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Scorpions Trail Crew, Pleasant Hill, OR (2026)

08/29/2026

Last week’s “Scorpions On The Trail” Work Summaries

Tuesday August 18th – A crew of 3 Scorpions (Sig, Jeff R. and first time Scorpion Charles N.) headed to Big Bunchgrass which is part of the Eugene to Crest trail system. With a small crew on a very hot day, we decided to focus on clearing the last .2 miles of road so we could drive all the way to the TH and brush the short but steep half mile spur trail that intersects the Eugene to Crest trail at Big Bunchgrass Meadow. There were quite a few large ~30” logs blocking the road. Two of us did some full sun chainsaw work while the third crew member brushed the road with a power brusher and then hoofed up to brush the rugged and steep spur trail with loppers and handsaw. We were done by about noon and headed home. The trail was severely burned in the Cedar Creek Fire so there is no shade. We will be back to work this trail towards Little Bunchgrass on a cooler day. A big thanks to Charles for joining us and we hope to see you on the trail with us again soon.

Thursday August 20th – A crew of 9 Scorpions went to Mt Washington Wilderness Area to logout a 3-plus mile section of Deer Butte trail #3508. We started at the Tenas Lake TH off of road 2649-640. We all hiked up the Benson/Tenas Lk trail until we reached the intersection with Deer Butte. From there we headed north on Deer Butte towards Hand Lake trail bucking up 40 or so logs. We reached “the pond” in about 3.5 miles and had lunch while debating what to do next. The trail was unscouted for the next mile but we were sure there were more logs to buck. After reviewing our maps and trail mileage estimates, 4 of the crew members decided to forge ahead for another mile. They would buck up logs until about 2PM and then continue hiking to a bushwhack route that would take them to the end of road 841. The rest of the crew headed back the way we came to our cars at the Tenas Lk TH. Sig would then put on his forest Uber hat and drive his truck to pick up the other 4 at the end of road 840.

The hardy crew of 4 that ventured on had plenty to do. They reached a small burn area that had many logs deposited across the trail. As planned, they worked until about 2PM and then left the remaining 20 or so logs and started hiking towards the bush whack route to 38. Once they arrived at road 380 their Forest Uber driver was waiting and drove them back to the Tenas TH.

We all enjoyed a beautiful day working on a trail that is mostly unburned and partially shaded for a change. Subsequently the McKenzie District sent a small crew to take another bite out of the logs we left. There are still a few remaining that we will most likely save for next year.

Thursday August 27th - A crew of 8 Scorpions in 4 canoes paddled across Waldo Lake from Shadow Bay to work the Black Creek trail from the east side TH. The east TH intersects the Jim Weaver trail close to the shore of Waldo. This was our 4th trip of the season to Black Creek which was severely burned in the Cedar Creek fire. The previous three trail workdays were all from the west TH on road 2421 (which is still closed to the public). From the west end we made it a very tough 1.7 miles in. We decided to give it a go from the east side.

After we arrived at Shadow Bay on a somewhat foggy morning, we loaded our canoes with 3 big XC saws, Pulaski’s, Al pry bars, a few tread tools and our packs. The lake was very calm in the morning, and we made the roughly half hour, 1.7 mile crossing of Waldo in patchy fog with no problem. We landed the canoes close to Klovdahl Bay, gathered our tools and bushwhacked from the shore a short distance to the TH.

The work started right away with logs, fire debris like burnt limbs, branches and toasted Rhodie bushes. The tread was invisible in spots, and we tried to restore it as best we could working in the fine powdery ash like soil we have unfortunately become accustomed to. But with a very enthusiastic crew of 8 we made good progress. The burn intensity varied considerably on this side of the trail. It was very hot in spots leaving nothing but snags and powdery ash but there were sections of low intensity burns and even some unburnt areas with very welcome shade.

