If you happen to maintain a section of the Appalachian Trail these days, as I do for the MATC, you are now required to take a chainsaw safety course if you plan to use a machine to get your trail work done.

And seeing as how a good part of any AT maintainer's job here in Maine is devoted to removing blowdowns (also known as blowdownus painintheassus) that block tha trail, a chainsaw is the only way to work efficiently. Especially when you might have to cut out 75-100 of them in the course of a few miles of trail.

And so, much to my AT Section Overseer's delight I would imagine, I attended one such 16-hour safety course this weekend at a woodlot in Windham, sponsored by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.

Driving there Saturday morning I was wondering just what in the world we were going to learn about chainsaws that was going to take up an entire weekend.

Well, did I ever find out!

We spent 3/4 of our time right out there in the woods running through just about every possible scenario and practicing most every needed type of cutting method, from limbing, bucking and felling to boring cuts, calculating back lean and side, and figuring your face cut and hinge width.

What you say?

Exactly.

It was a lot of stuff jam packed into what turned out to be quick course.

But the 14 attendees no doubt came away safer and more knowledgable chainsaw users who will now be able to approach both routine and more complicated trail maintenance situations with an expanded knowledge base.

And what a thrill it is to now be able to properly and safely assess a tree, the hazards, escape plan, it's lean, make a cutting plan and so forth, and be able to drop it pretty much right where you'd planned to.

I'd like to thank both Lester Kenway and Peter Jensen, certified sawyer instructors for the ATC, for their professional approach, their patience and their sense of humor. You guys did a terrific job! Thank you.

Many thanks also to Larry Clark for the use of his beautiful farm and woodlot.

And thanks to the ATC for supplying personal protection equipment (chaps, helmet, ear and eye protection) free of charge to each maintainer who successfuly completes the course. That's a real nice bonus.

And Phil, I do promise I'll be wearing it all out there this season!

Practicing boring cuts.

Releasing a spring pole.

Assessing the lean.

Felling the tree.

The crew and instructors look on.

Measuring post-cut tolerances.

Reviewing the cut.

Demonstrating the slab cut.

Explaining the practice boring stump.

Looking down a well-felled birch.

Chainsaw maintenance.