Central Cascades Trail Skills College

Elbow grease and brute force will only get you so far, sometimes you need to work smarter and not harder. This class is an introduction to devices and systems used for applying mechanical advantage to lift or move a load, be it a large boulder, log, or buckets of gravel down a zip line. Starting with a rock bar as the simplest of levers, the class will progress to an introduction to winches, blocks, and mechanical advantage rigging systems.

This class will feature an interpretative hike with the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic area botanist. Come enjoy an afternoon walk as you learn about the local flora and fungi, how to spot some common invasives, area fire history, and whatever you’ve always wanted to learn from a botany expert in the Gorge!

When it is not possible to move water off a trail by outsloping the tread, installing a drain, or building a water bar or other drainage structure, sometimes we need to actually elevate the trail above the water table by constructing what is known as a turnpike. Typically, these are built using two parallel log or rock walls, with the space between filled with crush, dirt, and/or gravel.

This advanced class will go over the design and construction of turnpikes– be prepared to get muddy!

Are you interested in helping certified sawyers to clear trails, but don’t have much experience working with or around saws? Regardless of if you aim to become a certified sawyer yourself, learning to be a safety-conscience saw crew member is an important place to start. This class provides field experience with crosscut saws and axes, but most of the principles are also applicable to chainsaws. Therefore, this class is the place to start, no matter what trail clearing tools you expect to use in the future.

The session begins with an introduction to crosscut saws and axes of various types, and how they work. It then covers their safe and effective use, including a review of trail clearing specifications, safety equipment, the forces of tension and bind, and the practice of situational awareness.

Basic Saw Crew Training is an introductory class and does not include a certification, which is required for those who wish to be lead sawyers. Information about the Sawyer Certification process can be found by clicking here!

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 and welcoming leadership. Students will have classroom and field work in the following topics: Work Day Responsibilities; Risk Assessment and Safety; Tool Safety & Tool Talks; Welcoming Leadership & Emotional Intelligence, Practical Experience Leading Trail Crews.

This introductory sampler class is intended for people brand new to trail work who want an overview. One quarter of the class covers “how trails work,” i.e. basic trail design concepts; one quarter covers trail work safety protocols; one quarter covers hands-on brushing and handsaw clearing; and one quarter covers hands-on drainage cleaning. This sampler class does not prepare students to work independently. Instead students will understand a range of trail work tasks and have a good idea of what they want to do under a crew leader, or what class they want to take next.

Intended for someone who has taken 102 (Tread and Drainage) and/or has experience doing drainage work. 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.

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.

Basic First Aid & CPR Certification, half-day class

Water and gravity constantly threaten our trails and thus we must learn how best to deflect them. This course begins with basics of hillside hydrology and how trails work when they shed water properly. Includes introduction of “trail eyes” and basic trail design concepts, as well as how to recognize
tread erosion patterns. Hands-on practice removing slough and berm, and effective cleaning and maintenance of existing water bars and grade dips. Tread and drainage work doesn’t require big muscles, though it is fairly strenuous.

This course goes beyond a triage approach covered in Course 203 (Waterbars and Checks) because reconstruction indicates a more thorough restoration of damaged tread to ideal specifications. Review hillside hydrology and basic trail layout. Practice systematic slough & berm removal, re-cutting sidehill tread and restoring tread to original or ideal specs. Learn to reconstruct tread after gullying, tread creep, nasty roots, and uprooted trees.

Pre-requisites: 201 (Drainage Design) OR 102 (Intro to Tread), equivalent experience may be substituted.