Exchange: Mahicans Diamond, director of the trail construction team with Hélène Hamel, community coordinator.
When I interviewed Mahicans Diamond earlier this year, I was struck by his deep love of the forest as well as his calm personality. You can see that he derives immense pleasure from working in nature and building quality trails that attract people to the forest. He is a firm believer in the health benefits of the woods.
His work starts in the spring with the planning of the new trails. He literally runs through the forest in order to cover as much new terrain as possible. He gets a feel of the land from the ground up. Then, with the help of maps and the trail foreman, Matthew Cleary, he plots the trail taking into consideration the pitch, the flow of the water after the spring runoff, the trees and vegetation. He avoids ecologically sensitive areas and protects them by keeping the trails well outside these environments.
To avoid crowding, the length of the trails on a property never exceeds the length of the perimeter of that property.
When asked how much longer he will be building the Massawippi Trail he said, “It all depends on the fundraising!” He and the team are happy to keep working until their retirement!
Very little mechanical equipment is used in the building of the trails. Mahicans and Matthew have both trained with other companies that use all techniques from mechanised to hand made. This knowledge allows them to choose the best methods to build the Massawippi Trail with a minimum amount of mechanical intrusions. The must have arsenal of tools include the McLeod, the Pulaski and the Mattock. Funny and strange, these are the real names for the essential work horses of the trail building team.
McLeod
Pulaski
Mattock
Mahicans also prefers to use the materials at hand. Obviously there is a cost savings but there is also an ecological factor. The only foreign material is some lumber used for building the bridges and occasionally the stairs. For example they chose to repurpose old telephone poles to make the stairs near Ethan’s Beach. As he said: “We are stone masons, lumberjacks, carpenters but most of all landscapers” who choose the right materials to make each step enjoyable. The trails are built to last. Mahicans would like his grandchildren to enjoy the results of his labour.
During the summer he hires students to supplement the professional team. The students are trained in the art of trail building. Some outlast the mosquitoes and even come back for a second summer, others move on. Regardless, they all appreciate the time they get to spend in the forest, seeing the wildlife and learning new skills.
Mahicans ends the trail building season in November. When asked what he would be doing over the winter with a big smile he said: “Working on my own house and all the projects I was not able to do during the summer.”
A short French interview with Mahicans is available on our website.
