Yesterday, Monday, May 1, 2023, the FOSM Trail Maintenance Crew hiked Bill Spring, a portion of Faulty and Sulphur trails to remove previously reported fallen trees and to do whatever other maintenance was needed. As far as overall impressions are concerned, the long-term volunteers of the group were unable to recall a springtime hiking season that was as wet and muddy as this one, even in previous high snowfall years. Bill Spring trail was basically a small stream from end to end. The sides of the stream were mostly mud, which was difficult to avoid. A number of stream crossings were required. The top portion of Sulphur trail was in fairly good shape, but the bottom half had long sections of deep mud. The section of Faulty hiked by the group was dry.

The primary goal for Monday was to remove a tree that had fallen along Bill Spring trail and another large one leaning over Faulty south of the Bill Spring junction. We were unable to locate the Bill Spring tree and assume it was removed by others. The Faulty tree was still there. This was a large fallen Juniper with a trunk diameter of about 14 inches, with many branches and was looming over the trail near head height. It was a slow and deliberate project to safely remove this monster. Crosscut type saws and other hand tools were used for this project. The crew also did other trail routine maintenance such as brushing or tread work. Please see the attached Word file for photos and additional narrative. All photos by Jamey Browning and Bill Perkins.