Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
Trail nearly done to bypass tunnel
|
||
|
Official: Work Camp crew better than heavy equipment
WARM RIVER - What took nature years to cover, the St. Anthony Work Camp quickly uncovered this week at the railroad tunnel north of Warm River.
The Caribou-Targhee National Forest commissioned the work camp crew of 10 to help move boulders and brush to build a detour trail suitable for bikers, hikers and all-terrain vehicles around the now-closed railroad tunnel.
The 557-foot-long tunnel had been part of the fun of the multiuse trail that follows the old railroad grade from Big Springs south to Bear Gulch. Part of the
tunnel caved in over the winter, leaving a pile of debris in the center of the structure and making it impassable and unsafe.
Jarrod Hansen, a recreational trails technician in the Ashton-Island Park Ranger District, was on the site this week overseeing work by the work camp crew.
Within a couple of hours, the crew can cleared enough huge boulders and rock from the original railroad bed around the mountain to begin to create a new trail.
"They really knocked it out," Hansen said. Originally the plan for building the new trail section was to use heavy equipment.
Hansen said the crew was better than heavy equipment.
The crew moved the rock aside and used it for retaining walls and borders for the trail.
Their supervisor, Dusty Winters, said the men earned the privilege of working on the trail crew, and they enjoy getting outdoors and doing hard, physical labor.
Some of the crew were admiring the scenery as well. Far down into the canyon, Warm River runs white and fast, and the forest stretches in all directions as far as is visible.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" one of the workers said, picking up a shovel to get back to digging out the rock.
With pick axes, shovels and other hand tools, they were doing hard labor. On Wednesday morning they were digging under one side of a huge boulder so they could tip it slightly to move it a bit off the trail. They did manage to get the estimated 6,000-pound rock far enough off the trail to allow ATV passage.
By next week, the crew and Forest Service workers should have gravel and signs in place to allow the trail to reopen to recreationists.
Costs are too prohibitive right now, but the plan is to eventually rebuild the historic tunnel, which was used by Union Pacific Railroad from 1915 until the train service was discontinued from Ashton to West Yellowstone, Mont.
According to the Ashton Centennial brochure, "Whistles and Smoke," passenger train service was discontinued from Ashton to West Yellowstone in 1960, and the line was abandoned in 1979.
Since then rails and ties have been removed, and the railroad bed has become a popular trail for many types of users.
WARM RIVER - What took nature years to cover, the St. Anthony Work Camp quickly uncovered this week at the railroad tunnel north of Warm River.
The Caribou-Targhee National Forest commissioned the work camp crew of 10 to help move boulders and brush to build a detour trail suitable for bikers, hikers and all-terrain vehicles around the now-closed railroad tunnel.
The 557-foot-long tunnel had been part of the fun of the multiuse trail that follows the old railroad grade from Big Springs south to Bear Gulch. Part of the
tunnel caved in over the winter, leaving a pile of debris in the center of the structure and making it impassable and unsafe.
Jarrod Hansen, a recreational trails technician in the Ashton-Island Park Ranger District, was on the site this week overseeing work by the work camp crew.
Within a couple of hours, the crew can cleared enough huge boulders and rock from the original railroad bed around the mountain to begin to create a new trail.
"They really knocked it out," Hansen said. Originally the plan for building the new trail section was to use heavy equipment.
Hansen said the crew was better than heavy equipment.
The crew moved the rock aside and used it for retaining walls and borders for the trail.
Their supervisor, Dusty Winters, said the men earned the privilege of working on the trail crew, and they enjoy getting outdoors and doing hard, physical labor.
Some of the crew were admiring the scenery as well. Far down into the canyon, Warm River runs white and fast, and the forest stretches in all directions as far as is visible.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" one of the workers said, picking up a shovel to get back to digging out the rock.
With pick axes, shovels and other hand tools, they were doing hard labor. On Wednesday morning they were digging under one side of a huge boulder so they could tip it slightly to move it a bit off the trail. They did manage to get the estimated 6,000-pound rock far enough off the trail to allow ATV passage.
By next week, the crew and Forest Service workers should have gravel and signs in place to allow the trail to reopen to recreationists.
Costs are too prohibitive right now, but the plan is to eventually rebuild the historic tunnel, which was used by Union Pacific Railroad from 1915 until the train service was discontinued from Ashton to West Yellowstone, Mont.
According to the Ashton Centennial brochure, "Whistles and Smoke," passenger train service was discontinued from Ashton to West Yellowstone in 1960, and the line was abandoned in 1979.
Since then rails and ties have been removed, and the railroad bed has become a popular trail for many types of users.
 |
 |
|
| Grand theft chaos | Rexburg employees step up to fitness |
Article Rating
| Comment Blog | |
Comments are limited to 200 words or less. |
COMMENT RULES Do not post:
If you believe that a commenter has not followed these guidelines, please use our online complaint form. Thank you for your comments! |
