The Colwell Lake Trail is a handicap-accessible (ADA) trail which runs for 2.2 miles around Colwell Lake in the Rapid River Ranger District of the Hiawatha National Forest. It has the ADA required rest stops every two-tenths of a mile or so, each with a bench, a level gravel pad at least 5 feet by 9 feet, and marvelous views of the lake. The trail is compacted crushed limestone, at least 5 feet wide. We helped finish the trail project which had been in progress for 3 summers.
First, forms for the front and back of the gravel pad had to be put in place and leveled. As the crew did that, I drove the Forest Service's 6X6 ATV seen here to one of three gravel piles and hand shoveled 1/3 of a cubic yard of gravel into the bed of the vehicle and drove it back to the work site, where the crew (here, Jack, Jeff, Ole, and Pat) dumped it into place.
Next, the gravel was spread, hand tamped, screened off, and tamped more until solid and level. Then the forms were removed and the pad transitioned to the trail level and the sides and back rounded and tamped. In this photo, Jeff and Pat are screening, Ole is tamping, Mert is adding more gravel, and Jack is leaning on the rake after spreading the gravel.
After a pad is constructed, holes are dug at least 42" deep for the bench, which is placed in the holes so the seat is 19" above the pad. The bench is then leveled and plumbed and the holes filled and tamped. The benches had an arm rest on only one side to allow wheelchair occupants to easily slide from chair to bench. Here Pat and Ole hold the bench while Jeff digs one hole a bit deeper as Jack mans the tape measure.
After completing the 10 pads and benches, we built cribbing retaining walls in several sections where gravel would not stay in place due to the steep terrain. First, stakes were sunk and wood was bolted to them. Dirt then filled in the bottom of the form and fabric was applied to help hold the gravel in place. Here Mert carries the bolt bucket while Jack and Jeff bolt the last piece of wood wall. We were fortunate to have a gas powered generator(seen on the trail in the background) and the use of a power saw, drill, and socket wrench. The actual trail tread construction was completed by rangers and a prison crew from a nearby state correctional institutional.
Here is our dedicated and hardworking volunteer trail crew: (top) Jeff from Wisconsin, Mert from Ohio, Ole from Minnesota, Ranger Randy who directed the project; (bottom) Chuck from Illinois, Pat from Wisconsin, and Jack from Minnesota. We are sitting on/standing behind the final bench we had set into place.