UDSA, Forest Service
Trail Construction Publications
(Full Text)
The following publications were produced by the Recreation Program at the USDA, Forest Service, Missoula Technology and Development Center. They have been collected here to make them available to the trails community.
Some of the reports were prepared in the Adobe Acrobat format that preserves the formatting used in the printed reports. The Acrobat Reader software must be installed on your PC to view or print the reports.
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Acrobat Files Crosscut Saw Manual Miller, Warren. 1977. Crosscut Saw
Manual. Pub. 7771-2508-MTDC. Missoula, MT: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service, Missoula Technology and Development
Center. 40 p. |
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Hand Drilling & Breaking Rock Mrkich, Dale; Oltman, Jerry. 1984. Hand
Drilling and Breaking Rock. Tech. Rep. 8423-2602-MTDC. Missoula, MT:
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Missoula Technology
and Development Center. 31 p. |
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Handtools for Trail Work Hallman, Richard G. 1988. Handtools for trail work. Tech. Rep. 8823-2601-MTDC. Missoula, MT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Missoula Technology and Development Center. 49 electronic p. Describes the handtools commonly used by Forest Service trail crews for sawing, chopping, grubbing, digging and tamping, brushing, pounding and hammering, lifting and hauling, peeling and shaping, sharpening, and rehandling. Includes many illustrations of the tools. Keywords: axes, hammers, hand tools,
saws, sharpening, tools. |
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Signposts for Snow Trails Describes signpost systems that work in shallow, moderate, and deep snow-packs. Traditional signposts anchored firmly in the ground work best for trails with low and moderate amounts of snow. Free-floating signposts supported only by the snow around them work best in moderate to deep snow-packs. Telescoping signposts and signposts with temporary bases work for shallow, moderate, and deep snowpacks, but these systems are rarely used because they are more expensive and are harder to install and maintain than traditional or free-floating signposts. Keywords: signboards and signposts,
signs, snow trails, trails. |
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Cattleguards for Off-Highway Vehicle Trails Describes four cattle guards that can be used to replace gates for off-highway vehicle (OHV) trails. Drawings and photos of the cattle guards are included. Cattle guards prevent the perennial problem of gates being left open. Keywords: fencing, forest recreation,
gates, mechanized recreation, OHV, range management, stiles. |
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OHV Trail and Road Grading Equipment Describes light-duty grading equipment that can be pulled by an all-terrain vehicle to maintain wide trails and roads. Three pieces of equipment were tested on a sandy motor-cycle trail and a trailhead access road in the Francis Marion National Forest in South Carolina: a modified trail rock rake, a trail drag, and a commercial product, the Ultra Light Terrain Grader. All three pieces of equipment removed the washboarded "whoop-de-doos" in the sandy soil. Narrower equipment would have worked better on trails. The equipment worked very well on roads and offers an affordable alternative to heavier graders for light-duty use. Other trail-grading accessories and drags for small tractors are also described. Keywords: all-terrain vehicles, ATV,
forest trails, OHV, trail maintenance |
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Mountain Bike Accessories for Trail Work Describes how trail crews using mountain bikes have doubled production while logging out deadfall from trails on the Seward Ranger District. Shows a design for a bicycle-mounted chain saw carrier, and evaluates several single-wheeled bicycle trailers. Construction plans for a trailer tool holder and product sources are included. Keywords: bicycle trailers, mountain
bicycles, trail equipment, trail maintenance. |
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Boulder Buster-Breaking Rocks Without Explosives Describes using the Boulder Buster rather than explosives to break rocks larger than 2 meters in diameter or rock walls in 2-meter lifts. The Boulder Buster uses a cartridge resembling a shotgun shell and a column of liquid to generate a high-pressure wave. The wave fractures the surrounding structure. The Boulder Buster does not produce flyrock, so operators can be 25 meters away when they pull a lanyard to fire the device. Because the Boulder Buster is not an explosive device, operators do not require explosives certification. No special transportation or storage regulations apply. The Boulder Buster is a commercial product made in South Africa. During Forest Service field tests, the Boulder Buster was used to break a large rock that had fallen alongside a roadway, break rocks to lower spillways on two dams, and break a rock beneath a bridge where explosives could not have been used without damaging the bridge. Keywords: demolition, explosive
