Five Winds Backcountry Ski & Snowshoe Club

Discover the Muskoka Wilderness

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Fall Trail Clearing

Trail Clearing

Trail clearing is fun! Volunteering for this activity is a great way to get to know the trails and fellow members.

With about 200 km of trails, many hours are needed to maintain our trail system. To space out the maintenance work, and to take advantage of the longer daylight hours, we now maintain the trails during the spring, summer and fall, with the bulk of the trail clearing occurring in the fall. We organize day, weekend or multi-day trips.

On well-maintained trails, it really means not much more than a hike, with some clipping back of brush, removal of any branches that may have fallen along the path, and making sure there are trail markers so that we can find our way.

We have many trails that cannot be maintained in a day due to its distance, topography or remote locations. For those, we combine overnight and multi-day camping events via day hikes, backpack, canoe, or cottage weekends with a trail clearing component to access the trail system.

Guidelines for Trail Clearing

Most of the trails we ski only require a trail width of about 3 feet for us to pass safely. Some severe turns on a steep slope may require more leeway than a straight or winding path on a level area. Opening up a trail makes things more convenient but it also makes it look like a road to more than just skiers; namely, motorized vehicles.
Place trail markers on healthy trees, as high up as you can reach. Nail in halfway to allow for tree growth.
Use ribbons (or tie wire to a marker) on a branch where there are no solid or large enough trunks for nailing.
When pruning branches, cut flush to the trunk so the bark can skin over the stump, otherwise the branch can rot back into the tree, or insects may enter and eventually destroy the whole tree.
Cut saplings (2" diameter or less) that are in the way completely flush with the ground, so they cannot protrude and impale someone who falls on them.
Dead falls should be removed or cut through if possible. If too many dead large diameter trees are grouped together, simply reroute the trail.
Dead branches hung up in another branch should be knocked down if possible to prevent an unexpected fall out later on.
Make sure to pile all cuttings well away from the trail.
Try not to over mark the trails. Remember to look both ways while marking. Use your common sense as you would in pruning.
If there are large dead falls which need chain sawing, go to the Status of Trails and Update page and type in a description of the downed tree/trees (GPS waypoint or approx. position on the map, if there's an easy way around if this isn't cleared, and a picture, if available)

Please inform the owner at Nine Mile Marina whenever you are hiking or clearing the trails on the Gravenhurst side. They need to know who is parking at the marina. Concerned cottagers ask about people wandering near their properties.