It took a bit of effort, but the deck sites have now been tidied up. VM West finished hauling the timber away after spending a few weeks processing it at the sites. The slash has been relocated and the trails are now clear of this debris. In addition to the log loader and logging trucks used for clearing the commercial timber, we utilized a 30-ton dump-truck and a large excavator to load up the slash piles.

We will conduct some slash burning down in the Paradise Lot when the conditions are appropriate and meet the criteria within our USFS burn plan. Normally, this can be completed soon after the first significant snow of the season. Sometimes, this first storm can also be the one that gets the snowcats track-packing the mountain and (hopefully) the ski area opened up soon afterwards. So, it’s always reassuring to get all of the slash removed from the trails prior to the first storm.

This three-week snapshot also clearly shows a change in the seasons. The grasses on the trails are turning brown and the alpine tundra is taking on a reddish hue. Soon Aetna and Taylor will have some snow and winter will be on the way.