is in order.
I may also be able to help with some personal protective equipment, if anyone needs some.

Ryan

[JLR]

I should be able to attend. Will bring chainsaw with me.

[troy]

From this thread and other feedback, we already have 8 people coming to work Saturday, Nov 23! We need more for sure. It would be incredibly fun to have 20+ people working that day. It would feel more like a party than working. (Can you tell I haven't been to very many parties?!)

My apologies to the folks that work at motorcycle dealerships. Obviously Saturdays are big work days for you guys--I failed to consider that when picking the date. Of course a lot of folks would not be able to come on a Sunday either, so there is no day that works for everyone.

There is, of course, more than just the cedar trees. There are other branches growing over the trail and lots of vine that can be easily cut with limb loppers.

I have a crappy old chainsaw and 2 pairs of limb loppers to bring. HanesAnizer, I might borrow your saw--and try not to break it. We really only need about half or less of the people to have chainsaws. There is plenty of lopper work as well as people to throw the cut branches off the trail.

Ryan, we appreciate the offer to help in any way you can. What can you offer in the way of safety equipment?

Moridin gave me this idea---is anyone in our community a pro or really good hobby photographer? (Stu?) It would be great to have a photographer (or team) to document the day--especially before and after photos of the trails. If we have enough people show up and make a big enough difference at School Creek, we might even submit the story with photos to local news or at least to the Blue Ribbon Coalition for inclusion in their newsletter about the success groups are having around the country. In any case, I want to put up a photo album to share after the work day.

[ajayhawkfan]

......
Moridin gave me this idea---is anyone in our community a pro or really good hobby photographer? (Stu?) It would be great to have a photographer (or team) to document the day--especially before and after photos of the trails. If we have enough people show up and make a big enough difference at School Creek, we might even submit the story with photos to local news or at least to the Blue Ribbon Coalition for inclusion in their newsletter about the success groups are having around the country. In any case, I want to put up a photo album to share after the work day.

Troy, your scrap-booking expertise will sure come in handy putting together a photo album.

[troy]

......
Moridin gave me this idea---is anyone in our community a pro or really good hobby photographer? (Stu?) It would be great to have a photographer (or team) to document the day--especially before and after photos of the trails. If we have enough people show up and make a big enough difference at School Creek, we might even submit the story with photos to local news or at least to the Blue Ribbon Coalition for inclusion in their newsletter about the success groups are having around the country. In any case, I want to put up a photo album to share after the work day.

Troy, your scrap-booking expertise will sure come in handy putting together a photo album.

Productive, helpful input as always, Eddie. Thanks for being a part of the community.

[HanesAnizer]

HanesAnizer, I might borrow your saw--and try not to break it.

You're welcome to use it. It's not a high dollar one, but it's decent sized and works.

[gagnaou]

I am in

[troy]

I'm in...I don't have a gas chain saw but I'm pretty good with my long handled pruning shears. Back in the day, when cutting trails for the Lawrence Enduro we used gas powered trimmers with a rotary blade. Very effective for cutting saplings at ground level.

Thanks, Phil! Glad you can help.

Thanks also, Luc!

I count about 16 people "IN" to help so far. I'm hoping there are at least 10 folks coming that simply will never tell me. SchoolCreek.org updated with a downloadable PDF flyer that folks can print and hang.

The more folks we have helping clear the trails, the greater the odds we actually finish the job, which means I might get to play on the trails by end of the day!

Do any of you have ATVs you could bring? It sure would be nice to have some with racks to carry tools, supplies, and people to where the work is going on. In fact, it could be a job for a few folks just to operate ATV taxis as needed.

[JLR]

I just returned from School Creek; went out this morning for a sneak preview. We have got our work cut out for us; things are ugly out there. I will bring my ATV and can play taxi. A large majority of the trails are dangerous for ATV's because the motorcycle traffic has cut the center so deep. The grass and general ground cover is also very thick.
May sound crazy, and probably not an option within our hands, but I would like to see it burned which would really give things a fresh start.

Not trying to scare anyone away, but thought I'd let you know what I saw this morning.

[troy]

I just returned from School Creek; went out this morning for a sneak preview. We have got our work cut out for us; things are ugly out there. I will bring my ATV and can play taxi. A large majority of the trails are dangerous for ATV's because the motorcycle traffic has cut the center so deep. The grass and general ground cover is also very thick.
May sound crazy, and probably not an option within our hands, but I would like to see it burned which would really give things a fresh start.

Not trying to scare anyone away, but thought I'd let you know what I saw this morning.

Thanks for the report, JLR! Glad you can bring an ATV. Hmmm...we aren't allowed to burn, but....if a fire happened to get out of control....

The branches over the trail are out of control! We have a lot of cutting to do, but if we can get a small army, we will make a huge impact in a short amount of time and have a blast doing it. Dan Johnson of the FMHSC tells me that to prepare trails for races, with only 4 to 6 guys, they clear about 6 miles of trail and hang the arrows. Now he admitted when they "clear", they are only barely cutting back the worst overhanging branches. We'll be cutting completely back to the trunk most of what touches the trail.

We do not have any plans for any dirt work (filling in ruts, etc) for this work day. In fact, I don't even know if dirt work has ever been part of the maintenance at School Creek. Trying to stop erosion on those trails seems an impossible task...and the trails change so much year to year and after huge rainfall. (I'm OK with that erosion actually...it's just part of the dynamic nature of dirt trails. Old trails close themselves off eventually and new trails emerge.)

[ajayhawkfan]

........Do any of you have ATVs you could bring? It sure would be nice to have some with racks to carry tools, supplies, and people to where the work is going on. In fact, it could be a job for a few folks just to operate ATV taxis as needed.

I know it is out of the way but you are welcome to come to the cabin and pick up my ATV. Battery is shooting craps but it has pull cord as well.

[troy]

I know it is out of the way but you are welcome to come to the cabin and pick up my ATV. Battery is shooting craps but it has pull cord as well.

Thanks, Eddie! Depending on how the ATV situation looks closer to the event, I might come get it if I think we need it.

[curado]

I'll be arriving Saturday morning with Stu. I have also posted a thread on www.mokanriders.com to see if anyone is interested in bringing their ATV out to lend a hand.

Mark

[troy]

I'll be arriving Saturday morning with Stu. I have also posted a thread on http://www.mokanriders.com to see if anyone is interested in bringing their ATV out to lend a hand.

Mark

Dang it! I forgot about mokanriders.com -- a nice site and active community. (Did not come up in my general Googling.) I also just registered there--awaiting administrator approval. Curado, thank you for getting that community in the know about this event. You have a lot of ATV guys in that group, and we need those guys to be a part of this work day. Do you think there is more we can do to get the word out to those guys?