In the Field: Week 5

Moraine Crew

Wow, it feels good getting back to work after the midweek change of pace. We hit the ground running this week by dividing into three two person teams to work on a variety of work!

Anna and Barnabas took off for most of the week and worked at the solar shower project in Glarier Basin Campground. They completed the structural supports between the main beams and put up all the walls! They even began painting, and probably would have completed it if we did not get rained out on Thursday (fresh paint and downpours of rain are not a good combination).

Solar Shower Project coming along great! All the walls are up and painting is under way.

Hayley and Randy spent most of their week at the project shop mastering the new skill we all learned on Tuesday, glazing. Glazing is real interesting, and sometimes frustrating, because it is a very simple skill to learn but it takes a lot of practice to get good at. You must work both patiently to get nice smooth corners and no cracks, but, you also have to work fast enough so the glazing putty does not get too cold to work with.  Everyone in the crew also learned how to glaze but did not get much practice in this week, but if there is one thing we have learned its that there are always more windows to work on!

Dolly demonstrating excellent glazing techniques with a putty knife, she makes it look easy but also has 20+ years of practice!

Max and I (Will) got our fix of digging and swinging piks this week. We spent most of our time out at Moraine Park Campground working on constructing a new ADA trail to access a comfort station and modifying the old platform around the comfort station to meet ADA standards on slope. We removed the existing asphalt pathway and started digging and grading the slope for the new trail with the help of our boss Chuck and his mini excavator. After the new tread was dug and graded we began installing the redwood sidewalls that were stained earlier in the season.

Unfortunately, we also go rained out on Thursday and were not able to get as much work done as we would have hoped, but what we did get done is looking really good! It is crazy to see that amount of work that goes into making about 60 feet of new pathway, it really gave us a sense of respect for all the paved pathways we use on a daily basis.

Max standing atop of the asphalt he and Will removed by hand that Chuck could not reach with the excavator (not shown in this picture is the smile on chucks face as he uses his favorite toy).

Aside from the fun we had at work this week we all got together on Monday to make gluten AND dairy free pizza as our crew leader of the week Anna taught us all how to make friendship bracelets for her lesson. They are another good example of something that is simple but takes a lot of practice to get good at, she could have made each of us one before we finished our own!

Moraine crew, over and out!

-Will Fazio (Moraine Crew Leader)

This week on Boulder Crew we went on our first hitch. It was a whopping one mile hike
in to one of the most mosquito infested campsites ever. After setting up camp we
started our usual process of moving big rocks off the trail and moving even bigger rocks
onto trail to make check steps and waterbars.

Working on this trail was a bit more difficult than the previous trails because of the crazy amount of hikers that went by. It seemed like every minute there was a new hiker
passing by causing us to get “hikernoia” which is whenever you hear a noise on trail you
think it is a hiker waiting to pass. After each day of work we would swim in the lake to
relax and wash off all the trail grime. Working on a project like this was very fulfilling
because we could see our progress on a rough trail that became less rough and had
beautiful check steps and stairs instead of ankle rolling, leg breaking rocks.

All in all the week went pretty smooth besides a few minor hiccups. Everyone survived
and packed their backpack correctly and no one brought a shortage of food so in that
sense it was a very successful hitch. Although I am pretty sure everyone left with a few
more mosquito bites and a little less blood than at the start of the week.

-Jess (Crew Leader of the Week

For our fifth week of field work as the Rawah Crews, we returned to the Young Gulch trail for another hitch. Instead of camping at the trailhead, we backpacked down to a forested spot next to a beautiful meadow. For several people in our crew, this was their first real backpacking experience! Nate (Trail Jesus) met us at the top of the trail and hiked down with us to show us the ropes for our first day back on the trail. He wowed us (once again) with his super-human forearms and infinite trail knowledge. He hiked out after lunch and we were on our own for the rest of the week. Our first day was a very full one. A crew member rolled an ankle but powered through the day, James felled his first tree, and Noah built a rock wall. Our job at Young Gulch was to dig new tread. It was an exciting change of pace for us where we got the opportunity to use a variety of tools and challenge different muscles. Our evening ended with a dinner of Jordan’s trail-famous pad thai.