At the 1 mile point we crossed Klovdahl Creek and started descending a section of trail on a very steep side slope with about a half dozen difficult logs across the trail. Most of us spent the rest of the day here reworking the tread and bucking up the complex logs. Two crew members forged ahead and cleared another quarter mile of trail before turning back to rejoin the rest of us to help move some big logs. By 2:30, after exhausting every other log moving technique, we finally stumbled on the right plan and managed to get the last very argumentative log off the trail and started hiking back on a high note.

When we arrived back at the canoes, we were happy to see a clear and relatively calm Waldo. The wind can get strong in the afternoon kicking up good sized waves. There was a breeze but not strong enough to kick up any white caps. The paddle back was great and with no fog we were able to get clear views of South Sister, Broken Top and Mt Bachelor.

Thanks to the canoe captains and crew we had a very successful day and made good progress on restoring Black Creek trail. We made it about 1.3 miles in from the east TH. From the west TH on our previous trips three this year we worked 1.7 miles. That leaves a very tough .8 miles to in the center mostly in a high severity burn area. We will probably try one more amphibious trail workday from Waldo and at least 1 more from the west side.

We hope to see you on the trail soon.

Next weeks project:
Thursday September 3rd - Diamond Peak South XC logout
Sign up link: https://bttr.im/q2t8g

08/15/2026

Last week’s “Scorpions On The Trail” Work Summaries

Saturday August 1st - On Saturday 8/1, five Scorpions, Jeff, Christoph, Doug, and newcomers Etamine and Erica brushed and logged the Quaking Aspen trail. Initial progress was slow as the crew lopped its way through a series of Vine Maple thickets. Past the thickets, we found and cut logs including several recently fallen green logs that took some work. We worked until 2:30, cutting our way through another swampy vine maple thicket, at which point we had cleared about 3.5 miles of the four-mile trail. In the last half mile before the junction with the French Pete trail, we found seven logs which will provide a day's work for a future crew. By 4:00, we arrived at the truck we had staged at the Pat Saddle trailhead.

The last three logs, a 30 incher and two 20 inchers, all green, are at 44.05678, -122.07813….Doug

Monday August 3rd - Well, that was an all-day adventure. On Monday August 3rd, six Scorpions formed two teams and went back to French Pete to continue the logout/brushing and to scout what remains to be done. Team 1 planned to do the 10mi through-hike from Pat Saddle down to the lower trailhead and Team 2 would shuttle Team 1 as well as work the upper part of the trail.

The teams went down French Pete together passing where earlier Scorpion teams had already cleared this season and then scouted down further skipping over about 15 logs as we went. Once we hit the lowest point for Team 2, Steve and Jeff turned around to work those 15 logs up the long slog back to their cars. Team #2 was rewarded for their logout and uphill efforts with a flat tire. Whomp whomp. Team 1 of Garrett, Alex, Maryanne and Brian continued on down the trail cutting out logs and messes until about 2:30pm – 3:00pm at which point we switched from work mode to “hike out and scout” mode. After rejoining the already cleared section, we pushed on for the car. While the tread is in remarkably good shape, it was slow going and we got off the trail to the shuttle car just before 7pm.

Great day on a beautiful trail. We managed to work another 1.25mi further down from the upper trailhead and now have an idea of what work remains. There is still about 1.75mi uncleared with 32 logs. Some are cuts and some are movers but nothing that looks overly complicated – just time consuming. Unfortunately, it is the middle of the trail that is uncleared so it is a long commute from either end to the work area. Next time…Brian R.

Tuesday August 4th – A crew of 3 Scorpions started some prep work to access the north side of Hand Lake trail. We spent the day logging out and brushing FR841 so a future Scorpion crew could safely drive up to where it ends a bushwhack to the north TH and Hand Lake. This cuts about 3-4 miles off of the hike.

There were several large logs blocking the road, shrubby growth in the center of the road and lots of encroaching branches of firs narrowing the corridor. A chain saw and a power brusher got a good work out during the day as we worked our way up the 1 plus mile road. At days end the corridor was nice and open and the roadbed was given a fresh crew cut.

