Back Country Horsemen back in the saddle clearing trails

Back Country Horsemen of the Flathead recently completed a work project on the Ousel West No. 338 trail.

According to project manager Dan Oursland, the plan was to clear the trail to a hazardous spot about 3 1/2 miles up the trail that was blocking horsemen from travel as well as the amazing views from the summit. Then U.S. Forest Service workers would have a clear trail to reach this problematic spot above a steep bank.

“It was a good day for the four of us,” Oursland said. “A couple of the downfalls had some good size to them. It was fun to try to engineer our cuts so we did not have to move them any more than we had to. We cleared about 30 to 40 trees to get to this spot and stopped there. We did a mile or so of brushing on the way out before we petered out. We only left one tree, we did not know the safest way to get at it. It is well overhead above the trail and almost horizontal, it is hung up right on the top of a vertical snag that has the top broken off of it.”

Oursland reported the quartet’s progress to the Forest Service’s Jess May about their progress and she said she was sending a four-person crew to work on the problem and that the trail could possibly be passable by the end of this week.

The group meets at 6:30 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month with food and fellowship followed by the general meeting at 7:30 p.m. Meetings are held at the West Valley Fire Hall, 2399 Whitefish Stage Road.

For more information, text or call Jim Thramer at 406-471-8391.