Houghton Section Trail Work Reports – 2023
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Date | Name | Trail | Hours | Work | Volunteers | Remaining Work | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-01-09 | Ruth Bigio | Fern Spring Foot Path | 1.5 | Blowdown fell diagonal onto path. Two 10-inch trunks needed to be cut away (with handsaw). Smaller branches and a lot of debris were removed from the trough which I think is still part of the spring. This work was done on Fern Spring Foot Path, the "short cut" that is not on the map. It starts from Beech Hollow near marker #2132 and connects to Bugbee Path near marker #2155. | Cut trunk is very close to hiking trail. Too heavy to move for one person. It will be done sometime soon when I hike with friends to help me. | ||
| 2023-01-11 | Charlie Crosby | Prescott Foot Path | 1 | Cut and cleared several impeding blowdowns between #2071 & #2053. | |||
| 2023-01-11 | Charlie Crosby | Skyline Trail | 0.5 | Cut and cleared a blowdown on N. Boyce Hill between #2117 & #2141 | |||
| 2023-01-27 | John Hahnfeld | Boyce Hill Trail | 0.5 | Routine pickup of minor debris. | Fallen tree lying across the path at 2130 marker. | ||
| 2023-01-27 | John Hahnfeld | Burnt Hill Path | 0.5 | Very Minor debris clearance. Also work at grade reversals at southern end of path near Old Rte 128. Grade reversals mostly working satisfactorily. | |||
| 2023-01-27 | John Hahnfeld | Doe Hollow Path | 0.5 | Minor debris clearance | Tree down across Beech Hollow Path shortly before 2135 turn to Doe Hollow. Spent some time on it, but my saw proved inadequate. | ||
| 2023-02-19 | Jennifer Mehigan | Dark Hollow Path | 1 | Walked trail, picked up trash. | Talia Szymanski | Two trees down across trail: - between 2094 and 2112 on dark hollow path; - on hill just passed 2112 | |
| 2023-03-04 | Joanne Newton | Monatiquot Path | 1 | Swept trail for branches. A large tree is across the trail about a 1/4 in from route 28 at the northern start of the trail. Need a chainsaw. | Bob Vogel | Need to have chainsaw crew remove large tree over trail. It is a high step over. Thank you. | |
| 2023-03-05 | Bob Flagg | Massachuseuck Trail | 2 | Worked on culvert near 2094 to improve the outflow drainage. A large tree had fallen and the roots were blocking the outflow. Had worked previously to cut back some of the roots so worked to remove debris that had got stuck near the roots. | Need to completely remove debris from culvert. Inflow area seems blocked. | ||
| 2023-03-29 | John Hahnfeld | Boyce Hill Trail | 0.25 | Just diddly clean-up | At the intersection 2130, there is a large tree down across the path just before it turns left and uphill. It's been there quite awhile. Needs TLC from a chainsaw. | ||
| 2023-03-30 | John Hahnfeld | Burnt Hill Path | 0.33 | Minor debris clearance | About 50 yards south of the 2111 marker there's a tree down across the trail. Also, there's a tree down over the trail at about the half-way point between 2111 and 2092. | ||
| 2023-03-30 | John Hahnfeld | Doe Hollow Path | 0.33 | Minor debris clearance. | |||
| 2023-03-08 | Bob Vogel | Mattapan Trail (FBH) | 0.25 | Picked up downed sticks. | |||
| 2023-04-22 | Bob Flagg | Massachuseuck Trail | 29.5 | Cleaned grade reversals from 2183 to Doe Hollow Path. Rebuilt one grade reversal that had misplace, dangerous rocks by digging them out and resetting them. All structures in great shape. Also performed small trash cleanup at trailhead on Rt 28. | Joe Nelson, Robert Siris, Michael Prokosch, Grace Whouley, Nils Lundblad, John Lindblad, Shannon Fadden, Sophia Bartlett | ||
| 2023-04-24 | Bob Vogel | Mattapan Trail (FBH) | 0.25 | Cleared all downed sticks from trail | |||
| 2023-04-20 | Marnie Bolstad | Angle Path | 3.5 | Walked the length of the trail from 2100 (Old 128) to 2075. Picked up trash (not much) and removed sticks. Noticed there are signs of erosion. Particularly in the lower section near 128 - stones are washing onto Old 128. There are also signs of erosion just above (north) of 2092. Erosion mitigation would be helpful but that is beyond my expertise. Ruth Bigio joined me to help trim back growth starting at 2075. We worked our way down toward 2092. Maybe got a third of the way down. | Ruth Bigio | See comments under Work Completed. Trail needs erosion mitigation as deep ruts are beginning to appear where rocks are washing away. Probably not a priority relative to other trails.... | |