Tuesday August 11th - Brian and Garrett returned to Olallie Trail for one last day trip push. We geared up and started the hike from Pat Saddle TH up to the saddle and then beyond just past the old guard station location and continued logging out from where we left off last month. We were back in the green forest, and there ended up being a fair amount of larger logs to cut out. A few were approaching 20" or so. One put up quite a fight with hidden bind and horizontal cracks, making for an "interesting" cutting experience. We finally finished the problem log and enjoyed a victory lunch, then moved on down the trail. We reached our goal of the jct with Park Trail #3530 and then continued just a short distance beyond, finally turning around roughly 1/5 mile past the jct. We made the long slog back to the car enjoying the great views of the mountains on the way down.

Thank you to all for putting so much hard work on both Olallie Trail and Olallie Mountain Trail. Both trails got totally hammered over the winter and nothing came easy with either trail this season. It isn't much of an understatement to say that virtually every foot was a battle. Great job team!! Lets hope that next year is a bit more forgiving!....Garrett

Thursday August 14th – A crew of 12 went to the Waldo Lake area to work on the South Waldo trail in the wilderness section and poke further up the Mt Ray trail to see what it looked like in the burn zone towards High Divide.

We split into 4 teams of 3 each. Two XC-saw teams started at Shadow Bay and hiked about 2-miles to reach the South Waldo trail. We proceeded up (about 1000ft) the South Waldo trail bucking up about 15 logs on the way to the jct with My Ray trail. Two other crews of 3 started from the Mt Ray TH and hiked a little over 2 miles to the jct of South Waldo and Mt Ray. One tread crew of three started working on the South Waldo putting in about a half dozen drainage structures on a severely eroded section of trail. The remaining crew of three continued on up Mt Ray into the Cedar Creek burn zone which starts about .5 miles further. They bucked up logs until they reached the burn boundary and then entered what looked more like a desert than a forest. No logs survived in this extremely intense burn zone. The trail was mostly invisible, and the ground was like talcum powder. They proceeded another half mile into the burn zone searching for the trail using a GPS track and marking the trail location as best they could for future work.

Friday August 15th - On Friday August 14th, new Scorpions John M and Lisa M joined Brian R to make headway on the Hand Lake trail from the northern intersection with Deer Butte. Utilizing the scout and prep work of earlier teams, we were able to drive to within ¼ mi of the trail junction. Kudos to the team that brushed and logged out the spur road - that looked like a LOT of work. In the forest, the workload was light but once in the burn, there were more logs. John and Lisa caught on quickly and were eager to try using the bar or single cuts where ever possible. We stopped for lunch in the shade before starting work on a 21” green log with quite a bit of top and side bind. The early day enthusiasm was temporarily sapped as they got the opportunity to earn their under-bucking merit badge on the argumentative log. It took a bit of time (and a lot of under bucking) but we got through the log and moved on to easier work. We called it a day at the base of the switchbacks about 1.7mi from the Deer Butte/ Hand Lake junction. We had beautiful skies, good air and even a few clouds for cover. Welcome to the newcomers.

We hope to see you on the trail soon.

Next week's projects:

Tuesday August 18th- Eugene to Crest post fire tread restoration and brushing
Sign up link: https://bttr.im/9ha7v

Thursday August 20th - Deer Butte XC Logout
Sign up link: https://bttr.im/ivwdp

08/01/2026

Last week’s “Scorpions On The Trail” Work Summaries

Saturday July 25th - On Saturday July 25th and small team headed up the unscouted parts of lower French Pete trail. A Scorpions team had logged out the first 1.7mi to the creek in late February (February!). During the intervening time nothing of consequence had fallen between the trailhead and the creek so we made good time. After the first creek crossing, surprisingly, there was also little down between the creek and our high point of last year. We ate lunch about ½ mi shy of last year’s highpoint and kept going. By turnaround time, we had pushed the highpoint up to 4.4mi and by that time it had become very brushy and the logs we were encountering were rotten, embedded and needed persuasion from the bar and Pulaski in order to budge. On the way back we encountered some hikers who had crossed the creek and kept on going giving us the feedback that yes, people do go further than the creek. Great day and hard work. Combined with previous Scorpion efforts, it is starting to feel like 2026 could be the year we get French Pete logged out. Then on to the brushing….

