Blowdown Brook Strikes Again

Mission Accomplished!

There's a reason we call an unnamed stream at Indian Well "Blowdown Brook."  Every year some big tall trees blow down near the brook. And here we go for 2024! This along the Paugussett Trail about half a mile north of the beach access trail. 

Two large oaks 

Where's the trail??

We received an email last week from a hiker about multiple trees down on the trail (thank you!!) and were horrified to find the trail almost completely blocked. A pair of big tall oaks had uprooted and fallen across the winding trail in three spots, taking some smaller trees with them. Some of the blockage was the main tree trunks, over two feet in diameter. Further down the trail it was large branches and the canopy. 

I went out first with a small battery-powered chainsaw to scope out the problem.  At first I thought the trail would need to be rerouted, but I couldn't find a better way through the woods.  So I did what I could and cleared out small stuff to direct people where to go. 

When your chainsaw is too small for the job
but is better than nothing

When the weekend arrived, Terry Gallagher sharpened up his big chainsaw and I joined him for safety reasons. After looking at the mess and taking chronic erosion issues into account, we decided to tighten one of the curves so that the trail levelled out for a bit. This would force rainwater runoff off of the trail, and there would be less chainsawing. In the meantime, I worked on erosion issues up and down the hillside. The photos below show what one part of the blowdown looked like before and after clearing and shifting the trail location (looking southbound down the hill):

"Before." The trail is to the right under the big log

"After": The trail was shifted uphill to the left, which
should help with drainage.

One of the tree trunks turned out to be the trickiest because it pinched Terry's saw. He had to detach the bar and chain and we came back the next day with a second saw. 

Had to leave the chainsaw bar
and come back the next day

Finishing up that last log

Here's another before and after, showing that it's not just logs but lots of smaller stuff that has to be moved first, especially where canopy branches land. And why it was hard for people to figure out where the trail was. 

"Before"

"After"