Allingham Trail Skills College

This session covers the fundamentals of Crosscut Saw use. It focuses on hazard assessment, safety procedures, saw selection and tooth patterns, the importance of axes and wedges, and the best practices for clearing trail effectively in challenging and potentially hazardous situations. This course consists of one classroom day and one field day clearing trail. The instructor will determine the certification level. Long-sleeve shirt, pants, leather boots, eye protection, gloves and hard hats are required. Gloves and hard hats will be available for those who don’t have them. Bring a saw if you have one.  A current CPR and 1st Aid card are required to take Saw certification classes.

The FS requires that chainsaw operators be certified. Attending this Course does not guarantee certification but for those who successfully complete the Course they will be USFS certified which will allow them to operate a chain saw without the presence of another certified sawyer. The Certification is valid for 3 years. The class focuses on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), chainsaw safety features, safe chain saw operations, hazard/complexity assessment, importance and use of axes and wedges, understanding trail standards and safe practices in clearing/maintaining trails in challenging and often hazardous situations. The Course consists of 2 days. Day 1 consists of primarily classroom training with some “hands on” chain saw experiences. Day 2 is almost exclusively chain saw field work. At the end of Day 2, the instructor/certifier will determine the certification level.

A current First Aid and CPR card are required before a Saw Certification card will be issued. If you have these cards, please bring them to class. For those who successfully complete the course and show proof of current First Aid and CPR certification their chain saw certification card will be provided within 30 days.

In order to attend the Course you will need to bring Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): a helmet, hearing protection, wrap around eye protection, long sleeve shirt, full length pants, gloves, chain saw safety chaps, laced 8” high lugged or caulked heavy leather or Kevlar (or equivalent) boot, single bit axe with sheath and 3 or more wedges. The underlined equipment above is personal equipment/clothing and solely your responsibility to provide. You may want to withhold purchase of a helmet, chaps or saw prior to the class as you will likely be a more informed buyer after attending the class. Prior to the class you will receive course related material and a reminder of the needed PPE and other equipment you’ll need to bring to the class. You’ll be asked to notify us if you are lacking a saw or other required equipment. In most cases we can provide loaners.

Intended for those new to trail work who want to learn how to cut brush and small logs to help clear a trail to proper specifications. After discussion of general safety protocols, students learn about safe and effective use of hand saws and loppers. This class also includes how to complete an early season trail survey to identify and report major problems, especially blown down logs, by their number, location, and size.

For curious trail workers who want to understand why so many trails are in bad shape because of how they were made. Learn how better design and layout makes trails more sustainable and less prone to erosion. Introduction to different trail design standards appropriate for different kinds of trails. This class is for anybody interested in these topics, but students with some trail building and maintenance experience will benefit the most.

Learn how to design and locate effective drainage structures. After a comprehensive explanation of hillside hydrology and how trails work when they shed water properly, this class shows students how to design and construct long, rolling drain dips as a way of reducing erosion on existing trails.

Where earthen rolling drain dips are not feasible, drainage features are sometimes armored using rock or log. Learn contemporary techniques to build water bars. The class will include a review of “old school” waterbars, and how to convert “old school” waterbars to a more effective design. Furthermore, learn how to install rock and log checks where tread is gullied and cannot be drained, or in other situations requiring tread armoring

Understand sign specifications and learn how to install signs and keep proper records in conjunction with land managers.  Learn about agency standards for signs.  Making needed signs is very gratifying, though navigating the Forest Service sign manual requires special attention to detail.

Learn how to put an abandoned campsite or section of trail to bed so that it returns to nature without erosion. Some call this Zen and the art of wilderness gardening, or trail magic because if properly done the old trail disappears. Includes transplanting, seed collection, and rock placements.

For students with moderate to extensive trail building experience who want to lead trail crews and work parties. Not a construction techniques class; this is about effective leadership. Students will have classroom and field work in the following topics: workday responsibilities, risk assessment and safety, tool safety and tool talk, leadership and team building, practical experience leading volunteers.

The procedures, equipment and Forest Service guidelines used for constructing and maintaining winter trails are different from those used for summer trails. This class will review the guidelines and tools used for constructing and maintaining winter trails and hanging assurance markers, and will include field time for practice of these techniques

Learn how to use your hand-held GPS with confidence. This intro course will explore GPS theory, navigation, data collection, and GPS features. Be prepared to get dirty by navigating and collecting data in the field using your GPS. Course is intended for anyone looking to improve GPS skills and is taught using the Garmin platform, but techniques can be applied to any manufacturer. Students should bring their own GPS and extra batteries.

When you’re out on a trail project, safety is the number one priority. And one of the most critical skills to a safe trail project is communication, whether between crews, or in an emergency. Every trail volunteer should know how to make an emergency call using a provided FS radio. In this class we will cover how to operate radios properly and the correct verbiage when calling in an emergency or checking in/out of duty. We will review Forest Service radio usage, plus we will review Trail Communication Plans.

Mechanical Advantage is the ratio of load to effort. Pulleys and levers alike rely on mechanical advantage. The larger the advantage is the easier it will be to lift the weight. In other words, you would need to put less effort into lifting the weight. In this class you will learn how to use mechanical advantage using pulley systems and/or rock bars to move heavy logs or rocks out of the trail. Learn how to work smarter, not harder by using 2 to 1 or 3 to 1 pulley systems and more to make moving heavier objects easy

This 2-hour evening class provides detailed instructions on the importance of ensuring your saw’s required safety features are functioning as designed. The class also covers preventive and routine maintenance including troubleshooting problems such as hard starting, poor running or cutting problems. Bring your enthusiasm, any questions you may have and, if you would like, bring your own saw.