TRAIL MAINTENANCE: CUTTING

 

TRAIL MAINTENANCE: CUTTING

 

     Look at the trail and decide what kind of trail it is:

Forest road with motor vehicle access?  Old carriage path – Bike(s) Horse(s)

Narrow and or rocky trail – Hiking only?

Herd path or unmapped trail? (leave it alone)

 

Decide what to cut: 

Roads and wide trails: Cut braches off near the trunk if they hang into trail.  Cut sprouts and seedlings off at ground, if they are at the trail's edge.  Consider that tall vehicles (10 feet), people on horseback (8 feet), and bike riders (6 feet) need clear passage.

For narrow trails be less aggressive, but make similar cuts where necessary.  Trim with a "doorway" of clearance in mind.  Decide for yourself if a fringe of vegetation is appropriate for a section, or if wider sightlines improve the character of the section.

If the trail is crowded by a grove of small pines or beeches, it's fine to eliminate as many as is needed to properly regain walking clearance. 

For trees of 2" caliber or more, that you think should be kept, just select branches that encroach the trail, and don't cut more than ¼ of all the live foliage.  You can cut more, next year.

Safety:

Always wear eye protection, gloves, sturdy clothing and footwear.

Use bug and tick repellant. Be adequately rested and ready for strenuous work.

Work with at least one other person, whenever possible. Everyone sees from a different angle, and there may be a better (or worse)way attempt a cut. Take turns on large logs. Don't attempt anything bigger than you know you can handle.

When taking down an upright tree(even a small one), know what you're doing. If you don't know how, don't attempt it.

 

Pick a tool:

Loppers generally work well for trunks and branches between 3/8 and 1¼ inches thick.  They are also good for extending one's reach, but otherwise are a heavy and awkward maintenance tool. By-Pass loppers are best for live branches and saplings, Anvil loppers are for dead stock.

Hand pruners ( also known as hand loppers) are best for trimming small stock, and with a sharp blade and good technique, these can handle almost anything a lopper can, and make a cleaner cut. Hand loppers also are available in By-Pass or Anvil-styles.

Hand saws are ideal for large branches, or removing the entire plant.  Wide, unsupported blades (carpenter's saw) are ideal for making ground level cuts on diameters to about 3".

Large saws are needed for sectioning logs for removal, but a big gang of people is better for just hauling the whole log away.

When using any saw, make sure it doesn't contact the ground—dirt and rocks will dull the blade quickly.

 

Cutting:

When actually pruning a plant, make your branch cuts clean without making tears in the remaining bark structure.  If sawing cut below the branch, before making the top cut.  Broken wood, poor cuts and long stubs are aesthetically undesirable.

Make the cut either near a branch junction, leaving the remaining branch growing away from the trail, or cut the whole branch off, leaving a stub about as long as the branch is wide, so that the plant expends the minimum energy to heal the site.

When cutting the whole plant, try to cut flush with the soil, but don't ruin your tools by getting dirt trapped in the cut. 

Toss cuttings off the trail, with cut ends facing away from the trail, and not snagged in living plants.

 

Jim K  6-21-07

Edited by Steve C 03-05-08