We realized on Tuesday morning just how hard we worked on Monday. We were sore but excited to get back to digging tread. The sun was present throughout the day, but the entire crew was resilient. We probably drank over 35 liters of water between all of us. It was a pretty standard day for most of us who were digging tread. For James and Nathan, they spent the second half of the day building a spectacular rock ramp. At this point, we didn’t have any hammers, so they were extremely crafty with the crushing of rocks. In the evening, we all had the opportunity to relax with the first part of Ruby Ann’s lesson. She taught us about making tea with foraged fruits and leaves, focusing on sustainable foraging. We collected wild raspberries, wild strawberries, mint, pine needles, bee balm, mullein, sage, juniper, and dandelion. We saved our plant mixture for the morning and ate stir fry for dinner which was prepared by Nathan, who we have deemed the cooking wizard of the group. On Tuesday night, Nathan also found some fresh bear scat right next to our camp.

Wednesday morning was perfect for everyone as we all prepared our foraged tea for the second part of Ruby Ann’s lesson. It was life-changing. Soon after, we were joined by Tommy and Morgan, our fearless field coordinators. The day started off with digging tread and quickly turned into a day of projects for half of the group. We came across a boulder in the middle of the trail which gave us an opportunity to work on our rock work skills. Ramps were needed on both sides of the boulder. Noah, Madison, Jordan, Stevie, and Ruby Ann took on the boulder project. The rest of us moved further down the trail to dig tread. Nathan came across another large rock in the trail and cleared all of the rotted wood (this was a feat!) to prepare the area for a future crew to do some rock work. Reche found an incredible spot next to the creek where we all enjoyed lunch and much-needed shade. After work, we all participated in Noah’s lesson of “How to Run.” It was very informative and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. Ruby Ann then cooked the culminating dinner of the work week–trail burritos! Shortly after we all (influenced by our food comas) decided to go for an early night and be well-rested for our final day of the hitch.

Our final day of the hitch was our first and only day without the sun. The sky was encompassed in clouds and the endless thunder started around lunchtime. We completed one of our boulder ramps, and the other one was nearing completion when the time came to hike out. The five of us who weren’t working on the ramp projects spent the morning digging tread in a really gnarly area with lots of raspberry bushes and large rocks. We accepted the challenge and dug some beautiful tread.

We had an incredible time back at Young Gulch. The hike out was incredible as we all got the opportunity to enjoy a trail we put into place. We made it back to the cars just as the torrential downpour began. Life is awesome like that!

-Zoe & Daniel (Crew leaders of the week)

Week 7 was another rockin’ week for the Estes Crew (No pun intended)! We spent most of the week working on a switchback section of our Aspen Brook trail. The days were early, and the weather unpredictable, but was more than enjoyable with great company!

Some of us huddled together to weather the storm on Thursday (Again, no pun intended).

Most of the crew was able to learn how to use a drill to remove rock from the trail. This allows for a more even tread level, as well as a safer hike for humans and horses! The crew also became proficient at moving rocks this week. We each were able to learn how to carefully move large rocks down the hill, on the trail, and towards the switchback. In order to move these massively heavy objects, we used a rock cart. This helps to distribute the weight evenly and roll the rock easily down the trail, rather than dragging it.

Our fearless crew leader steadying a rock onto the rock cart.

All of our rock gathering abilities are helpful for the rock wall, steps, crush, and riprap that are being constructed for this trail. These will help maintain the structure and prevent erosion of the trail. We’re so excited for the structures being built on this trail, and we are more than thankful to be able to be a part of it!

See you all next week!