Tuesday July 28th – Three Scorpions joined up with 8 Salamanders to logout Maxwell Butte and Eight Lake trail in Mt Jefferson Wilderness Area. It was beautiful day with at least 80 logs strewn about. A few hiked up to the summit and caught a glimpse of the pyro cumulous cloud rising from the Bench Fire near Madras.

Thursday July 30th - On Thursday July 30th, Alex and Brian took advantage of the waning days of power tool use in the forest to logout Elk creek from the trailhead to the wilderness boundary. The logs came in two groupings: down low and up high on the ridge with nothing in between. We enjoyed lugging the saw up the 1800’ to get the big rotten ones on the ridge and we ran into 8 backpackers as we worked who were interested to hear how they could earn a wilderness permit card by volunteering. After the long hike up and brushing to emphasize the trail up on the ridge, we decided we should beat feet back downhill to the car. It was a good feeling to see so many hikers on the trail and to know we cleared the logs that would have been a pain to crawl over or under.

Thursday July 30th - Yesterday at Hand Lake trail in Mt. Washington Wilderness Area , Camilla and Mike S. worked on the southern section from the road 242 TH. They bucked up a small number of logs and did some much needed tread repair close to the jct with Scott Mt.

We hope to see you on the trail soon.

Next week's projects:
Tuesday August 4th - logout and brushing on FR841 (shortcut to Hand Lake)
Sign up link: https://bttr.im/4z85a

Thursday August 6th - XC Logout South Waldo Trail
Sign up link: https://bttr.im/o9sl0

07/25/2026

Last week’s “Scorpions On The Trail” Work Summaries

Saturday July 18th – A crew of 5 Scorpions headed up to start work on Grasshopper trail #3569. We started at the west TH on road 1927. We worked this trail last year and made it about 2-miles up through a heavy load of logs. This year the log load was not quite as heavy but still quite a few with many large suspended and challenging logs. We formed two chainsaw teams and headed on up. By about 2:30 we made it 2.4 miles into the trail climbing 1100ft and started our way back. There is 1.4 miles to go and another 300ft of elevation before we get to Grasshopper Mt. The trail was getting very brushy at the end. We will try and get the rest of it sometime this Fall…Sig

Tuesday July 21st – A crew of 3 Scorpions returned to French Pete trail #3311. Last Saturday a larger crew worked this trail from Pat Saddle and made it about 2.4 miles in. But 3-of us got stuck 1.2 miles in with a 51” green log loaded with sap. We worked on it all day without completing a single cut. Today we returned to tackle it armed with a gallon of solvent, lubricant for the 7ft XC saw and lots of rags and a stiff brush to help clean sappy shavings off the saw.

With some trepidation we got the saw into the existing partial cut and started pulling. Thankfully much of the sap had completed oozing out during the 3-day wait period. We were actually getting some dry chips and noodles out of the cut. It still gummed the saw up, but we could at least get 10-20 saw strokes in before we had to clean it with solvent and oil. But progress was being made.

We completed the first cut and moved onto the second. Repeated cleaning cycles and pounding wedges deeper got us about 2/3rds of the way through the second cut when we broke for lunch. We estimated the log segment was at least 3-4 tons. After lunch we cut some good sized rails and placed them under the log and cleared a downhill exit path. We hoped this would convince it to roll easily off the trail when the cut was completed. Sure enough we completed the cut and with just a little persuasion from our pry bar it log rolled nicely off the trail. We packed up all our sap and solvent saturated rags into a garbage bag, gathered our gear and headed back to Pat Saddle at about 2PM.

Thursday July 23rd – On Thursday July 23rd a crew of 3 Scorpions headed to logout Lowder Mt trail #3329 in Three Sisters Wilderness area. There were two fire trucks there at the TH but the crew was nowhere to be seen. There was a small fire close to French Mt that reportedly got extinguished earlier in the week.

