Keeping trails open near Fourmile Lake and at Lake Ewauna

By Lee Juillerat for the Ashland.news

A cooperative effort that involved more than 50 people from Rogue Valley and Klamath Basin outdoor groups worked together recently to upgrade trails in the Fourmile Lake area.

“Our No. 1 goal is to have inter-group collaboration,” explained Heather Berg, a retired Forest Service ranger who organized and coordinated the two-day work party. “We all have the same goals, we all love trails.”

The trail lovers included volunteers from the Klamath Trails Alliance, Southern Oregon Nordic Club, Siskiyou Mountain Club, Klamath Basin Outdoor Group, Klamath County Happy Hikers, Fremont-Winema National Forest, Pacific Crest Trail Association, and members of the High Desert Trail Riders and Sourdough Chapter of the Back Country Horsemen.

“Trails connect people,” Berg said, noting the network of Rye Spur and neighboring trails are used by equestrians, cross country skiers, hikers, and mountain bikers. “We all love trails.”

Berg, whose Forest Service career included five years as the Klamath District Ranger for the Fremont-Winema, coordinated the work weekend. She estimated the planning process — scouting trails, lining up working groups and equipment, and preparing job assignments — involved more than 80 hours.

The work began the morning of Saturday, June 28 when volunteers met at the Rye Spur Horse Camp trailhead near Fourmile Lake. After joining into pre-assigned groups and collecting tools needed for their specific assignments — cross cut and hand saws, McClouds, post hole diggers, rakes, chainsaws — they hiked, drove or rode horseback to designated work sites. Areas included sections of the Rye Spur Trail, Billie Creek Nordic Loop, and the Badger Lake, and Lower Bull Swamp trails. Some remained at the Horse Camp for a variety of tasks. while a sign crew dug and installed sign posts at trail junctions.

Experienced and certified chainsaw operators cut and cleared downed trees. A team led by Ian Stone and Wayne Chevalier, for example, cut and cleared 14 trees while others reconstructed a portion of the trail and cleared thickly brushed areas. One crew member, Cate Bendock, rode her horse, Cosmos, while her mule, Whiskey, carried tools to work sites.

Usually it’s simple enough — dig some holes, stick in a sign post, and fill the hole.

Oops! Even with a gas auger that tunneled into the ground as one person directed its up-down movement and another helped support the heavy machine, it wasn’t easy.

Unseen tree roots and, much worse, hidden rocks buried under the ground resulted in a sometimes impenetrable tangle. Sometimes the auger was moved a few inches and sometimes it and its operators moved to a new target to try again. Sometimes the holes weren’t quite as deep as wanted — ideally about 3-feet — but, instead, were buttressed by layers of dirt and rock.

Along with the auger operators, other volunteers used a post-hole digger and a rock bar and, more often, hands and fingers, to root out rocks. Once the hole was deemed deep enough, an 8-foot-tall post was placed in the gap, the gaps around the post were layered with reclaimed dirt and a variety of rocks — smaller ones in the hole and larger ones to further buttress the post above the ground.

A crew that included Ron Celestres, Berg and Liane Venzke began the effort at the trail crossing near Fourmile Lake after a morning spent tackling other chores. Three of the seven posts were put in place Saturday while four more were staked Sunday. The posts will soon hold trail markers for hikers, mountain bikers and cross country skiers.

Some people stayed Saturday night at the Rye Spur Horse Camp and were joined the morning of Sunday, June 29, by other volunteers, including many who also worked Saturday. A crew that assisted with various camp-related tasks also helped prepare food for the overnighters and snacks and beverages for other volunteers.

On Sunday, volunteers completed work on a 4.6-mile segment of the Billie Creek Nordic Trail, which Berg said was necessary because no clearing had been done for about 10 years.

“That’s going to make it a lot better for cross country skiers,” Berg said.

Sunday’s work also included continued trail clearing on the Badger Lake Trail, which had more than 50 trail-blocking fallen trees.

“Badger was just as bad this year as it was last year,” Berg said, noting some trails require annual clearing. “When we don’t visit some trails every year, they can get extremely difficult to maintain.”

It wasn’t all work. A wide variety of door prizes such as day packs, first aid kits, mugs, sweatshirts, and more, donated by regional groups and businesses, were given as “thanks” to volunteers. In addition, many Saturday volunteers were treated to beverages and a late afternoon barbecue, while those who stayed overnight were provided with a Sunday morning breakfast.

Berg said the various groups had mostly worked individually until an expanded group collaboration effort was organized last year. The trail maintenance weekends began more than 40 years ago by the Back Country Horsemen, who were joined by mountain bikers about a decade ago.

“The objective,” Berg emphasized, “is not only to clear trails but to bring the organizations together.”

Before last weekend’s effort, where 532 hours were tallied during the two days, she said volunteers from various groups had already logged more than 1,600 hours repairing, building, and maintaining trails.

“I’m not surprised because the communities have really been stepping up,” Berg said of the number of volunteers. “The communities have really embraced and put their backs into what they want to see – trails for themselves and for others.”

Email freelance writer Lee Juillerat at [email protected].