Clearing trail

For the most part, trappers in Alberta that hold registered traplines have several miles of trail that has to be kept open if they want to get anywhere. In my case, it's probably about 30 miles of trail that crosses through just about every land type you can imagine. In many instances, we have cutlines that we can use for travel but quite often these can become grown in or impassable because of deadfall. It's amazing how fast a willow can grow and how often a tree can fall over. So we spend a fair amount of time working on our trails.

The following photos show a before and after of a trail that Dad and I cleared. This particular trail is about one mile long and was completely overgrown in many places throughout its distance. My son Dakota and I had to clear the trail again about a week ago, while not that bad, the willows had grew back quickly in a few areas. We also took care of the over-hangers, tall willow branches that will over-hang a trail once a heavy snow falls. If you've ever had to travel a trail with over-hangers, you quickly realize that you don't want to have to do it very often.

The willows had completely enclosed the trail.

The end result... at least for awhile.