ACF Update 1/20/20

The project is moving along, slowly but surely, with the snow finally coming in earnest this week. Unfortunately, the snow follows heavy rain and heavy "mashed potato" snow over the weekend. While the ground was starting to get nice and frozen last week, the rain softened it up and the snow then insulates it, making it harder to freeze. 

As I've discussed in one of my videos, Andrews has areas of both "summer ground" (areas where soils are well-drained and resilient) and "winter ground" (areas where soils are wetter and more sensitive, or that can only be accessed by passing through wet/sensitive areas). About 50% of the project (~40 acres) is in each category, so we're trying to be strategic about where we work when we have frozen ground. 

Loggers use a semi-scientific process of "freezing-in" trails to get their main roads/trails nice and frozen. Each logger has their own proprietary (if you ask them) recipe, but most approaches generally involve skidding a little wood over each main trail (sometimes with the top of the tree still attached so that branches can sweep the trail smooth) and then waiting overnight. Repeat this process several times with the right weather, and the trail will be as hard as concrete. "Freezing-in" or "freezing-down" trails is similar to trail grooming -- essentially compacting snow in the trail, which forces it to consolidate and freeze more easily. Like cross-country ski trails, this can often cause logging trails to resist thawing -- so that even as the woods around them is free of snow, you can still see white skid trails snaking up through the woods. This is a major benefit, as the trails will become more resilient to small warm-ups. 

Tim is following this process as we speak, working each main skid trail lightly and then allowing them to freeze. While last weekend was a definite setback, we are making progress!