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200 feet of Trail Maintenance - PEP BB earthworks.sand.trail

BB earthworks - sand badge
posted 6 years ago
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This is a badge bit (BB) that is part of the PEP curriculum.  Completing this BB is part of getting the sand badge in earthworks.

For this BB, you will be performing trail maintenance for at least two hundred feet of trail.

This maintenance might include doing some of the following:

  - adding sand (make the trail barefoot friendly, and generally more stable)
  - removing rocks, leaves, pinecones, trees, branches, etc.
  - altering how steep the trail is
  - making the trail wider (at least 18 inches wide)
  - repair potholes and muddy spots
  - any sign of water damage needs a shift in trail design
  - remove branches that might require people on the trail to duck
  - adding seeds on the sides of the trail to improve stability of the trail, provide food and/or medicine, and make it more beautiful

An example of trail maintenance might be what this guy did to care for an old switchback trail. He cleared away a lot of leaves on the trail, and he took down a fallen tree.


Another example of what trail maintenance could be is this video, where a trail has leaves and muck scooped out of and gets recompacted in a few spots.


A broader overview of trail maintenance is discussed in this US Forest Service video:


To get certified for this BB, post one video about two minutes long showing

  - the trail before the maintenance with a walking measuring wheel - highlighting the issues
  - the same trail highlighting the improvements

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Kay Gelfling
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posted 5 years ago
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A question on this BB: my parents have a trail through the woods behind their house which needs clearing; it has sticks and branches way out in the way, some requiring chainsaw. If the branches don't get trimmed back then the path closes up. The path itself hasn't been swept away and little would need to be done to the mossy floor of the path. Would clearing this path count for the bb, or is it important that the floor of the trail be improved?

Thanks!

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Shawn Klassen-Koop
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posted 5 years ago
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Hi Kay, that sounds like trail maintenance to me.

Otherwise, I would focus on fixing up any spots that are muddy or have potholes.

And I think it would be good while you are out there to plant a whole bunch of beneficial plants along the path.

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Mike Haasl
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posted 5 years ago
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Approved submission
Ok, I reclaimed an old trail today.  It had been used a decade or two ago and had grown up a bit.  I have a pile of firewood in there that I need to get out so it was time to brush it out.  The goal is not a narrow walking trail, just a 6' wide path that my garden tractor and trailer can navigate.  

The main tasks were to:
  • Nip off the ferns to visually define the trail and so I could see the branches I needed to pick up
  • Remove fallen branches and tree tops
  • Trim off eye poking spruce branches
  • Remove a dozen small spruce that had grown up in the trail

    • I don't have a walking measuring wheel but I do have a 100' tape.  So I marked the 0', 100' and 200' points with reflective driveway markers.  I took video before and after and cobbled it together into a crappy video.  Enjoy!
     

    I didn't rake the trail so that it wouldn't erode.  I'll drive the mower down there in the summer when the ferns come back to keep them under control.  It's plenty good enough to get the wood out for the next 5 years.  

    (Edited to remove photos and post video)


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    Staff note (Nicole Alderman) :

    I certify that this badge bit is complete!

     
    Justyn Mavis
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    posted 3 years ago
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    Submission flagged incomplete
    Sorry I misread the bb description.

    I work video the next leg of the trail very soon.

    ----

    We have a nice forest trail that leads up the mountain, the ice storm last winter dropped a lot of limbs on it. I keep the grass on the trail because the area where i removed the grass eroded. So, since "we" and cows travel up this trail grass is good. I do have alot more to finish, but this is the first 250ft or so feet of the trail.

    Side note: Since the ice storm knocked down a few older trees more light is now in this forested areas, and I'm seeing a lot of different small tree or shrubs that werent here before. Excited about seeing the forest slowly change.

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    Staff note (gir bot) :

    Someone flagged this submission as not complete.
    BBV price: 1
    Note: Sorry, it specifically asks for a video of before and after

     
    Pierre Michael
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    posted 3 years ago
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    Approved submission
    Spent a good chunk of time with a sickle and pruners to clean all the overgrowth from this existing footpath. Made it wider and cleaner and significantly easier to traverse.

    Before


    After
    Staff note (gir bot) :

    Mike Barkley approved this submission.

     
    Malek Beitinjan
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    posted 3 years ago
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    Approved submission
    I maintained 200ft of trail! Primarily just cutting back grass, shrubs, and overhanging branches. I forgot to zoom out to show a landmark for the before vid, so I included the measuring wheel in both videos.



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    Staff note (gir bot) :

    Mike Barkley approved this submission.
    Note: In this particular cas I can accept the measuring wheel as a landmark. Trail looks much better!

     
    Daniel Brieck
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    posted 3 years ago
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    Approved submission
    Did 200 ft of trail maintenance, using just a sickle. Wow these things are fantastic. Took way less time than I expected it would. Forget the clippers and the loppers, the sickle just works.

    Providing a combined  video to show the improvement, first minute is the before, while the second minute is the after.



    Staff note (gir bot) :

    Mike Barkley approved this submission.
    Note: Love the chipmunk voice!

     
    Opalyn Rose
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    posted 3 years ago
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    Approved submission
    Here is my submission for the Earthworks - Sand - Two-Hundred Feet of Trail Maintenance BB.

    From Allerton Abbey, I exited the Cooper Cabin Gate and followed the improved trail for about 200-ft where recent improvements ended.  I traveled 85' from that point to the road then an additional 115' and worked my way back to the beginning of the trail doing maintenance including:
      - removing rocks, leaves, pinecones, shrubs, branches, twigs, etc. from the trail
      - making the trail wider (at least 18 inches wide)
                      - mostly by cutting grasses and small shrubby material
      - making the trail extra-wide at the road so that it would be easier to spot

    To document the completion of the BB, I have provided a video of:
      - the trail before the maintenance with a walking measuring wheel
      - the same trail highlighting the improvements

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    Staff note (gir bot) :

    Mike Barkley approved this submission.

     
    Leah Beninato
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    posted 3 years ago
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    Edge case submission
    Trail maintenance bb submission:


    Trail Maintenance outside of Allerton Abbey lot leading to Ant Village, July 2021
    Video 1 shows trail length
    Video 2 shows better view of brush and debris needing maintenance
    Video 3 shows trail after maintenance



    “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” Leo Tolstoy

    Staff note (gir bot) :

    Someone flagged this submission as an edge case BB.
    BBV price: 0
    Note: Please edit the video to be 2 minutes or less (total). You can try OpenShot video editor.

     
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