Within 50 feet we had a large log over the trail. We pushed it off. And for most of the rest of the logs (two exceptions), it was push, pull, hack, whack, lots of suggestions flying around among the three of us, few of which mentioned the word “saw.” In that way, we got the trail logged out. We had lunch at the Karl and Ruth Lake overlook, and I was actually a little cold on the summit. Brushing needs to be done in the meadows but is not emergent….Mike S.

Thursday July 23rd – On Thursday 7-23-2026, Brian and Garrett made the final push to get Separation Lake Trail finished for the season. We started from the Horse Creek Trailhead and hiked up 5 miles to the jct with Separation Lake Trail. All the brush was wet and we soon had soaked feet for the rest of the trip. There were a few new logs down on Horse Creek Trail, which we cut out (except for one NO-GO due to a yellow jacket nest). Once we got to the Separation Lake Trail jct, we headed down down down into the canyon towards Separation Lake. Did I mention it was down? The trail is very steep as it goes quickly down into the canyon. Log load was fairly light, and we reached the lake in time for lunch. Afterwards, we started the steep slog back up the canyon, then back down Horse Creek Trail to the car.

Separation Lake Trail is finally logged and clear the entire length for the 2026 season! Thanks to all who worked multiple days and made long hikes to get this trail opened up after the big downfall over the winter!...Garrett

Thursday July 23rd – A crew of 5 Scorpions returned to do another day of post Cedar Creek fire trail restoration at Black Creek #3551 in the Waldo Lake Wilderness Area. This was our 3rd trip there this season. The roads leading to the TH are officially closed but we had permission from the FS to drive in on the last two Thursdays, 7/16 and 7/23. Last Thursday there was hardly any heavy equipment activity on the road but this week the crews were very busy ripping up damaged roadbeds and preparing for eventual repaving.

With a small crew of 5 we decided to focus on continuing to log out the trail and not do any tread restoration. We were hoping to logout beyond where we stopped last time at a long switchback about 1.3 miles in just above Lillian Falls. It quickly became apparent that that was not to be. Two new logs were down across the trail at the same spot where a large new log was down the previous week. The two new logs were right next to the log that was bucked up last week. A crew of 3 remained there and it took until about noon to get these logs removed.

We all had lunch on the switch back above Lillian Falls in a small bit of shade. After that we managed to buck up 2 or 3 more difficult full sun logs until we all had enough at around 2PM. We never made it further than where we were the previous week. With the road work going on we will have to give this trail a rest for a while. Hopefully we will be able to return in the Fall…Sig

We hope to see you on the trail soon.

Next week's project:
Tuesday July 28th - Maxwell Butte XC logout
Sign up link: https://bttr.im/79wjk

07/19/2026

Last week’s “Scorpions On The Trail” Work Summaries

Saturday July 11th – A crew of 8 Scorpions started logging out French Pete trail #3311 in Three Sisters Wilderness area. There were about 40 logs down in the first 2.7 miles of trail including a 45” log that was green and loaded with sap about 1.2 miles from the TH. We sent a crew of 3 with a big saw in first to head directly to the 45” log and get it started. The rest of the crew started bucking up logs from the TH. After a few hours we all arrived at the large log only to find the crew of 3 wallowing in a pool of sap. The big green log was oozing sap from every cut and was severely top bound. They were trying numerous methods to try and under buck the big log, washing the saw with water, hand wipes and draining a can of WD-40. Every stroke of the saw just produced a gloppy mess of wood fibers. Seeing this, the rest of the crew quickly marched on down the trail to find more cooperative logs to buck. The sap log crew continued to try and get some cuts deeper in the log. By 2PM were maybe 60% though the first cut and decided it was fruitless and would have to return at a future date with a few gallons of solvent, rags, brushes and oil to clean and lubricate the saw. The rest of the crew at this point were almost 3-miles down the trail. We all returned to the TH to head home. We will be back soon.

