I hiked the Dickey Creek trail yesterday and while it is in pretty good shape, there were quite a few branches and other winter time debris on the trail.  Even though the trail had recent visitors, the branches were still on the trail.  I'm amazed at how many people don't take the time to perform these simple steps - they just walk around and over debris.  Taking a few seconds to clear it while hiking improves the trail for the next person and reduces the amount of work trail crews need to do.  If you are doing an out and back hike, you can enjoy the fruits of your own labor on the way back out!  If you haven't seen the how to help page, here are simple things anyone can do that do not require much time or effort and will significantly improve trails:

• Use your hiking stick to toss small branches off the trail - toss them on the downhill side of the trail
• Move larger branches off the trail by hand - toss them on the downhill side of the trail
• If you bring a small handsaw, you can cut limbs off downed logs to make passage over them easier
• If you bring a set of small loppers you can cut back brush that is overhanging the trail - cut branches at joints or near the trunk and try and cut it 4 feet from the middle of the trail where possible.

Here is a simple example of a larger branch that could be easily moved off the trail without any tools:

It doesn't look like much, but leaving this partially in the tread creates unintended "re-routes" around it.  Moving it off the tread makes the trail easier to hike and more easily followed.