Trail Maintenance
With a Manly Tool
The Stihl 026 Chainsaw
My Adventure in the Woods
Do you remember the last time you were riding in the mountains on your favorite trail, just putting the power to the ground. Shredding the snow. Not a care in the world. What was it that you remember most? The beautiful scenery of the mountains around you? The exhilarating sensations of riding your motorized toy? Easy now. How about that tree limb that clipped you on the head at 45 mph or the stump that showed its affection for your skis and front suspension as you set up for a tight left-hander, wide open of course. I can guarantee, it would be the tree or stump that gave you a religious experience that came to mind and not the scenic views. We always remember the trees, the rocks, and errant deer in my case, or the stumps that ruin a days adventure the longest. That's mostly because some financial pain is almost also incurred. My deer hit for instance, cost several hundred dollars to recover from.
Along the same line, we tend to remember the condition of the trails longer when they're a disaster as opposed to when they're as smooth as the lake's ice. I don't ride in my local area any longer since there is no established clubs to take care of the few trails we do have. The desert ATV guys have it made when they ride in their sandy world, no maintenance other than taking your trash with you at the end of the day. This can't be said for the snowmobile and ATV guys who ride in the mountains however.
I'm surprised by the fact that so few enthusiast realize that the trails are not self maintaining. It's not a cool beaver or pleasant black bear that removed a fallen tree from the last ice storm. It's a dedicated group of club members and volunteers that venture out, in some cases year around, to keep the trails free of downed trees, rocks and stumps that can end a days ride or even a life. I always like to bring this up at the trail heads and during lunches when I hear a rider bitching about the quality of the trails. It's always about the ruts, washouts, downed trees, and lack of snow grooming or trash on the trail. I simply ask if they've ever thought the clubs trails they're riding on are not groomed because they don't have sufficient groomers to keep up with the trails. The response is usually something on the grounds of, "Hey buddy, I'm out here to ride my sled, not some work sled towing a plow." They typify the issue at hand. We all need to chip in to make the trails the best for everyone.
I was recently offered, ok coerced and threatened, into becoming one of those volunteers for a weekend of trail maintenance. I wont mention the club so I can protect the guilty and the innocent bystanders. I figured the trip would be interesting and I'd get a bit of badly needed exercise too. I was right about the exercise part, I worked my preverbal tail off the entire weekend. It was an eye opening experience, that still makes me laugh at times.
The objective of the group was pretty simple, make the trails passable to a snowmobile this coming season. We had to remove several trees that had fallen during the summer and few that the local loggers left for us. We also had a log bridge that had to be repaired after a creek overflowed and moved it. When I enquired as to what I should bring I was given a rather interesting answer. "What do you have to bring?" When I enquired a second time, I was told I could bring a chain saw if I had one, a folding shovel, and work gloves. I had the shovel and gloves, but the chain saw was not my normal garage item. I also brought along a helmet for the ATV's. The forest service normally coordinates events like this with the clubs when the land is state, but this was all private property so the rules of the game changed considerably. When the state guys are around this is a formal affair with safety at the front of the list. They dictate what can be cut and what is moved or the trail moved in some cases. If this was state land, no ATV's would be permitted and we'd all be walking or riding horses. I'm glad this was private land, since I like horsepower, not horses, and the ATV is a great mule for pulling whatever off the trail. Besides, horses are too big and they have a mind of their own. Another difference when the state runs things, no alcohol and the day's run like a work detail. Our trip was, more casual. At our breaks for instance, a few had a few too many beers.
When I showed up for duty in the morning we had a pretty motley crew waiting for us. Free labor, read volunteers, is not always the best labor. A few hours into the project, we found our first challenge. The wayward bridge that had to be moved. We couldn't maneuver the ATV's to pull it back into place so we moved to plan B. Large guys that simply lifted it and moved it back into position. This was starting to be hard work, but the views were great and the conversation along the trail - different. Did you know that you can give a horse an enema with a garden hose? A Caterpillar D6 bulldozer is really a great snow plow if you have a big driveway. I just use an 8 hp John-Deere, what a wimp I must be. The most informative conversation, was the in-depth comparison of whose horse was the most randy creature in the pasture. I guess that has certain bragging rights associated with it.
Challenge number two was a tree that had fallen on the trail. The tree was about 10" in diameter and the ATV's were not going to move it. Plan two was to break out the chain saws. Logging is an Olympic sport in the area so we had a few hum dinger chainsaws along. One had so much compression that you had to put your foot thru the handle and pull like hell to get it started. The bar was a good 30" and the saw had teeth that looked like sharks teeth. The sound was unreal once fired up. It looked sort of like an open class saw that you see on TV with the pipe the look like a sleds single pipe. This one didn't have the pipe however. The skilled operator was of course in shorts and t-shirt, what their was of it, and a baseball cap. That was it, no helmet, no goggles, no protective chaps, and no gloves. He did have on boots though. He cut into that tree and chips started flying. The tree was a goner in a few minutes, but I was more concerned about the volunteers. Because when this guy killed himself, we'd be asked to carry him out of the woods. He was too big to carry and he wouldn't fit on the ATV's rack so we would've had no choice but drag him behind the ATV for medical help. He was also one of the guys who had a 'few' during the breaks.
The tree was gone and the bridge moved back into position with brut force, the day was finally over. On day two, we set out again, but our fearless king of the woods with the chainsaw from hell was not able to attend. He did leave the steroid pumped chainsaw (a 8 hp toy according to the owner) for the group to use if we needed it. This was not a very smart decision in hindsight, if he would have known how his baby would be used later. A rotating tiller and a rock thrower are the easiest ways to describe what happened to it. The thing was just too large and powerful to be handled by the weekend warrior who is helping his local club out. I was not going to touch it for two reasons: (1.) I've never used a chainsaw before and (2.) I like my arms and legs attached.
On my way home, I reflected upon the weekends adventure and realized my mission and inspiration for this article. DO A CHAIN SAW TEST FOR A SNOWMOBILE E-ZINE! I'd do the research and find a chainsaw that was more suited to removing a few fallen trees, not defoliating the mountains, learn how to use it, and write the review. This was a leap since this is the first item I've ever tested that I didn't ride or put on something that I did ride.
My accounts of the trail maintenance weekend may have been amusing, but the weekend could have turned into a nightmare. It's important to help your local club, but you need to be aware of the dangers that can be presented to you also.
The rest of my article is sort of ground breaking for the Snowmobile Online section of Off-Road.com. A complete review of a chainsaw! I went to my local Stihl dealer, the nations leading brand, and asked the experts on what would be the correct sized tool for the job. I wanted reliability, compactness, power of course, lots of safety features and ease of use. The dealer, OTT Supply in Mt Bethel PA, was super in helping select the model. When I picked up the saw, the dealer went through a more thorough checklist than with my last sled purchase. Safety procedures, operation, adjustments, and maintenance are all covered by the dealer with the purchaser. As you'll see, the chain saw has come a long way and an incredible amount of engineering is poured into the Stihl saws.
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| Stihl offers multiple configurations of chains and bars for the cutting your needs. This bar and chain is designed to limit kickback, something you want to avoid. |
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| The casting quality is perfection. With the plastic covers and filter removed, the 026 provides easy access for all the vitals |
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| A detail of the carb with filter off and the plastic covers removed. A beautifully designed engine. |
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| A detail of the two piece filter element. No cheap sponge, a nice felt unit that can be easily cleaned. |
baynardm@off-road.com
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