| 2023-04-28 | Ruth Bigio | Andover Path | 0.45 | The footbridge over the wet area is deteriorating. Previously I have replaced a number of boards, also replaced boards on both ends with stepping stones. Now one board is broken, the adjacent one is totally loose. It's not possible to fix them with nails, the substructure is rotting, not possible to anchor the nails. I removed the broken board and placed rocks into the gap. But it is an uneven surface. I placed the board on top, not safe either, too wobbly. | This bridge needs more work than I can provide. The entire substructure needs to be replaced. I told Bob Flagg about it. At this time, there is no decision on how to proceed. | ||
| 2023-04-28 | Ruth Bigio | Fern Spring Foot Path | 0.45 | Raking out leaves from Fern Spring brook where the water of the spring runs on the side of the trail (section of path starting from Doe Hollow to Bugbee Path). | Raking of leaves from the ditch needs to be done from time to time so that the water doesn't run onto the trail. Shrubs and bushes haven't grown much at this time. | Bugs very aggressive on Friday, first warm day! | |
| 2023-05-28 | Bob Flagg | Skyline Trail | 0.5 | Removed large branch partially blocking path at intersection with Dark Hollow. | There still remains a branch that I couldn't remove. | ||
| 2023-05-28 | Bob Flagg | Tucker Hill Path | 0.5 | Performed minor brushing on trail. | Noticed ugly evidence of work done by someone who does not understand proper maintenance. The first location is at the intersection with Athol Path and the second is about 60 yards west of the intersection. They had dug a deep ditch in front of waterbar and failed to clean outflow which actual flows uphill. Need to identify individual who performed work to instruct them with proper methods. Will email our volunteers & DCR to let them know to be on the lookout. Have noticed on other trails over last month. | ||
| 2023-05-28 | Bob Flagg | Athol Path | 0.75 | Completely cleaned and re-shaped one grade reversal to direct water off the trail. It had been completely filled in. | There is one more structure on the lower section that needs to be reestablished. There are also two structures higher up the trail that direct water east off the trail that need to get reestablished. It takes a little bit of creativity to get this done but well worth it. | At the bottom of this trail on Tucker Hill Path there is a grade reversal that has been poorly worked and needs to be fixed including digging out the outflow. | |
| 2023-06-09 | Ruth Bigio | Winthrop Path (FBH) | 10 | Winthrop Path is a short connector, near marker #2096 to the red dot trail. It gets very overgrown with sweet pepper bush and other shrubs. We cut back branches and widened the trail nicely. | Marnie Bolstad, Charlie Crosby, Beth Foley | Brushing complete. One big log is down about half way along the trail. Would need a chainsaw. It's been down for a long time, no need to remove it, easy to step over. | |
| 2023-07-14 | Ruth Bigio | Fern Spring Foot Path | 0.45 | Section where path is overgrown with scrub oak bushes. Opened trail and cut back branches. | Section up to Buck Hill also needs brushing. | Blueberries ripening nicely in the Buck Hill area due to warm temperatures and rain. | |
| 2023-07-20 | John Hahnfeld | Doe Hollow Path | 1.25 | Cleared a medium sized tree trunk that had fallen over trail about mid-way of trail's length. The obstruction was stuck at about six feet over the trail, supported by upper portions of tree on opposite side of trail. Required close to an hour's work with saw. A smaller limb of the tree still projects over the trail, but at a greater height and will not obstruct anyone not on horseback. I will attend to this in near future. | Another branch of same tree still needs removal. | ||
| 2023-07-22 | John Hahnfeld | Doe Hollow Path | 1 | Finished work begun previous day regarding a tree leaning over the trail. Removed trunk previously. Came back today to remove large branch coming from trunk just below what I'd removed. Dragged removed material off the trail. | |||