-Sydney (Crew Leader of the Week)

Mid-Week – Conservation Corps

Mid-Week – Courtesy of Moraine Crew

Outline of the Week:

• Monday – Career Tour of NPS and Invasive Species Management 
• Tuesday – Educational Day – Field Classes: Alpine Ecology [Anna, Hayley, Max, Randy] Environmental Change in RMNP [Will], and Predator-Prey Relations [Barnabas]
• Wednesday – Happy 4th of July (Day Off)
• Thursday – Educational Day – Field Classes: Fire Ecology [Hayley and Barnabas attended], Edible and Medicinal Plants [Will attended], and Women of the Rocky Mountains [Randy, Max, and Anna attended]
• Friday – Mid-Season Evaluations, Crew Feedback Meetings, and Poster Project

Last week was Mid-Week!!! We had a week packed full of education, personal growth, and fun.

On Monday, we participated in both a Career Tour and a conservation project with Resource Stewardship. The Career Tour was lead by the Education Director or RMC, Ms. Rachel Balduzzi. We toured different offices including the Wilderness Office, SAR Cache, Fire Cache, Greenhouse, and Office of Interpretation to learn about career opportunities with the National Park System. It was an awesome opportunity to see the wide range of careers within the NPS. After our tour, we had lunch with the all of the crews and then headed to participate in a Resource Stewardship project involving removing invasive species. We geared up with gloves, reflective vests, and shovels to extract musk thistle. It was a successful afternoon of removing invasive plants in the Park. We found an elk antler during our mission to remove all non-native plants.

Elk Antler!

On Tuesday, we participated in education classes including Alpine Tundra Ecology. Anna, Hayley, Max, and Randy spent their day on the alpine tundra learning about the plants and animals that live there. The plants have to endure extreme weather conditions such as wind, snow and freezing temperatures, and harsh sunlight. Many of the plants have short growing seasons and take years to mature, which can easily be damaged if visitors go off trail. This class helped us understand the importance of following some park regulations that may otherwise seem silly like “keep off the tundra.

Alpine Tundra Hike

Will got the opportunity to learn about the geologic history of RMNP and how that relates to the modern vegetation communities that attracted trappers and settlers that altered the history of land use.  Activities like trapping beavers, hunting wolves and logging had had land legacy effects in changing how streams flow and altering the natural fire cycles. The effects of this land use is now something that RMNP manages to mitigate with activities like thinning forest stands to decrease fuel and implementing exclosures to allow vegetation around rivers to come back.

Barnabas was a part of the Predator and Prey class on Tuesday, learning about the relationships and the dependence predators and prey in the Rocky Mountain National Parks have on each other. A part of the program also consisted of labeling which predators and prey in the park are native or non-native, or even historically present and whether their species are endangered or not. We were taught that just because a species may have received endangered designation nationwide does not necessarily mean that the species is endangered in specific states. We hiked along parts of the montane forest and identified scats of various animals. Size, texture, color, and other factors help determine an animal’s scat. Even the season and recent meals also determining features of the scat. For example, moose in the springtime, have wetter scat due to eating from the wetlands and simply drinking more water.

 

Wednesday was the 4th of July, We all had the day off to enjoy ourselves and celebrate the holiday. Randy, Max and Anna went down to the Front Range to spend the day in Fort Collins and watch fireworks while Barnabas and Hayley stayed in Estes Park hanging out with some of the other crews. Will took the opportunity to do his first 14er and climbed Longs Peak with one of his high school friends from Colorado.

Thursday was similar to Tuesday with education classes, but the topics were different and included Fire Ecology, Women of the Rocky Mountains, and Edible and Medicinal Plants. Barnabas and Hayley learned about fire ecology and were able to hike part of the Fern Lake Trail to study the effects of a fire that occurred in the park in 2013. They learned about plants that are adapted to fire activity and others that do not do so well with fire. They also learned the process of fires, how they spread, how they are started, how they affect the environment they occur in, and how the environment influences fire activity. At the end of their day, they created posters that promote the use of prescribed fires or that have the purpose to alter the public’s view of fires that was created by the Smokey the Bear campaign.

