Introduction to Mechanized Trail Building

Trail Dynamics LLC
Friday, Saturday and Sunday, March 18-20, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Three-day outdoor workshop
Location: Meet at Crowne Plaza Conference Center and then car pool to work sites in local vicinity.

The Session

One skilled machine operator and the right machine can do the work of many hand laborers in a fraction of the time. In a dollars and cents world, machines save you time and money on any given trail project.

An un-trained machine operator can do a lot of damage in no time and this often requires significant time to "clean up the mess". These situations have given machine built trail a bad image and left trail users and land managers wondering if there is a "better way".

The "better way" is using machines for the project but making sure the operators are well trained and skilled and have a light touch. This 3 day workshop will focus on giving participants a good head start and introduction into the world of mechanized trail building. Join us for this hot topic workshop and learn how to use machines, but yield a high level of finish and an "always been there" look.

Instructors are some of the best in the business with not only good machine skills, but also good teaching and instructional skills. Teacher to student ratios will be kept low and there will be plenty of hands on machine time to hone your skills on a range of different machines.

Topics to be covered include:

• Care and feeding of trail machines
• Trailer loading and securing the load
• Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) and general machine safety
• Different types of machines and applications (dirt pushers vs. diggers)
• Multiple attachments on versatile machines
• Rough grading and grubbing vs. finished grading
• Trail maintenance with machines
• Road to trail conversions- making old road more effective recreational corridors
• New trail construction
• Extraction of a machine when you get in trouble
• Finish work behind the machines
  

This is a working and very hands on workshop, please come prepared for such. Being prepared includes having the following: good work clothing including rain gear, good boots, gloves, eye protection, hearing protection, and a hard hat. Lunch is provided each day but you will need to bring a pack for water, snacks and extra clothing.

After a half day in a flat sand lot area, we will set up different stations with various machines. Machines that we will train on include:

• Walk behind units like the DitchWitch SK-500 and Toro Dingo 420
• Stand on hydraulic loaders (Ditch Witch SK-650
• Mini excavators
• Tracked loaders (ASV-RC30) with different attachments: blade, bucket, digger arm
• Sweco trail dozer (if requested)

Transportation needs: We will need to car pool with other attendees, please indicate if you will or will not have a car/truck so we can plan accordingly. Workshop instructors will have some capacity in work trucks.     

The Presenters

Trail Dynamics is a leading southeastern trail contractor located in North Carolina. Services provided by Trail Dynamics include: Trail Feasibility Studies, Trail Master Plans, trail design and layout, trail construction, trail structure design and build (bridges, switchbacks, steps etc.), trail maintenance and re-construction, volunteer crew leadership and training and trail education.

The Trail Dynamics staff combines many lifetime experiences to maximize the learning process including background as outdoor educators, extensive experience designing and building new trails, and creating solutions for problems on existing trails.

When and Where

Our group will meet daily, Friday-Sunday, March 18-20, at 7:45 AM in the Crowne Plaza Hotel Lobby.  From here, we will car pool to various work sites in the Asheville vicinity.  When you register, please let us know whether or not you will have a vehicle to share in the car pooling.

Fee
The cost will be $425 for early registration (through Feb. 25) and $450 after Feb. 25.   Fee includes lunches on all three days.  Registration is on a first-come basis and is limited to 12 attendees, with a minimum of 6 folks needed to run the course.

For More Information
Contact: Woody Keen, (828) 862-5613 at woody@traildynamics.com