FS Blasts Stumps on Mosquito Cove Trail

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Category: News

Created on Friday, 20 September 2024 15:27

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By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
    With a series of controlled explosions Thursday, a U.S. Forest Service crew blasted out the giant rootwads and fallen trees that partially blocked access to one of Sitka’s most popular hiking trails for the past four years.
    The project to remove the obstruction on the Mosquito Cove Trail was the culmination of a collaborative effort of federal and state agencies and a local nonprofit, Sitka Trail Works.

An explosive charge is placed inside a tree stump Thursday. (Photo provided by Ben Hughey)

Tree stumps are significantly reduced as seen in this photo taken today on the Mosquito Cove Trail. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)

    A USFS team used explosives flown in by seaplane from Ketchikan for the Thursday trail clearing project, which took place on Alaska State Parks land. The trees blew down in a 2020 storm, and since then posed an extra challenge to hikers on the 1.5 mile loop trail just off the north end of Halibut Point Road.
    Trail Works volunteers are experienced at maintaining and making repairs on Sitka’s extensive network of forest trails, but recognized early on that the rootwads on the Mosquito Cove trail would need more than hand tools and chain saws to clear away. Experts with the USFS Sitka Ranger District agreed.
    “It was determined that there wasn’t a safe way to remove the trail obstructions with chainsaws... It’s hard to get through a root wad with a chainsaw -- lots of rocks and whatnot. There wasn’t a mechanism in place to allow us to do that, but as the Forest Service we have the expertise, we have access to the explosives and the manpower to help with that,” Sitka Ranger District recreation management specialist Rebecca Peterman told the Sentinel at the site. “So Sitka Trail Works approached us in conjunction with the state of Alaska to request assistance with that expertise with our resources.”
    In the 2020 storm the trees fell downhill, leaving the trunks across the trail at chest level, but with room for hikers to crawl under. Large rootwads overhung the trees, presenting a serious risk to anyone who might try to clear the site with a chainsaw. The trail crosses land under both Forest Service and State Parks jurisdictions, but the spot with the deadfall problem lies on state land.
    A reroute of the trail also was considered, Peterman added, but was deemed unfeasible because of the steep terrain at that location.
    The state and Forest Service came to a “collection agreement,” in which the federal agency would do work on state land, with the state paying some of the cost.
    Prior to blasting, the Forest Service and Trail Works were on site Wednesday, cutting bore holes into the tree trunks for the explosives. On Thursday the blasters placed a dozen charges of Senatel Pulsar explosives inside the trunks, Sitka Trail Works executive director Ben Hughey said. He was one of the sawyers who helped cut bore holes, and was with Thursday’s blasting team, which was led by Jack Greenhalgh, a Forest Service employee and blaster. The crew also blasted a fallen tree that was overhanging the trail on the inland side of the route.
    Hughey was glad to see trail fully clear for hikers once more.
    “This is one of the most popular, family friendly hikes in Sitka,” Hughey said. “It accesses the coastline, which is a highly desired trail experience we found in the trail plan surveying, and it’s a short trail and it’s a loop trail. All of these make for the perfect conditions... But with these trees down for the last four years, you had to be able to crawl to do this hike, and that really limits who can do it. I’m really excited to be able to open this trail to a much wider range of ability levels.”
    Sitka Trail Works youth program coordinator Maria Sakowski was stationed on the road bridge across Starrigavan Creek through the day to ensure no one walked down onto the beach in the direction of the blasting. Others were in place at alternate spots to prevent Sitkans from getting too close to the blasting area.
    “These root rods have been a problem for a while, and have really cut off the accessibility of the trail. Not everyone can crawl under these huge logs,” said Sakowski.
     “It’s been a multi-year project coordination to get all of the ducks in order” for the final step in clearing the trail, she said.
    In total, 210 pounds of explosives were flown in from Ketchikan aboard an Otter seaplane. The aircraft landed in Mosquito Cove, which meant the charges didn’t have to be transported by road or stored overnight, which would have involved significant additional safety regulations, Peterman and Sakowski noted.
    Hughey said the explosions were “very precise blasting work,” and did not leave craters in the trail, though a large amount of debris was left behind.
    In total, 18 people assisted with the project, from blasting to corralling traffic. The Katlian Bay Road was closed during the work, as well as the Mosquito Cove trail and parking lot. Forest Service, State Parks, Trail Works and state Department of Transportation personnel were involved.
    From the highway the blasts were heard as loud rumbles that echoed across Starrigavan Bay. The blasting site was on the side of the trail facing north and not visible from the road, but bystanders on the blacktop could feel the shockwave as it pulsed outward.
    All told, there were three blasts, Hughey said. The trees are no longer blocking the trail, but a large amount of debris remains to be cleaned up, he added. Sitka Trail Works plans a cleanup day on the trail to coincide with National Public Lands Day, Saturday, September 28. The volunteer event will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The trail is closed now and is likely to remain so until that cleanup, he noted.
    “We’d just love a bunch of hands to help clean up the trail and hopefully, finally, make it accessible again and open,” Sakowski said.

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