Clearing Deadfall on the trail?

[Iridium]

Several of the trails out here had a pine beetle infestation years ago and have quite a bit of standing dead trees. Naturally this leads to deadfall being a common issue. What do y'all carry with you to clear deadfall on the trail? Please be specific as to the make and model of the axe, hand saw, chainsaw etc.

 

[PonoAdventures]

I carry a Silky Katanaboy 500mm Folding XL teeth with me. Works pretty well and takes up little space. For heavy tree work maybe I’ll get a chainsaw but it is good for emergency clearings

 

[Boostpowered]

Bauer 20v chainsaw from harbor freight, basic axe no idea of brand came from rural king, machete from Camillus, gerber strong-arm camp knife,, 13k winch, 20k snatch block, 20k tow straps, various shackles, 10 ft of trucker chain, sometimes the dreaded high lift to get a strap or chain under a log.
If your asking how we handle the fallen tree. We drive over em if possible, winch to the side of trail, cut and move if we really have to, or just turn around.

 

[Iridium]

Basically i was more asking about the tools, I generally hope to avoid cutting anything and hope to drive over or around (as long as i dont got too far off trail to do it) but I know its a distinct possibility for me to be trapped by deadfall where its not possible to drive around. I generally am looking for suggestions about which tools y'all have found helpful in clearing dead fall. Thank you

 

[Billiebob]

No way around it, cut it first and winch or chain it to drag it off the road if you cannot drive over it.
Or cut it into firewood lengths for the next guy to pack out.

Before


After


And you need the PPE as well as the chainsaw. Hat/Ear/Face Protection, Chaps and Gloves.
And I always say take a chainsaw safety course BEFORE you fire it up.
This is my setup when I go out to clear trails.

 

[Smileyshaun]

Big word of warning , if you don’t have experience with running saws and strapping things properly take some classes or at the least do some research. People do die or become seriously injured from saws bucking , straps slipping off or breaking and sending hardwear flying . If your in doubt of the safety of clearing a log just turn around .

 

[Billiebob]

Big word of warning , if you don’t have experience with running saws and strapping things properly take some classes or at the least do some research. People do die or become seriously injured from saws bucking , straps slipping off or breaking and sending hardwear flying . If your in doubt of the safety of clearing a log just turn around .

THIS ^^^ I live in logging country and even professional fallers all take a safety recert course EVERY year. And these are guys falling trees all day, every day.

And sharpen the chain before EVERY use. They work great with a fresh edge.

 

[M Rose]

Basically i was more asking about the tools, I generally hope to avoid cutting anything and hope to drive over or around (as long as i dont got too far off trail to do it) but I know its a distinct possibility for me to be trapped by deadfall where its not possible to drive around. I generally am looking for suggestions about which tools y'all have found helpful in clearing dead fall. Thank you

Don’t drive around the dead falls, this leads to erosion of the mountain side.

Notice the ruts in the bottom picture, this is from one year of people driving around the end of the small tree... the top picture is a larger tree that had a full blown road driving a round the tree... we ended up using the down tree as a road block for the bypass.

 

[Billiebob]

I generally hope to avoid cutting anything and hope to drive over or around (as long as i dont got too far off trail to do it)

As said in Post 8

The drive around and damaging the watershed, creating more erosion is exactly why resource companys gate access or dig a ditch across decommissioning roads....

Do your part, either clear the deadfall or turn around and go home.

Tread Lightly, learn what that means.

Sorry if that sounds rude,,, but I am passionate about maintaining access.

 

[Iridium]

As said in Post 8

The drive around and damaging the watershed, creating more erosion is exactly why resource companys gate access or dig a ditch across decommissioning roads....

Do your part, either clear the deadfall or turn around and go home.

Tread Lightly, learn what that means.

Sorry if that sounds rude,,, but I am passionate about maintaining access.

Doesn't sound rude at all, to me driving around is the last resort if I need to get home and am trapped by dead fall. I agree its not worth it to ruin a trail to get to a camping spot. I do sincerely appreciate all the advice

 

[Dusther210]

I like clearing the dead trees off the trail, eventually I want to get a ryobi 40v chainsaw once I decide the size I want and get the funds for it . For now, I just recently picked up a “fireman’s axe” from harbor freight because the weight, size and price made sense at the time.

Last year in MA we came across this massive pile of downed trees. There was a park ranger parked nearby. As we were turning the truck around to talk to the ranger we noticed a freshly cut path going around the trees. Seems like they just decided to leave the trees and make a new trail going around it.
We just decided to take the new trail and the ranger didn’t bother us

I included pictures of the blockage and us taking the new path around it. I would like to go back and see if they cleared it or not