7.1. PRSR 02-10-2016 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Routine maintenance Hours: Approx 175(minimum) About this work: Trimming back brush,weed whipping trail edges, blowing leaves/debris off the trail, sand removal, picking up trash; all of these tasks sound simple, but we've found ways of doing them all that save us tons of labor. Some of our practices are counter-intuitive, but other trails now copy them. Every new volunteer has to be trained on how we specifically want each task performed. Something as simple as shoveling sand off the trail needs to be done a specific way. Shoveling down the trail, instead of across,or digging into the trail surface below the sand build-up, using a spade instead of a square shovel, piling the removed sand in the wrong spot,or failing to address the drainage issue are all mistakes that turn a vital task into a worse problem. Whipping down the vegetation along trail edges, if done incorrectly, can spur re-growth, or exacerbate erosion,or over-widen the trail. Some weeds we want left as a"cover crop" because we've determined their height works well for us. These tasks may sound simple, but like everything at Hillside,there are specific ways things need to be managed, to make them work for an mtb trail in the most efficient way possible. Grooming the trail for winter use Hours: Approx 60 About this work: Machine grooming takes place at night, so that the trail has some time to settle and hopefully pack a bit before people begin trying to use it. If this is done during daylight hours people immediately start riding/walking on it and win the entire groom and it has to be redone. This is also a job that requires experience. Steady controlled speeds need to be maintained so the tracks are not digging up the trail rather than packing it, and you have to know where there are roots, rocks, logs etc under the snow that may damage a track. The sleds have to be finessed over these obstacles so that they are not damaged. There are also certain spots the sleds have to be lifted over things or around tight turns. This has to be done in teams of 2 people with in-depth knowledge of the trail who are very experienced in driving snomobiles. This is a skilled job, not just a matter of going for a "fun ride"through the woods. Sometimes the trail requires packing by snowshoes in advance of the sleds in deep snow. This requires either a team of 2, or 1 person going over the same trail twice alternating footprints. Needless to say this is very time consuming and tiring. Features such as skinnies require shoveling off by hand. Like most jobs at Hillside, knowing all the shortcuts through the woods makes everything go faster.