Tuesday July 14th - On Tuesday July 14th, Maryanne, Keiko, Jim S., Jeff R., Matthew and Brian R hiked in to logout and brush Horsepasture Mountain trail. It is a short trail with great views and is popular with hikers for these reasons. Maryanne and Jeff R gave the trail a magazine photospread - worthy powerbrushing up to the beargrass while Keiko lopped and cleaned up the brush falling on the trail. Matthew and Jim S. chainsaw cut out multiple large logs that were making trail use difficult while Brian R and Maryanne hand-sawed smaller logs closer to the summit. By the end of the day, the trail was completely clear of logs and well brushed. It was a treat to work a trail that we could get done start to finish in one outing – great work by a hardworking team….Brian R

Thursday July 16th - A crew of 11 Scorpions returned to Black Creek trail #3551 in the Waldo Lake Wilderness Area. We have been trying to restore this trail after it was badly damaged in the Cedar Creek fire. This was our second trip there this season.

We formed three saw crews of 2 each and had a 5 -person tread crew. We last left off about 1.2 miles into the trail on a switch back just beyond Lillian Falls. As we hiked in the saw teams got busy right away as new large complex logs had come down at several spots on the trail that had been previously logged out. The tread team continued past the crosscut teams to start restoring the tread on the switchback.

Working the tread here is almost like building a new trail. In many places there is no sign of the trail, and we have to rely on our old GPS tracks. The switchback is on a very steep side slope completely covered in vines with frequent large logs across the trail corridor. Every time we come here we make it about a quarter mile further. It’s about 3 miles to Waldo Lake and we are now about halfway. But it was a beautiful day to be out on the trail and we continue to make slow but steady progress. We will be back here next week.….Sig

We hope to see you on the trail soon.

Next Projects:
Tuesday July 21st – French Pete trail XC logout from Pat Saddle TH
Sign up link: https://bttr.im/tlldf

Thursday July 23rd– Lowder Mt XC-logout
Sign up link: https://bttr.im/dqsyb

Thursday July 23rd – Black Creek trail #3551 XC logout and tread restoration
Sign up link: https://bttr.im/bi6hw

07/10/2026

Last week’s “Scorpions On The Trail” Work Summaries

Tuesday July 7th - Earlier in the season, Scorpion teams logged out all of the Separation Lake trail to the lake with the exception of a 200’ section with a tremendous jackstraw pile about 2 ¾ mi in. With guidance from USFS on how to divert around the main part of the jackstraw, on Tuesday July 7th a team of six returned to the Separation Lake trail to implement the diversion. Brad and Matthew with first-time Scorpion Doug P. trimmed a large root ball at the entry to the diversion, laid down new tread and cut out the logs in the way of the new route. Mark and Meg worked the exit of the diversion resolving a leaner with serious side bind and other logs in the way of rejoining the trail. While it was a short bit of trail, it took us the full day due to the coordination required since many of the logs were intertwined and we were on watch for unintended consequences of a cut. The binds did not favor us either. Thanks to a patient and hardworking team, the diversion is in place and the trail is more easily usable….Brina R.

Thursday July 9th - A crew of 8 Scorpions drove up the Aufderheide to Constitution Grove to logout and brush the North Fork trail segment 5. We split up into 2 crews and staged cars so each crew could do a 1-way hike. One crew headed downstream for about 3 miles from the jct with Shale Ridge and the second crew started at Constitution Grove and headed downstream for about 4 miles to road 1944. The trail was scouted in late April and at that time there were about 9-logs on each section and lots of brushing to do. Shortly after we started hiking, we realized that another crew had already logged out and did quite a thorough job of brushing. There were only a few new logs for the saw teams. But all was not lost. The crew heading down from Shale Ridge spent some time at three failed bridge sites. We took measurements of the span and looked for cedars to be used for bridge replacement. The crew heading downstream from Constitution Grove worked on a section of trail that was very difficult to follow due to repeated springtime flooding. Both crews and all the trucks ended up at road 1944 where we all had lunch. We all enjoyed a nice hike on a beautiful day….Sig

We hope to see you on the trail soon.

