Services

Design

Happy Trails designs trails according to the best modern standards of sustainability. These principles include:

  • Identifying boundaries, land managers, and users
  • Determining control points- places where the trail should and should not go.
  • Alignment with the contour of the land to minimize the intersection of flowing water and the trail line
  • Controlled grade suitable for the terrain and the intended user.
  • Integrated water control, utilizing sideslope on the trail bench and grade reversals to ensure all water exits the trail as soon as possible.
  • Durable tread created by "full bench" construction, where the entire width of the trail tread is based on original soil.
  • Designing to minimize costly structures and amendments such as bridges or Geogrid (used in low or permafrost sections).

Trail designer Jon Underwood is a lifelong Alaskan with extensive experience in the Alaska backcountry. He has a good understanding of the unique problems Alaska presents to trail design, such as permafrost, frost heaving, and aufeis, as well as the determining the likelihood of certain soil conditions based on topography and vegetation. Jon also brings an extensive background in skiing, hiking, running, mountain biking, snowshoeing, ski-joring, mushing, and ATV use to the design table, which informs his sense of the trail needs and desires of each user group.

Layout

In the layout process, the elements of good design must be matched to realities on the ground, requiring a careful balance of art and science. The trail must abide by principles of hydrology, soil science, and geometry while achieving the equally important objectives of connecting people with the natural environment, fitting into the landscape, and "flow". Layout requires miles of bushwhacking, careful measurement, evaluation, and may be logistically challenging. It is crucial to have a good layout before you commit enormous resources to construction.

Construction

Happy Trails Inc. is fully mechanized and is able to create trail better, faster and cheaper than hand labor. We cut the trail bench with the Sweco 480 Trail Dozer, shape and detail it with a mini-excavator, and hand finish to your specifications. From complete design/build/finish trails to cooperative efforts utilizing community resources, Happy Trails offers flexibility to get the very best trail on the ground.

Why is mechanized better?
Creating a full bench trail requires removal of a lot of heavy material, including stumps, rocks, and volumes of earth. A good trail crew can do this beautifully; but it takes a lot of muscle power to consistently move all of that heavy, firmly attached material out of the tread. The Sweco can move this material with ease. Also, the excavator can shape and re-place heavy items like rocks, logs and stumps without requiring heavy lifting. With these machines, one operator can create many more feet of trail per day than a crew. The end result- a better-shaped, more sustainable trail, finished sooner, at lower cost.

Consulting

Where can we build this trail? How much money must we obtain to ensure completion? What is the best way to go about this project? Are there regulations we must comply with, permits that must be obtained? When you have questions, we will supply the answers. We can make an assessment of your proposed project or maintenance, retrofit trail networks that have developed haphazardly, and recommend options.

Maintenance

When you need to re-shape the tread, install rolling grade dips, remove berms, re-set the grade of the backslope, or completely re-route the trail, Happy Trails can help. We can help determine needed actions if you desire, or just take your punch list out on the trail.