Silky Saws Help Erich Zimmerman Maintain the Methow Valley Trails
Erich Zimmerman is a trail builder with Methow Valley Trail, a small chapter of Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance, in rural Eastern Washington.
“The Methow Valley is a popular spot for recreation,” says Zimmerman, who worked on a U.S. Forest Service (USFS) trail crew before becoming a trail builder in Methow Valley. His specialty is maintaining existing multi-use and mountain biking trails in the Methow Valley. Other trail builders build the new trails, while Zimmerman spends his days logging out trails (clearing downed trees), building drainage, and staying on top of trail tread repair.
“Silky saws are great,” said Zimmerman, who first discovered Silky saws during his time on the USFS Wilderness Trail Crew. On that crew, everyone had their own Silky, and the crew had communal Silky saws. “I carried an Ibuki,” said Zimmerman. “The crew called it my gun saw because of its pistol handle. I love how quickly it cuts. Ergonomically it’s a great saw, and it’s powerful—I think it cuts more aggressively than the Bigboy. It’s a great saw for cleaning up small diameter blowdowns in a lodgepole forest, trees that are five to six inches in diameter. The Ibuki can cut rough stuff quickly. It feels nice to hold, and I love the sheath.”
In addition to the Ibuki, Zimmerman regularly uses a Bigboy. “Because the Bigboy handle hyperextends, I can finish off a crosscut and protect our 100-year-old two-person crosscut saws. The Bigboy saws are also super useful when I need to free a pinched chainsaw.”
Zimmerman says that Katanaboys are his favorite tool for logging out. “You can cut some pretty big trees with a Katanaboy. Out here, wherever you can mountain bike you can chainsaw. But chainsaws are big and burdensome. So I have a Katanaboy for the trail crew. We often get reports of a tree down deep on a trail, usually in an awkward corner. I don’t want to bike six miles with a chainsaw. So I hop on the e-bike with the Katanaboy on my back, bike in, cut out the tree, and it’s probably faster.”
In the Methow Valley, fire danger can prevent trail crews from using power tools. “From late July until late autumn you often can’t use a power tool around here due to wildfire risk,” said Zimmerman. “But the trees don’t stop falling, particularly in previously burned areas. During fire ban season, we use Katanaboys for logging out. And I have to say, my back appreciates that saw a lot more than a chainsaw.”
Soon, Zimmerman will have close to 60 miles of trails under his purview. That’s a lot of mileage, which is why he also relies on the community for help. “It’s awesome when mountain bikers carry a Bigboy or Gomboy in their pack or on their bike frame so they can cut out blowdown when they come across it. If everyone brought a Silky along when they rode, it would let trail managers do better work, deeper in.”
Zimmerman invites everyone to come check out the great mountain biking in Methow Valley. “It’s a special place,” says Zimmerman. “But if you’re hoping to ride, you might want to wait until spring. In winter, the Methow Valley multi-use trails become a Nordic ski network.