:worthy: March 12th (Thursday) to March 15th (Sunday) - update as of February 4th
Trail maintenance - cutting back the overgrowth with long handled loppers or hand held pruners.
Read the following posts about the project for further information and make comments yourself.
Recommended tools for this project:
Bypass Lopper from Lowe's - 27" long handled model item # 41006 ($16.98) with the silver handles & green grips.
Mini Bypass Pruner from Lowe's - 14.5" long handled Corona Two-Handed Mini Bypass Pruner, BP3225 ($19.98)
Heavy leather gloves with wrist protection combined with a tough long sleeved shirt and tough long pants.
You may also want a hat for sun protection, sun glasses, eye protection goggles and knee pads.
Grasshopper will be responsible for the work project from the Woodbury Trailhead to Tortilla Pass.
I will be responsible for the work project from Angel Basin to Tortilla Pass.
Grasshopper plans to set up a base camp by Byous Butte and car pool each day to the work site.
We willl base camp in Angel Basin and hike/work the trail from the north to the south.
It is not necessary that you be available for all four days as any help will be appreciated.
For those committing to this the Angel Basin base camp, I will be guiding a side excursion to a little known cliff dwelling in Rogers Canyon late Saturday afternoon.
Please commit to either half of the project and let Grasshopper and I know your plans and resources.
We hope to have campfire get togethers in the evenings so it's not all work as well.
Then we can share our hiking and backpacking experiences, stories and lies.
I may even be willing to tell you my story about the burial in the main cliff dwelling of Rogers Canyon.
We would also like to have a volunteer on site that has the emergency device called SPOT in case we have any life threatening injuries while performing this service project. Those of you who have committed or expressed interest please let me know if you have this device. Just PM me...
PS - There will be a full moon this weekend for any of you that wish to backpack in or out in the dark of the night.
Stay tuned for further updates and information.
:thanx:
Last edited by SuperstitionGuy on Mar 01 2009 6:21 pm, edited 26 times in total.
A man's body may grow old, but inside his spirit can still be as young and restless as ever.
- Garth McCann from the movie Second Hand Lions
Thanks everybody for your input and interest in eradicating catclaw.
It appears a better tool than a mattock is necessary. I envision a device that at the bottom end of a six to seven foot pole, that when placed next to the base of the plant, grips it, and pulls the plant out root and all, as you pull the top of the tool away from the plant. The tool would look somewhat like and move like the tool used to bend electrical conduit. This may work better when the soil is damp after recent rains as dry ground would probably result in roots that would break off and remain in the ground.
Any thoughts on how to design the device on the bottom of the tool to grip and hold the base of the plant, as the tool is pulled away from the plant? Who is our tool design engineer out there?
:thanx:
A man's body may grow old, but inside his spirit can still be as young and restless as ever.
- Garth McCann from the movie Second Hand Lions
How does the Forest Service normally remove this stuff? (or, do they?) If this stuff is really that hard to eradicate, I would think that Apache Junction would be covered with it.
I'm at home in the wilderness... it's civilization I have problems with!
snakemarks wrote:How does the Forest Service normally remove this stuff? (or, do they?) If this stuff is really that hard to eradicate, I would think that Apache Junction would be covered with it.
Volunteers
Shawn
The bear went over the mountain to see what he could see.
rushthezeppelin wrote:Jebus they really are super weeds aren't they
You gotta be a super weed to succeed in the not-so-friendly conditions of the Superstitions (or all over the Sonoran Desert!).
Although many of the spiny buggers will grow back from roots remaining in the ground, removing the bulk of the vegetation and root system will buy you at least a couple of years of relatively clear trail at the rate of growth of most Sonoran Desert plants. The application of the herbicide buys you much longer. - but the plants will still return one way or another. Truly "eradicating" it would mean removing not only the existing plants, but also the seed source, and we certainly don't want that (since the plants are great habitat). The particular conditions created by trails (open land, additional water from drainage, soil disturbance) will always encourage new growth on species like the catclaw. It's like the two go hand-in-hand. So, we should aim for "wrangling" the catclaw, taming our most popular trails, and go knowing that we've only bought our tender skins some time.
With that in mind, I vote for the digging out 6" and applying the herbicide. It's generally done with a small paint brush or the like, and is in such small quantities and so specifically applied that it will have no chance to spread to the water table or the local fauna. You'd be surprised what a difference it will make - I've seen it keep trails somewhat clear for years.
----------------------------------- Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.- Barack Obama
SuperstitionGuy wrote:Grasshopper would like to manage a base camp at Boyous Butte and I am willing to backpack in and manage a base camp somewhere near Angel Basin.
Now that we have the dates set for this planned HAZ "catclaw trail maintenance" work party, I will soon be posting a seperate forum thread on this subject for those interested in signing up for our planned BASE CAMP which will be located 6mls up & just off FR172 at the BYOUS BUTTE area. Those who may only care to spend a full day driving out to help vrs camping overnight(s) are also welcome! Those who sign-up on my BASE CAMP THREAD should include only these two groups. We will be carpooling from our BASE CAMP approx 4.0mls to the Woodbury TH where our group will be day hiking in and out and responsible for "catclaw trail maintenance" from Woodbury to Tortilla Pass; I am looking forward to hopefully a BIG HAZ TURNOUT for this worthy cause!..Stay tuned
Last edited by Grasshopper on Jan 09 2009 8:26 am, edited 2 times in total.
This is my spring break time, so I should have no problem making this one for all 4 days. Will most likely backpack in and stay at the Angel Basin camp, rather than at Byous Butte.
I'm hoping there will be at least some time for play, as I'd like to explore more in Roger's Canyon for the other ruins in the area.
Not sure what I have equipment wise that would take down catclaw, but I'll show up and help however I can. This actually sounds like alot of fun. What better way to relax than wreak havoc on catclaw? Then return for a big campfire at the end of the day!
Pout - bad weekend . Have trips on either side of it. However, I am more than willing to donate tools to the endeavor. I've got lots of tools, and I'll be driving through Phoenix the weekend before...
----------------------------------- Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.- Barack Obama
Just a general update for all those that are committed and interested in this catclaw revenge project:
I recommend purchasing a Bypass Lopper from Lowe's for cutting the catclaw. Their 27" long handled model item # 41006 ($16.98) with the silver handles and green grips. It is very light in weight to backpack and work with. Also wear heavy leather gloves with wrist protection, a tough long sleeved shirt, heavy duty long pants and some type of eye protection. A hat to protect you from the sun is also recommended and maybe even sun glasses. You may even consider knee pads of some type as we may have to kneel quite a bit to get into and underneath the catclaw.
Please update your status on being committed or interested as well and please share this message and opportunity with others that may not be regular HAZ users. Many participants makes for less work and more fun around the campfire in the evenings. I will also send this message out as a PM so as not to miss anyone as well.
:thanx:
A man's body may grow old, but inside his spirit can still be as young and restless as ever.
- Garth McCann from the movie Second Hand Lions
Just a short update on this activity.
For those of you that may hike in or out from this activity in the dark, there will be a full moon to assist you.
:bigth:
A man's body may grow old, but inside his spirit can still be as young and restless as ever.
- Garth McCann from the movie Second Hand Lions
Route Editor
Route Scout
](./images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall"){kind=small}
. Have trips on either side of it. However, I am more than willing to donate tools to the endeavor. I've got lots of tools, and I'll be driving through Phoenix the weekend before...