hazard, safety |
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An Ax to Grind-A Practical Ax Manual (9923-2823-MTDC) Weisgerber, Bernie; Vachowski, Brian, 1999. An Ax to Grind: A Practical Ax Manual. Technical Report, 9923-2823-MTDC. Missoula, MT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Missoula Technology and Development Center. 60 p. A practical and detailed handbook about axes and their historic and continuing usage. Describes types and patterns of axes and adzes, with many photos and illustrations. Shows how to hang (re-handle) and sharpen axes. Describes proper ax usage for tree felling, limbing, bucking, splitting, and hewing. Lists procurement sources and selected references. Keywords: axes, adzes, hand tools,
hewing, historic buildings, historic forestry practices, log cabin
restoration, traditional Americana |
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Crib Walls for Mountain Bike Trails Stoner, Mary Alice. 1992. Crib walls for mountain bike trails. Tech Tip 9223-2336-MTDC. Missoula, MT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Missoula Technology and Development Center. 4 p. Explains how to build a crib wall. The use of cribbing (a timber wall built with 4 x 4s) reduces resource impacts on switchbacks by stabilizing the soil and preventing bicyclists from cutting corners. The Los Padres National Forest developed the method of cribbing described in this Tech Tip. Keywords: erosion, reconstruction, switchbacks, trail maintenance, trails |
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Describes the development plans, fabrication and testing of fabric bags to be used for hauling gravel or fill material with packstock for trail work that could be mounted on packsaddles. Also tested and evaluated are similar bags built by the Professional Wilderness Outfitters Association, and some off-the-shelf fruit picking bags. Included in the report are test results, recommendations, a design pattern, and some alternatives. Keywords: bag, fabric construction, textiles, trail construction
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Stock-Drawn Equipment for Trail Work Includes photos of stock-drawn plows and grading equipment that can be used to build and maintain trails in the backcountry. Describes the advantages and disadvantages of different types of equipment. Includes sources where the equipment can be purchased. Keywords: forest trails; horses; maintenance; mules. |
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ATV Utility and Gravel Trailer Vachowski, Brian. 1997. ATV utility and gravel trailer. Tech Tip 9723-2310-MTDC. Missoula, MT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Missoula Technology and Development Center. 4 p. Describes a sturdy ATV trailer that features a dump bed and adjustable tailgate. The trailer is designed to be pulled behind an all-terrain vehicle. It has been used for several years on the Palouse Ranger District of the Clearwater National Forest to haul gravel and supplies for trail work. Construction drawings of the trailer are available through the Missoula Technology and Development Center (Drawing No. MTDC-928, ATV Utility Trailer). Keywords: ATVs, safety, trails, trail maintenance |
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Recommends ways to safely transport crosscut saws. The primary objective is to protect personnel and packstock from accidentally contacting the saw's cutting teeth. Keywords: safety at work, safety devices, saws |
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Trail Traffic Counters-An Update (9923-2835-MTDC) This report updates a 1994 report, Trail Traffic Counters for Forest Service Trail Monitoring (9423-2823-MTDC). Three types of trail counters were evaluated: active infrared, passive infrared, and seismic. The report recommends an active infrared system for most trail monitoring situations, because these systems provide the most accurate counts. One disadvantage of infrared systems is that they are harder to hide from vandals than seismic systems, particularly the active infrared systems that require bright reflectors to return the beam to the sending unit. Passive infrared systems should be reserved for situations that require a small, lightweight unit that must be set up quickly. Seismic systems may be used when problems with vandalism outweigh the need for accuracy. Keywords: inductive loops, infrared sensors, monitoring, seismic sensors, sensors, visitor use |
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Ripper Retrofit for the Sweco 480 Trail Dozer Describes modifications to the ripper system for the Sweco 480 Trail Dozer. When the operator backs the dozer without lifting the ripper system, slots that individual rippers fit into become elongated, allowing the rippers to fall out. Modifications to repair this problem and prevent future problems require welding and take about 2 hours. Newer versions of the Sweco 480 Trail Dozer ripper system include this modification. Keywords: equipment, trail maintenance |
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