Digital Image File

Pacific Crest Trail Association Hamp Williams Pass Root Ball Extravaganza.

Bureau of Land Management Ridgecrest Resource Area, 11 - 20 October 2002.
PCTA Project Leader: Jerry Stone; PCTA Region 1 Trail Coordinator: Pete Fish;
Backcountry Horsemen of California Project Leader: Dave Foster; Lead Swamper: Campy.

What we have here is a bunch of pictures which show what this year's "root ball Extravaganza" was all about. In 1991 the Pacific Crest Trail was relocated to Hamp Williams Pass and into a forest of mixed scrub oak and grey pine. The legend goes that back then, five trailbuilders cut a swath through the scrub oak, leaving a wonderful trail but one which soon became a trail-maintainer's nightmare. The roots and stumps that they left behind sprouted a thick growth of branches which continually overgrew the trail.

The time had come a couple years ago for Pete's crews to begin removing the sources of this overgrowth. Of course the only way to do this was to dig out and physically remove the offending root balls. Someone discovered that the root balls were best dealt with by way of a "GripHoist" (a tradename), which is a man-powered winch. After a little digging, a chain would be attached, and the GripHoist would forcefully pull the root balls out of the ground.

The program is broken down into the following chapters:

Settling In at the Project Site
Our Class: GripHoist 101
Our Class: Root Ball 101
Things We Do at Base Camp

Click "Next Page" to begin viewing the program.

Next Page ||| This is the Index Page