Will had a great day learning medicinal uses for the plethora of native plants that can be found in RMNP. He was amazed at the amount of plants that can be used as beneficial medicine to help cure ailments from smallpox to upset stomachs and eye washes.

Friday was both a sad and happy day. It was our last day together with all the other crews, but we were able to focus on personal development and work on our crew posters that will be presented at the end of the season. We met with Tommy (Field Coordinator), Morgan(Field Coordinator), or Geoff (Program Director) to discuss our mid-season rose-bud-thorn and group dynamics. Then separately we met one-on-one to go over our personal goals, identify steps we can take to achieve these goals, share how staff can contribute to these goals, or create new goals for the second half of our season. After these meetings, we worked on our End-of-Season poster for the Moraine Crew. Anna had a creative idea to display our poster as a window sash with a different aspect of our season together expressed in each of the lights.

It is amazing to think about how we are now more than halfway done with the season! Although this week was a nice change of pace and opportunity for some R and R, we are all excited to get back to work on Monday and start some of our bigger projects for the season. These are the ADA trails at Glacier Gorge/ Moraine Park Campgrounds and the Ranger Station log replacement! See you all next week!

-Barnabas (Moraine Crew Member)

High School Leadership Corps – Year 2 (June Crew)

The first crew during year two of the High School Leadership Corps has ended!

During the month of June, the Conservancy hosted its second year of high school students in the Rocky Mountain Conservancy – High School Leadership Corps (HSLC) for 12 days. To recap, this program brings 10 high school students from around the Front Range of Colorado up to Rocky Mountain National Park where they are exposed to a variety of conservation-based practices. Over the course of two weeks, the participants learned how to camp and follow leave no trace principles, served on a vegetation management crew with the National Park Service Volunteer program, and helped to build a bridge with the Poudre Wilderness Volunteers. In addition, each project day incorporated an educational component ranging from evening journal exercise to developing leadership skills to learning about the different careers that are around Rocky Mountain National Park.

Now that the stage has been set, here’s a recap of this crew’s 12-day experience!

After everyone arrived on Monday, the crew spent the rest of the day setting up and learning about camp expectations. Tommy and Morgan, the Field Coordinators and HSLC Leaders, emphasized Leave No Trace and ‘Leader of the Day’ expectations and responsibilities. The leader of the day program gave members an opportunity to act as a leader, which entailed waking up members and preparing them for the day and being expected to step into leadership roles as needed throughout the day. They were also expected to provide a journal prompt at the end of the evening that was based on what the crew did that work day or how the lessons or camp life has affected them.

Once Monday passed and camp was set up, Tuesday was set to be the first day of work. The HSLC crew’s first task was a litter pick up. The crew spent the morning walking around the Bear Lake parking lot picking up trash left behind. When that was completed, we hiked down to the Glacier Gorge trailhead where one group cleaned up the Glacier Gorge Trailhead, while others kept moving forward until they got to Alberta Falls. During the morning litter pick up, the crew picked up seven pounds of trash ! This may not sound like a lot, but considering the majority is about the size of a gum wrapper it was a very successful day. That afternoon, after the crew ate lunch and discussed about the project, the crew went back to Bear Lake and hiked up to Dream Lake, stopping at Nymph along the way.

Cyrus, Kinara, Nate and Odin working to collect trash on the Glacier Gorge trail.

From Wednesday through Friday, the HSLC worked with Rocky’s Vegetation Crew (Veg Crew). The crew spent multiple days working to help eradicate a few different invasive species that plague the park. On Wednesday morning, the crew met with Grace and Kate at the volunteer office where they completed introductions and learned the task for the day: pulling Russian Thistle around the Moraine Park Discovery Center. This plant is what commonly becomes tumbleweed and can spread up to 250,000 seeds per plant, so the crew’s job was to do the best we could to completely remove it from the area. After a morning of vegetation, we met with Geoff Elliot, the Rocky Mountain Conservancy’s Director of Conservation, and he gave us a Behind the Scenes Tour of Rocky Mountain National Park Headquarters. This allowed the crew to explore a multitude of departments housed within the National Park Service that included the Wilderness office, Volunteer In Parks office, and Law Enforcement/Search and Rescue offices, the Park greenhouse, and the Fire Cache where the crew learned a little about fire mitigation and prevention.

