Dillon Ranger District

2011 Dillon Ranger District Trail Crew

The Trail crew working in the Dillon Ranger District this summer worked primarily in a backcountry setting. The crew hiked all their gear and tools into a remote location where they worked for up to 10 days at a time. Their main project involved clearing hiking trails using crosscut saws.  Throughout the winter and spring, numerous trees fall throughout the forest.  In wilderness areas, chainsaws cannot be used to remove these trees.  In this scenario, non-mechanized hand saws must be used to cut these trees to accommodate the trail users.  The Forest Service conducted a brief training on the use of crosscut saws. 

The main priority for this project was to hike wilderness trails and cut a path through any fallen trees to keep the trails open.  The crew work involved using crosscut saws to cut large trees and hand saws to cut smaller trees and branches.  Basic corridor work was also done to keep vegetation from interfering with the trail.