Next week's projects:
Tuesday July 14th - Horse Pasture trail chainsaw logout and brushing
Sign up link: https://bttr.im/hnlvi

Thursday July 16th - Black Creek trail XC-logout and post fire tread restoration
Sign up link: https://bttr.im/27yul

07/05/2026

Last week’s “Scorpions On The Trail” Work Summaries

Thursday June 25th – On Thursday June 25th Alex, Tom, Jeff and Brian returned to Olallie to continue work on the mountain portion of the trail. This part of the trail had not been scouted but based on our previous trips this spring and last week’s start on the mountain trail, we felt confident the log load would be high. As we worked, Tom told us about a study that estimated that there are over 12 trillion trees on the planet and while it may have felt like it, they did not all fall on Olallie. Some are still standing. Working in two saw teams, we cut and moved a lot of logs. We were able to make good time and clear a lot of logs because more of the logs were broken, smaller or movable. There were still some large and stubborn logs, but it was better than it has been and we made ¾ miles further up the trail. As we were winding down, Alex offered to go to the summit to scout the remainder of the work. It appears we have one more day with a moderate size crew to clear the remaining 30-40 logs and do some brushing/tread restoration to better establish the trail just below the summit. Maybe in the next week or so we can finally have Olallie mountain open.

Thursday June 25th – A crew of 3 worked the South Fork McKenzie Trail #3327 logged, lightly brushed, and clear entire length.

Tuesday June 30th - Six more Scorpions returned yet again to continue pushing up The Trail That Keeps On Giving (aka Olallie Mountain). Weather was cloudy and cool, a nice change from the scorching days we've had up there in the past. We made the 3.3 mile hike up to were work left off last time and started sawing. One team stayed to work on a problematic rootball with two attached logs while the other teams leapfrogged ahead. The rootball logs had some very difficult bind that ultimately required us to chunk out one side. Afterwards, that allowed more straight forward cutting and it was finally rolled off the trail not long before lunch.

The teams regrouped for lunch, then pushed up closer to the top as the trail curves around the north side of the mountain. One last log had fallen right on the last switchback, making it hard to find the trail for a short time. Once we figured it out, we set to work cutting all the (many) branches off the log to help it roll. Made the final cut and it rolled down the hill and off the trail. We all walked the final distance to the summit and enjoyed the nice cloudy views from the top.

After who knows how many trips between the Scorpions and McKenzie Trail Crew, Olallie Mountain is finally logged out and clear all the way to the top!! This was a very challenging season for this trail with piles and piles of jackstraw logs, every few feet of cleared trail was a battle. Thank you to all who kept returning to work so hard to open this popular trail up just in time for the 4th of July Holiday! Well done all!!!....Garrett

Thursday July 2nd - On Thursday July 2nd, Chris, Steve and Brian hiked in to logout Olallie trail from the southern trailhead. It is about 3.4mi and 2000’ to the Wildcat trail junction. Right out of the gates there were a couple logs before the Wilderness boundary and the Olallie turn off. While the scout indicated a low to moderate log load on Olallie, the argumentative-log quotient turned out to be higher than expected. Many of the logs had a bone to pick with us and demanded some degree of under-bucking, copious wedges and for one sappy log, as much WD-40 as we had. We were happy when we finally got to wedge depth on a log. After getting most of the logs and working the switchbacks, we turned around leaving five remaining within 0.9mi of the Wildcat junction. Hopefully the Forest Service crew can get those during their Wildcat hitch….Brian R.

We hope to see you on the trail soon.

Next week's projects:

Tuesday July 7th - Separation Lake #3536 (repair) Wilderness cross cut logout & tread
Sign up link: https://bttr.im/432hg

Thursday July 9th - Chain saw logout and brushing of North Fork trail # 3666 segment 5
Sign up link: https://bttr.im/orhlg

Saturday July 11th - Crosscut logout of the French Pete Creek Trail #3311 in the Three Sisters Wilderness.
Sign up link: https://bttr.im/8hlb5

Scorpions Trail Crew

08/29/2026

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