Tree work (21)

Every so often I post about doing some trail clearing—specifically, of trees from trails. This morning I did just that yet again, together with the usual suspects, Steve and Beth, Lynn, and Bobby; but today was a little different—our territory wasn't the Ventana or Silver Peak Wilderness, down the coast in the Los Padres National Forest, but an area much closer to home: Jacks Peak Park.* Or rather, a trail outside the park, leading up from a senior housing enclave in Carmel Valley.

We learned about a particularly large and gnarly, poison oak–covered down tree on this unofficial trail via NextDoor—a website that I find totally annoying (so much whining!), but sometimes something useful rises to the surface. Last week a trail user reported this problem tree (it garnered an amazing amount of discussion—but that's NextDoor), and both Steve and I saw it. I told him I'd help. He enlisted a few more and organized an outing.

We started at the Jacks Peak parking lot, walked maybe a mile down Iris Trail and out of the park. We brought along two big crosscut saws, since the main tree was said to measure a whopping 30 inches, but there were two additional trees to deal with as well. 

And what did we find? Someone with a chainsaw had come along and made short work of those pesky trees!

So all we had to do was continue on down the trail to where Beth had brought the car.

Unfortunately, along the way we found a few more down trees. Or maybe I should say fortunately, because what were we there for anyway, except to cut some trees! 

All in all we tackled five Monterey pines, and we were done by 11:30 or 12. A very nice way to spend a morning.

* The park is named after 19th-century businessman and landowner David Jacks, who you will no doubt have heard of thanks to Monterey Jack cheese. That story isn't so pretty. But that's history for you.