| 2023-07-21 | Ruth Bigio | Fern Spring Foot Path | 2 | Worked on upper part of Fern Spring FP, from summit of Buck Hill down to #2162. Cut back overgrown scrub oak and tall grasses. | Trail in good shape now. | Prolific patches of blueberries all along this trail, I could not resist stepping off the trail and pick. I ended up with a lot of insect bites, identified as chiggers. Blistery, very itchy, fortunately not ticks. | |
| 2023-07-30 | Bob Flagg | Massachuseuck Trail | 1.5 | Cleared a few dams of debris on several grade reversals on the stretch from 2162 to 2152. Removed two large branches blocking trail. | |||
| 2023-08-10 | Ruth Bigio | Fern Spring Foot Path | 1.5 | Worked on a section of Fern Spring. Removing low brush. | I continue to work on sections of my trail. | ||
| 2023-08-10 | Ruth Bigio | Bolton Foot Path | 1 | Brushing low bushes | Regular trail maintenance | ||
| 2023-08-22 | John Hahnfeld | Boyce Hill Trail | 0.33 | Minor debris clearing | |||
| 2023-08-22 | John Hahnfeld | Burnt Hill Path | 0.33 | Minor debris cleared | |||
| 2023-08-22 | John Hahnfeld | Doe Hollow Path | 0.75 | Removed approximately 18" of a branch protruding into the trail, and a possible snare for a mountain bike. Required about 45 minutes with pruning saw. | |||
| 2023-09-03 | Jennifer Mehigan | Tucker Hill Path | 1.5 | Picked up garbage, took note of future work needed. | Talia Szymanski, Daniel Becker | Large tree across path heading West on Tucker Hill Path from parking area on Chikatawbut. Before marker 2081. | |
| 2023-09-14 | Bob Vogel | Mattapan Trail (FBH) | 1 | Checked out trail., Clipped brush and picked up sticks. | Joanne Newton, Bill Doherty | none | |
| 2023-09-28 | Ruth Bigio | Andover Path | 1.5 | Cut back low hanging branches (thinking of upcoming snowfalls!), removed one blowdown. | There is a very large tree trunk on Andover recently fallen down. Maybe I can ask a friend to help me make two cuts to remove a section so that hikers don't have to climb over. I'd like to prevent hikers to reroute. It really needs a chainsaw! | Trail is otherwise in good condition. Bob Flagg is helping me with the bridge replacement. We still have to figure out who will pay for the wood. DCR will help transport the materials to the site. I hope it will happen later this fall, or early winter. | |
| 2023-10-17 | Ruth Bigio | 11 | Repainting Red Dot Loop for DCR | ||||
| 2023-10-17 | Ruth Bigio | 8.5 | Repainting Green Dot Loop for DCR | ||||
| 2023-10-20 | Bob Flagg | Skyline Trail | 1.5 | Cleaned trailhead on west side of Rt 28 of overgrowth back to rocks and away from trail. Also collected two small bags of trash. | |||
| 2023-11-07 | John Hahnfeld | Boyce Hill Trail | 0.5 | Basically an inspection - no work needed. | |||
| 2023-11-07 | John Hahnfeld | Burnt Hill Path | 0.5 | No work required - trail in pristine condition. | |||
| 2023-11-07 | John Hahnfeld | Doe Hollow Path | 0.5 | No work done. Trail in great shape except see below. | Just short of 2129 on Deer Hollow Path, there's a precarious leaner. As you continue to walk toward Chickatawbut road there are two additional leaners within a short distance. All of these seem quite dangerous to me, perhaps especially the third of the group. | ||
| 2023-12-15 | Ruth Bigio | Fern Spring Foot Path | 0.45 | Two trees down, one of them weeks ago. The other, came down last week. Charlie helped me remove both of them, involving sawing the trunks (each about 10-12 inches in diameter). Together we accomplished the task quite quickly, not counting the time to get to the site which was 30 minutes in and 30 minutes out). | Charles Crosby | ||
| 2023-09-21 | Chris Mullin | AMC Footpath | 0.5 | Brushing | |||
| 2023-06-02 | Chris Mullin | Buck Hill Trail | 0.5 | Cleared grade reversals | |||
| 2023-06-02 | Chris Mullin | Dover Trail | 0.5 | Brushing | |||
| 2023-06-02 | Chris Mullin | Prescott Foot Path | 0.5 | Brushing | |||
| 2023-08-23 | John Goldrosen | Angle Path | 1.5 | Cut and removed trees that were blocking trail on Angle Path. | |||
| 2023-09-20 | John Goldrosen | Forest Path | 4 | Cut and cleared trees and branches blocking or encroaching on Forest Path and other trails in Houghton's Pond Section. Cleared culvert under path at 2194, and cleared adjacent brook flowing into culvert. | |||
| 2023-09-29 | John Goldrosen | Tucker Hill Path | 1.5 | Cut and removed fallen trees encroaching on path. Trim overhanging foliage. |