On Thursday, the HSLC crew again met with the Veg Crew at Moraine Park Discovery Center, but this time the group traveled to the transit station and walked up the Bierstadt Lake trail. The HSLC used a grid system to locate and eliminate invasive species. Within this system, members all spread out an arm’s length apart and worked to walk as straight as possible.  The goal that day was to pick Mullein. This is a long-stemmed plant with yellow flowers that when they mature can grow up to 6 feet high. This was a tiring project because of the uneven ground, but it was very rewarding when finished.

Crew members working to locate the invasive Mullein within our grid pattern.

That afternoon Field Coordinator Morgan gave a lesson on plant identification around Rocky Mountain National Park where the members learned how to use a dichotomous key and specific ways in which one may differentiate different plant families.  Everyone then travelled to the Field Institute and participated in a resume workshop. The crew worked together to learn how to build a strong resume, describe their experience here in the park, and how to tailor their resumes for specific jobs. We were also able to explore conservation job boards and federal hiring resources. That evening the HSLC attended Campfire Ghost Stories with the Rocky Mountain Conservancy – Field Institute, where the members learned what life was like for a trapper in the 1800s. The story was very engaging, and the trapper ended the evening by making us a fire with flint and brush for s’mores.

Friday, the HSLC spent their last day working with the Veg Crew. This time the crew was working on the South Moraine Park trail  attacking Musk Thistle and Houndstongue. These two plants are two of the most troublesome in the park because they are transported around the park through animals. We spent all morning pulling a significant amount of these two plants over a quarter mile of trail.

Corps member, Aiden, displaying his eradicted Houndstounge. We removed the flowering heads from the site to prevent any seed germination.

When the crew finished, they thanked Grace leading the week and went back to camp to prepare for a tour with Geoff of Trail Ridge Road that afternoon. The HSLC learned about the history of Trail Ridge Road and about the Tundra ecosystem it crosses. Geoff discussed how it can be heavily impacted by people if they are not attentive to what they are doing or where they are walking. Geoff emphasized the fragility of the system, and the kids learned first hand how harsh the Tundra winds can be. He had all the kids lay close to the ground and understand why plants can’t grow too high laterally to avoid the winds.

The crew enjoying the mountainous view from Forest Canyon Overlook, a pitstop on our tour of Trail Ridge Road and the tundra ecosystem.

Over the weekend, to everybody’s enjoyment, they got to sleep in later than our usual 6:45am start. The HSLC went back over Trail Ridge to explore the other side of Rocky Mountain National Park and to see how the ecosystems change when you travel to the west side of the mountains. This side receives more moisture, and there was a significant shift in ecosystem types. The crew went for a short hike up the East Inlet trail to Adam’s Falls where they hung out for a while and learned a little about trail features they may see in the future. The group then drove down by Grand Lake and ate lunch and relaxed for a while. Once lunch was complete, they loaded up the cars and drove into the town of Grand Lake where everyone got to do some exploring at eat some ice cream from the legendary Dairy King. The HSLC then drove back to Estes Park and got settled for the evening and made dinner before playing a few good games of ninja and talking about what the next day and week were going to entail.

Sunday was a big day, this was the first time the members got to shower and do laundry since they had been in the program. Once everyone showered and relaxed, the HSLC headed back to the Field Institute and did a leadership test. This test was designed to use the members answers to personality questions to classify them into broad categories. This test is a good way to learn about how best to work with others, and how different personality types handle situations and problem solving. The HSCL also talked about the five stages of group development otherwise known as Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning. Before starting the second week, Tommy and Morgan discussed the next week by outlining the basic project, building a bridge on the Lion Gulch Trail.

