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| Hiking | 3.00 Miles |
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| | Hiking | 3.00 Miles | | | |
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| no partners | | Several folks have complained/commented about the brush encroachment problem on the Highline/AZT near Pine Spring. Some years ago the Arizona Trail Association won $10k based partially on a video about volunteering, and my cut of that windfall was a power brush cutter. (Imagine a weed eater but where the whirling string should be there is a circle saw blade.) The machine is made to order for the Highline situation.
But first you have to get the machine to the problem, in this case up the Red Rock Spring trail (mile 1) then east along the trail to a bit short of Pine Spring (mile ~2). At probably 25+ pounds of machine, fuel, blades, etc. it took some doing. Not at all certain I could get it done, I didn’t involve anyone else and thus avoided any possible embarrassment in case I had to bail out.
The first attempt went quite well, so two weeks later we were back, this time about a mile east of where we ended the first week. Access was again a concern, so we explored FR 1138 and then a quarter mile of bushwhacking to the trail. Saturday morning we went high but returning at the end of the day we followed a drainage and discovered either an ancient cowboy trail or a very well used game trail that follows along the drainage, which made things much easier for Sunday.
Access challenges aside, once on site the power brusher is an awesome machine. The routine is to cut like mad for a tank of gas, then clear the cut brush with a pitchfork, repeat. The blades are good for about half the day assuming you don’t get them in the rocks too often.
Sunday morning I had just started the machine when two backpackers came around the corner, startled by the noise and with eyes like saucers, looking at me in full regalia—the running machine hanging from a shoulder strap harness, a hardhat/face shield/ear muffs, and a pitchfork.
The photos aren’t exactly before-and-after’s but they do illustrate the near-immediate, dramatic improvements that can be made in a few hours.
More fun times on the AZT. |
| _____________________
Shawn
The bear went over the mountain to see what he could see. |
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