Forum Index > Trail Talk > Trimming Brush on Kendall Peak Lakes Road
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rossb
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rossb
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PostSun Oct 07, 2018 12:58 pm 
The Kendall Peak Lakes road is a popular winter destination for folks on skis and snowshoes. But it gets overgrown in a lot of places, and I figured it could use some work. Almost all of this would be Alder, most of which will be around an inch thick. I don't expect to cut anything that is very big. There are a couple old logs down over the road, and I know one of them could be cut (making for a smoother pathway). We could work on that as well, if you want to get your lumberjack on. But I was just planning on clearing the small stuff from the road. If anyone wants to join me, I think we could make things a lot better up there. I would buy you a beer at BruBru for your efforts and provide the transportation if you live in the greater Seattle area (or you are on the way).

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Bernardo
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PostSun Oct 07, 2018 4:21 pm 
rossb, when clearing alder, are you cutting branches hanging over/into the trail or saplings growing in the trail? How do you deal with alder saplings growing in/on the trail?

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rossb
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PostSun Oct 07, 2018 6:29 pm 
Saplings on the road, not overhanging. I just trim them as low as possible. Lots of people trim them in the winter, but it is a lot tougher (obviously).

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DIYSteve
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PostSun Oct 07, 2018 7:45 pm 
Thanks for doing this rossb. I'd offer to join you if I were further along with my TKR recovery.

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rossb
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PostMon Oct 08, 2018 12:56 pm 
Thanks for the encouragement -- too bad about the knee. I still have all my original parts, but I know the day is coming. Hopefully you will be good to go by the time we reach ski season.

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Randito
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PostMon Oct 08, 2018 1:19 pm 
Bernardo wrote:
How do you deal with alder saplings growing in/on the trail?
When I've been doing ski trail maintenance at Blewett pass and other areas, I cut startup trees horizontally as close to the ground as my saw will go without banging into the soil. My preferred trail trimming tool is a "replacement" pruning saw blade bolted onto an replacement shovel handle. Its lighter and easier to maneuver than a full on tree pruning saw.

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DIYSteve
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PostMon Oct 08, 2018 2:32 pm 
rossb wrote:
Hopefully you will be good to go by the time we reach ski season.
Thanks. I'll ski this season. I'm up to 7 miles flattish hiking. Hiked 1200' verts yesterday (probably overdoing it). I walked 18 holes of golf today. But I'm not quite ready to hike up there, whack brush and get down. My bud and I were talking last year about the need to brush out the road in spots.

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Bernardo
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PostMon Oct 08, 2018 2:33 pm 
That sounds like a good tool. If those cut saplings sprout shoots, it must be a very tough battle over the years until some shade slows the growth.

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rossb
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PostMon Oct 08, 2018 3:00 pm 
Yeah, but keep in mind this is a road that is used primarily in the winter. Brush a couple feet high is a real pain while hiking, but would be buried in snow when most people would encounter it. So basically it just buys folks a few years (and is much better than trimming in the winter, when you are cutting much higher). I agree though, the evergreen trees (the ones that will eventually dominate and provide shade) can't go fast enough.

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Randito
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PostMon Oct 08, 2018 3:07 pm 
FWIW: I hike this road in the summer. There is path down the center. I enjoy walking the road with my grumpy old dog off leash and pretty much having the place to ourselves.

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Backpacker Joe
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PostMon Oct 08, 2018 4:53 pm 
How long is this road from the parking area to the lakes trail?

"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide." — Abraham Lincoln
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rossb
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PostMon Oct 08, 2018 5:19 pm 
Backpacker Joe wrote:
How long is this road from the parking area to the lakes trail?
About four miles one way. Much of it is open, and doesn't have brush. Some of it has a bunch. I'm not sure if I can take all that I want to take out (especially if I am alone) but I figure I could make a good dent. I may hike to the lake (because I've never been to it in the summer) and walk back. Or I may trim from the bottom (since the worst mess is towards the bottom).

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PostMon Oct 08, 2018 6:00 pm 
rossb wrote:
the worst mess is towards the bottom
confused.gif Last ski season the worst brush was 3600'-3900', i.e., the straight stretch in the most recent clear cut.

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Malachai Constant
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PostMon Oct 08, 2018 6:10 pm 
Used to drive up there in the 00,s as a shortcut to PCT and Mts. Thompson and Kendal no brush then wink.gif

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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PostMon Oct 08, 2018 7:50 pm 
Malachai Constant wrote:
no brush then
The stretch I mention in my prior post was clear cut in the 1990s. The brush took a few years to grow up to nuisance level. When we first skied that road in the 1980s, it was all pretty big trees.

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