50- 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



TRAIL BUILT AROUND A CANYON BOX BY PACKERS 

 OF GILA RECONNAISSANCE CREW, 1911. 



has been worn down, the valleys have 

 a gentle grade and are quite wide so 

 that they make good trail routes. Where 

 mountains are crossed the route is 

 usually expensive and contains steep 

 grades. The foothill grade is unde- 

 sirable because there is so much winding 

 in and out around the heads of canyons, 

 in order to keep an even grade, that the 

 trail is bound to be extremely long. 



In the southwest, where cattle graze 

 on the forests to some extent, it is found 

 that they are very good engineers in 

 the location of trails, as a number of 

 trails on the Gila National Forest of 

 New Mexico are old cattle trails which 

 have been brushed out and blazed. In 



going up a grade cattle resort to switch- 

 backs and always travel where the going 

 is best, keeping an even grade. In 

 traveling down a ridge or canyon they 

 always pick out the smooth spots and 

 many of these trails located by cattle 

 are just as good as those located by 

 man. 



The factors which influence the build- 

 ing and cost of trails are: (1) grade, 

 (2) width of cleared space and the 

 tread, (3) nature of the soil, (4) cost 

 of labor, (5) distance for packing sup- 

 plies, (6) distance men walk to work, 

 (7) cost of supplies, and (8) supervi- 

 sion. Grade, as said before, is the de- 

 termining factor of location ; the steeper 



