Yesterday, Monday, May 17, 2021, the FOSM Trail Maintenance Crew hiked 10K North trail to remove reported or not-reported fallen trees. The original plan had been to do a loop hike back via Ellis trail, but distant thunder and a couple of significant outbursts of pea- sized graupel snow dictated a shorter return hike on 10K. There had been a report of a 10-inch or so sized fallen tree across 10K but it appears a forest gnome got to that one before us. Further along we did find the root ball end of a dead 14 inch diameter tree that was lying in the trail tread. It was removed.

A bigger surprise awaited us along the trail. Just before to the 10K North/Osha Loop junction we discovered that a dead twelve-inch diameter fir had broken at about the three-foot level on its trunk and had fallen high over the trail. It took a live three-inch diameter fir along for the ride. The large tree was not supported by any sizeable branches from the surrounding trees it fell into, but rather by a large jumble of smaller braches along with the smaller fir which had become a long spring pole. The entire top of the large tree had broken off and had become a large widow maker suspended from the adjoining tree above the top end of the big fallen tree.

It appeared that the small fir spring pole tree might have been providing important support to the fallen tree. Since it would be dangerous to try to cut the small tree away to test this theory, it was deemed safer to use a rope to pull the small tree away from the branch jumble to see if the large tree would then fall to the ground. After some serious tugging on the rope, the small tree finally sprung loose but the big tree didn't budge. Since the small tree created a hazard to those passing under, it was carefully cut away as were other hazardous braches hanging into head space. There is no safe, practical way to safely get the big tree on the ground. It will be best to let nature run its course. The remaining branches above the trail were flagged to draw hiker's attention the hazard.

Although the weather forecast gave little chance of precipitation at least until late in the day, the Sandias do a good job of proving the forecasts wrong and the storm grew quickly. It got quite brisk particularly during the graupel storms. There was moisture, but the mountain can use much more. Based upon our observations and other reports, 10K North, Ellis and Challenge between 10K and the Ellis parking lot are all clear.