The document describes work done on the Roaring Fork Trail in the Indian Peaks Wilderness to improve a river crossing and muddy area. Twelve volunteers and three Forest Service employees spent seven days building a new 32-foot-long bridge and 60-foot-long rock turnpike. Photos show the volunteers debarking logs, notching stringers, setting rocks, and hauling materials. The work eliminated muddiness and created a stable, sustainable surface for hikers and animals.

1. Photos and description of the work done on the
Roaring Fork Trail in the Indian Peaks
Wilderness.
By: Izzie Ditmarson

2. The bridge site facing south/west. The bridge site facing north/east.

3. 
Your river crossing option before the
bridge was built and what people were
using…

4. The bridge facing south/west. The bridge facing north/east.

5. Photo taken of the trail while looking
south (heading towards bridge site).
Again, photo taken while looking
south. Note muddy conditions.

6. Below are photos taken in the same two areas as the ones taken on
the previous slide, in the same direction (south). Note that the
muddiness is gone!

7. 
How did we do
it???
With a lot of hard work and the assistance of
awesome volunteers!!! Twelve volunteers from
the Wilderness Volunteers group came out with
three Forest Service employees, for seven days, to
help us accomplish our goals. We couldn’t have
done it with out them!

8. 
Left: Volunteers and FS employee, Troy Sitton, de-
barking/skinning the 1st tree to be used as one of
the stringers for the bridge. Right: Volunteers doing
the same to the two sills that will be dug into the
ground to rest the stringers on.

9. Left: A volunteer removing bark
from the log and a couple more
picking up the debris. It’s important
to remove the bark from the tree so
that it doesn’t hold water and rot
the log. This makes the bridge last
longer.
Right: Troy and a volunteer starting
the plaining process. This is to create
a flat surface for the hiker to walk
on. You first make shallow cuts with
a saw across the length of the log,
then you chip them out with an ax
or Pulaski (see next slide).

10. Left: A volunteer uses a
Pulaski to chip out the pieces
of wood that now come off
easily after being cut, creating
a safer walking surface by
flattening the log and giving it
some tread.
Right: A volunteer fine tuning
the stringer by making small
adjustments with an ax. Troy
supervises to make sure he
doesn’t take too much off the
log.

11. Left: A volunteer helps Troy ax out a notch for the
stringer/log to sit on in order to add stability.
Right: Two volunteers take turns driving the rebar
into the stringer and sill. This ensures that the
bridge will not move or shift over time. Don’t be
fooled, that small sledge hammer weighs a lot and
it’s hard work forcing that rebar in, even though we
pre-drill a hole for it first.

12. A finished bridge, at a length of 32 feet 10
inches, with all the Wilderness Volunteers!

13. Left: Volunteers assisting FS employee Emmanuel River on
setting rocks for the turnpike. Right: Emmanuel considering
how many more rocks he will need for building.

14. Left: A volunteer sets a rock for the turnpike, and
in that location, a rock culvert. We chose to build
an all rock turnpike instead of wood and rock due
to the completely saturated soil conditions. When
building a turnpike, it is important to fill it with a
variety of different sized rocks to allow water to
permeate through the structure, before topping it
with soil and gravel.
Right: Four volunteers haul a
large rock for the turnpike using
a rock net.

15. 
Culverts: An Important addition
in a saturated area.
Two rock culverts were created in the turnpike to allow
the ground water seepage to flow freely and to prevent it
from backing up and flooding the turnpike. It will also
allow snow melt to move more quickly out of the area,
allowing the ground to dry faster.
The two culverts are made entirely of rock
for a more natural look in the wilderness.

16. The finished product produces a stable and
sustainable walking surface for people and
animals alike! Total length was 60 feet!

17. A BIG THANKS to all the Wilderness
Volunteers for their help! With out them we
would not have been able to accomplish our
goals.