General Trail Building Question

[JacobH]

I disagree. The stones will not only encourage the hiker to stay on the trail, but will also drain water at the same time. Not only that, it may not be visible in the image, but the entire trail has been rebuilt on a raised bed, probably 2-3 feet above the surrounding terrain, built on different sizes of crush and cribbing. As well as side channeling. This is probably a better picture:

http://amc-nh.org/committee/trailcr...After Repairs_unknown_20120718_OBP_After6.jpg

Compare to the other pictures in this thread and I think there's a clear difference.

 

[TrailwrightBratt]

Jeff and Henrey: Great to read someone really interested in the why of trail building.Previous replys say it all so my two cents is only on helping you get more education on this matter.
My recommendation for getting started is studying the USFS Trail Construction and Maintenance Note book 2007 edition.
There are many good ones out there so have fun obtaining what may interest you the most.
The USFS manual can be obtained by ordering at this address. http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/rectrails/trailpub.htm and is free.

A word or two on Grade is important
Grade is designated as a %. 1 in 10 is as described by others is 10% 1 foot in elevation to a run of 10 feet or 10 feet in 100 is also 10%. I find it easier to picture a 10% grade as a 6 Degree angle. A 20 % is 20 feet in 100 or 12 degrees. That is about the limit for a reasonable hiking grade. !0% is the goal if possible. Continuing up tp 30% would be 30 feet elevation in 100 feet or 17 deg. trails in this grade and up will require structures to be built to protect the treadway from erosion.
A lot of trails espec. here in NE have much steeper grades thus maint. problems from poor lay outs.
Mostt trails in the west are well graded and close to the 10% that explains why they have so many switchbacks,both for sustainability and Equestrian use.
Trailwrights may be of some help if you are contemplating building trails in your town and have often worked in Mass. Recently helping out on the Mt. Tom Reservation.
I would recommend you to join us for a day or two and get some up close and personal experience. One of Our purposes is hiking trail maintenance edcation thrue hands on work shops. You can check us out at our web site at www.Trailwrights.Org. It may be helpful to you.
CAUTION, you could get hooked and discover a lot of rewarding experiences.
Feel free to contact me by PM here on this forum anytime.
Hal

 

[DSettahr]

Compare to the other pictures in this thread and I think there's a clear difference.

There is a clear difference, and I agree, it's much better than the alternatives shown in the other pictures. But I also agree with Roy in that ideally, the surface of the trail would've been raised a little bit higher than the retaining walls on either side. A good rainbow cross-section, with the highest point of the rail being in the middle, is ideal.

The second picture you posted looks better, but it doesn't seem to be the exact same stretch of trail?

 

[Creag Nan Drochaid]

DSettahr,
You are correct. The two photos show different stretches of trail.
The first one ...2jpeg, is a view along the trail where it seems to cross a gully by a rock embankment, with flattish paver rocks on top, scree rocks/curbs to each side, and a top dressing of eroded Conway granite to smooth the treadway.
The second photo ...6jpeg, is a side view of a trail with the same top dressing on what looks like a sidehill trail, with rip rap rocks laid on the slope below to keep a flood from undermining the trail.
The rainbow cross section you mention is often called a crown, and is a little higher than the rocks on either side so that water drains off without puddling and the tread stays drier, safer, and there. Takes a lot of small rocks/crush under it and a good bit of what amounts to hardpack top dressing, kind of like the original Macadam road surface before they started binding it with tar, but it is a very durable tread and easy to walk. I am sure you already know these things, but some readers may not, so...

 

[Trail Bandit]

A couple of booklets have good input. See Appalachian Trail, Design, construction and maintenance (isbn 0-917953-72-x)
and the USDA Trail Construction and Maintenance Notebook, 2007 which is available at:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environmental/rectrails/trailpub.htm

 

[Creag Nan Drochaid]

Most of the trail manuals offer very detailed instructions on building, though you have to get through dense paragraphs of prose to do that (the price of details).
Several of the crews hereabouts have adopted the Appalachian Trail Conservancy's Fieldbook as their guidelines. Concise wording, bullet points organized in sections of what a trail should and should not be. Very helpful for orienting new workers and giving us a common vocabulary so we can understand one another. Also cheap enough to hand out to all who need to know. I give them to our crew leaders at Cardigan to speed their learning curve.
http://blueandwhitecrew.org/files/Fieldbook.pdf

 

[Tom_Murphy]

Seems to me that the trails in Maine are routed over ledges whenever possible. That makes for a durable trail.

The east side of the Grafton Notch loop is a beautifully laid out trail.