Week one for the Echo Crew has come to a close, and man am I exhausted! Our project for the first two weeks is based in Eagle's Nest Wilderness on the Gore Range Trail. We spent the week learning and practicing the art of crosscutting. For those who don't know, crosscutting is how people cut trees before the age of chainsaws.
There are a few reasons why people today would use a crosscut over a chainsaw. One is to prevent starting a wildfire with the combustible engine of a chainsaw, another is that chainsaws create a lot of noise pollution. Also, some people just enjoy getting their hands on an old fashioned crosscut saw.
On Tuesday, our first day on the Gore Range Trail, my group cut five trees in total; I was so proud of the work we had accomplished. By the end of the week, all of our crews were cutting between twenty and thirty dead trees off of the trail in a day. Overall, we are all really proud of the work we've gotten done in the past week, and now the section of the Gore Range Trail that we worked on is cleared of fallen trees for hikers this summer!
-Anna Hudson, Trail Crew Echo
Comments