TM Report: Cockaponset SF / Weber Woods

Date of activity: September 14, 2010
Condition of trail(s): Dry
Trail Ambassador Name: Don Hazuka
Town: Westbrook / Deep River
Location: Cockaponset SF / Weber Woods
Work accomplished: Today I again parked in the west lot off 145 (empty except for me) to tend to the remaining couple of trees across the trails that I had been granted permission to work on- one on the blue and one on the white; the trees were located on sections of the trails (both old logging roads) that are very fast with good visibility from both directions; the plan was to cut an optional line off center in each so that riders who would prefer to keep cranking along could skip the up and over; in the first case when I removed about a two foot section, the weight of the remaining length in the woods caused the trail section to rise up a bit. I grabbed a couple of appropriate stones and wedged them under on either side, which provided stability and nice ramps.

 

In the second case, I cut away a section far off center and shoved it into the woods leaving the remaining section rock solid in place; in both cases saw chips were spread about and ground cover broadcast all around;

  

I packed up and headed back to the lot where I was met by a DEP guy in a pickup who must have received a call about the chainsaw noise. We spoke briefly and he thought I was stealing wood until I explained I was conducting approved trail maintenance and I was a NEMBA member. That’s all he had to hear; he wished me a good day and was on his way; I’m thinking that whenever I plan on using my chainsaw for work, I should give my LM the heads up as to the date and approximate time so if a complaint call comes in he knows why and won’t have to bother sending anyone out.
Email: donald.hazuka@covidien.com
Trail(s) worked: Blue and white
What was the time of day?: Late afternoon
Duration (hours): 1.0 hrs
Distance (miles): N/A
Encounters and Observations: Lots of squirrels dropping acorns everywhere and an alert DEP guy in the parking lot.