Roaring Fork Project

Photos and description of the work done on the Roaring Fork Trail in the Indian Peaks

Wilderness.

By: Izzie Ditmarson

THE RIVER CROSSING BEFORE THE BRIDGE…

The bridge site facing south/west.

The bridge site facing north/east.

Your river crossing option before the

bridge was built and what people were using…

The river crossing after the bridge…The bridge facing south/west.

The bridge facing north/east.

The trail before the turnpike was built…Photo taken of the trail while

looking south (heading towards bridge site).

Again, photo taken while looking south. Note muddy conditions.

THE TRAIL AFTER THE TURNPIKE WAS BUILT…Below are photos taken in the same two areas as the ones taken on the previous slide, in the same direction (south).

Note that the muddiness is gone!

How did we do it???

With a lot of hard work and the assistance of awesome volunteers!!! Twelve volunteers from the Wilderness Volunteers group came out with three Forest Service employees, for

seven days, to help us accomplish our goals. We couldn’t have done it with out

them!

Photos of the Process

The Bridge Building Process

Left: Volunteers and FS employee, Troy Sitton, de-barking/skinning the 1st tree to be used as one of the stringers for the bridge. Right: Volunteers doing the same to the two sills that will be dug into the ground to rest the stringers on.

Left: A volunteer removing bark from the log and a couple more picking up the debris. It’s important to remove the bark from the tree so that it doesn’t hold water and rot the log. This makes the bridge last longer.

Right: Troy and a volunteer starting the plaining process. This is to create a flat surface for the hiker to walk on. You first make shallow cuts with a saw across the length of the log, then you chip them out with an ax or Pulaski (see next slide).

Left: A volunteer uses a Pulaski to chip out the pieces of wood that now come off easily after being cut, creating a safer walking surface by flattening the log and giving it some tread.

Right: A volunteer fine tuning the stringer by making small adjustments with an ax. Troy supervises to make sure he doesn’t take too much off the log.

Left: A volunteer helps Troy ax out a notch for the stringer/log to sit on in order to add stability. Right: Two volunteers take turns driving the rebar into the stringer and sill. This ensures that the bridge will not move or shift over time. Don’t be fooled, that small sledge hammer weighs a lot and it’s hard work forcing that rebar in, even though we pre-drill a hole for it first.

A finished bridge, at a length of 32 feet 10 inches, with all the

Wilderness Volunteers!

The Turnpike

ProcessLeft: Volunteers assisting FS employee Emmanuel

River on setting rocks for the turnpike. Right: Emmanuel considering how many more rocks he will

need for building.

Left: A volunteer sets a rock for the turnpike, and in that location, a rock culvert. We chose to build an all rock turnpike instead of wood and rock due to the completely saturated soil conditions. When building a turnpike, it is important to fill it with a variety of different sized rocks to allow water to permeate through the structure, before topping it with soil and gravel.

Right: Four volunteers haul a large rock for the turnpike

using a rock net.

Culverts: An Important

addition in a saturated area.Two rock culverts were created in the turnpike to

allow the ground water seepage to flow freely and to prevent it from backing up and flooding the turnpike. It will also allow snow melt to move

more quickly out of the area, allowing the ground to dry faster.

The two culverts are made entirely of rock for a more natural look in the

wilderness.

The finished product produces a stable and sustainable walking surface for

people and animals alike! Total length was 60 feet!

After seven days and a lot of hard work we

completed our projects!

A BIG THANKS to all the Wilderness Volunteers for their help! With out them

we would not have been able to accomplish our goals.