[pct-l] Alien space probe or ???

[losthiker at sisqtel.net (Deems)]

> I think that's from dynamite.

>Yeah, there was lots of those scars on the High Sierra Trail. Sometimes 
>beautifull things are created with dynamite.

>But how did they drill the holes 70 years ago?

The trail crews used a long heavy iron bar with a double chisel bit on the tip which made a cross or plus shape. It took two people to drill the hole, one to hold the bar and the other pounded on it with a sledge hammer. As the rock was pounded, the bar was rotated to chisel the base of the hole out. The powdered rock was blown out with a small air hose that the crewman blew into. When the hole was deep enough, the dynamite was dropped in and triggered. One of these bars is in the trail crew office at work now, and they are still in use today. Always thank the trail crews when you pass them on the trail, their work in some ways is carrying on an old long lost American tradition--working hard with only your hands, heart, and muscle to build something that will last almost forever.