Day Two: Once the Clearing of the Path for the new route of the trail and boardwalk was done, our crew from NW Trails moved on to the next task. With their equipment, they laid the groundwork for getting the gravel down.
My daughter and I went for a tour at the end of the day to see what they’d accomplished. Impressive work for one day. You can tell by the look on Violet’s face, she was amazed!!
For a matter of perspective, the existing trail goes behind her to the right in the photo. The new trail alignment is to the left and higher in the wetland crossing. Follow us on a tour of the trail!
Violet jumped ahead of me and is standing on the other side of where the boardwalk will end. At the bottom of the photo is where the boardwalk will begin. This is a 40′ span that will provide much better access for folks into the forest.
Below shows where the boardwalk will end and transition back to limestone gravel trail. Violet is in the distance, about to enter the forest canopy. Pretty cool!
Trying to keep up with “Daddy’s Long Legs” I finally got her to stop by the stump. She could hear the equipment running in the distance and wanted to see it in action.
The crews did an excellent job clearing the path past this fallen giant. This will become an identifiable marker as the trail takes shape.
After crossing the wetland on the new boardwalk, people will be introduced to this gem of an urban forest. Trees, ferns and birds, oh my!!
We caught up to Curran at the end of the line. He’s the youngest of the crew and it was an opportunity for him to use this equipment while the elder Dan was at their shop pre-drilling holes in steel for the boardwalk.
This piece of equipment was the perfect fit for the job. It clears just enough that we’ll be able to build our trail to meet the city’s standards. NW Trails crew does a superb job of managing the impact they have when clearing and grading new trails. These guys care!
One approach they also use is transplanting as much of the native vegetation they can. Here you can see Curran deftly scooping up a sizable Sword Fern to move off into a new location nearby.
Looking forward to the next steps. Great job Gerry and the crew from NW Trails. Thanks guys!
Todd Elsworth is one of the many “Mossy-haired lunatics roaming the dripping peninsulas”, described in “I’m Here for the Weather” by Tom Robbins. As executive director, he works to fulfill our mission to teach the health benefits of nature, promote outdoor recreation, and steward the places where we play.
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