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When you come to the park watch for our rare
orange tufted ADK speed bumps (rocks) |
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In the above pictures are Zach and Stephen C.
spending the 4th of July releasing one into the wild
Check out the slide show showing how we caught
a whole family in the nest
Here
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Ever wonder what goes into building a
trail?
First you have to dig out all the "duff." This
is all the organic matter that has built up over the centuries
on top of the mineral soil. Then you have to fill in the big
holes with large rocks followed by sand. Tamp the sand down and
then put the topping medium on and tamp that into the hard
surface you see on our trails. |
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- In the picture above Stephen E. and Zach are moving sand and
rock to build the base for the trail to the Grampus Overlook
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- (Above) Further along the trail Peter Jensen and his
crew are setting the posts for the overlook platform. If
you look carefully you can see how much fill has to be
brought in.
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And here's what the trail to the Grampus Lake Overlook looks
like today
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| On another day, out on the long
trail to Handsome Pond, Dwayne works with Peter's crew on a
bridge over
300 foot long across a wet area |
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| "Hey Dwayne stop watching me and get back to
work" |
At least when Allie looks up she's working |
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| Josh is the master bridge builder
and constructed all of the corners himself. So when you are on
your way to Handsome Pond say thanks that he designed the bridge
with easy turns. |
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| Meanwhile back at the Welcome
Center |
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| Peter uses the excavator to rough
out the trail and Sam comes along behind to clean up the mess |
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| Here's Sam doing the finish work on the
culvert to keep the trail dry |
Another view of Sam at work with help from
Erin |
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| From time to time a tree must be
removed. Here's a brief look at how we do this in a safe way. |
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| Stephen E. checks the gas and oil before going to
the tree |
After determining the lean of the tree and deciding where he
wants it to fall, Stephen clears the brush around the tree to
lessen the risk to himself from trip hazards. |
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| He then makes a down cut of 60
degrees followed by an up cut of 30 degrees to make the 90
degree notch toward where he wants the tree to go. |
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| Stephen then bores through the tree and leaving
the appropriate sized hinge cuts back to make the strap the
correct thickness. After the wedges are driven in to help push
the tree in the direction Stephen plans it to go, he cuts the hinge and clears the
area. |
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| On the left Stephen takes a moment to reflect on his skills
before moving on to other jobs. After the tree is down Dwayne and Zach limb it out in
preparation for the log to be hauled out of the woods where it
will be cut into boards that will be used next year after they
are dry to make benches for the park. |
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| When ever the staff is working
hard some fans show up to watch |
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| And so ends our Behind the Scenes
look at John Dillon Park 
Come on out and visit us some time |
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Back to the Home Page
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