For the second week, the HSLC spent their time with the Poudre Wilderness Volunteers (PWV). The Lion Gulch Trail was heavily affected by the 2013 floods and both the PWV and the US Forest Service have been working hard to restore this trail to the public. The HSLC members were tasked with one of the final projects, a bridge to mitigate impact on the stream below. This was an amazing project that was both very rewarding and tiring. On the first day, the crew spent the morning digging sand and dirt to “armor” the trail, which means covering the rocks we gathered, cutting logs, and building rock ramps. The mighty crew also moved 23-foot logs to where the bridge was to be placed. This was very difficult and took nearly everyone on the project to carry. Once the logs were moved, the crew built the supports for the logs to sit on.

Slideshow:

Alina, working with the crosscut saw to cut logs to length so we could use them to stabilize the bridge.

Rylee and Larson working together to safely move rocks to the bridge in order to armor the edge and provide additional trail stability.

 

On Tuesday, the crew set the logs in place. This took some time, as the crew needed to get them properly placed and then cut notches, so the logs would sit flush. Once that was accomplished, the crew split into two groups. One group was helping to build large rock abutments to ensure the structure would be stable and strong and the other continued to notch the logs to convert the rounded surface into flat and easily walkable stretches of logs. The crew also spent significant time constructing ramps leading up to the bridge and carrying out debris that was washed down the stream from the flood.

Slideshow:

Members Nate, Larson, and Odin using hand saws to notch the top of the bridge logs to create a walk-able surface.

All hands on deck to use log tongs in order to lift the main stringer on top of our base.

Jerzey using a single jack to hammer in rebar to the main logs.

On Wednesday, the HSLC crew finished the bridge! They spent the day planking the logs and pounding in the rebar to ensure that the logs wouldn’t move when walked across. The crew also spent more time solidifying the abutments and finding the proper rocks to make the walk up to the bridge safe and easy on all those who hiked on the trail in the future. Finishing the bridge was a huge accomplishment that all who helped were excited about and happy to have gotten done.

The entire crew and our Poudre Wilderness Volunteer Lead, Mike, standing on top of the finished bridge.

When Thursday came around the crew spent the day doing more traditional trail work. This entailed digging drains and building rock structures to divert water off the trail. They also worked to close part of the old trail that has since been rerouted. This was interesting because rather than moving trees or branches off the trail, the members were putting them on the trail to make it difficult to attempt to walk across, sending people down the new rerouted section of the trail. The crew then broke into groups one group went with the PWV lead and worked on clearing and making new drains while the other stayed behind to churn up the dirt so that some future volunteers could come through and drop grass seeds and transplant native flowers in hopes of restoring the old section of the trail. This day was great as it showed the participants what a typical day in trail work is like and that it isn’t all bridge building.

The end of the day was filled with a mix of emotions as people were excited to go back to their lives but were sad that they weren’t going to be around their new friends anymore. That night the crew celebrated after dinner with a campfire and s’mores for everyone. Members spent time reflecting on our experiences and all we had learned.

On the last morning the HSLC packed up around the campsite and brought everything back to the Field Institute. Tommy and Morgan conducted exit interviews with each member, while others helped with gear clean up. The HSLC program ended with a cook out for all the participants and their families. They were able to spend time with their families and introduce each other. It was great to hear everyone buzzing about their highlights and favorite projects.

The Conservancy would like to thank all the family and friends who supported the crew members throughout their time with us.

Additionally, thank you to all of those who have purchased the Rocky Mountain National Park License Plate. If it wasn’t for your donation, this amazing opportunity wouldn’t exist!

Thank you to all that participated!

-Morgan Cannon & Tommy E (Field Coordinators/HSLC Leaders)

In the Field: Week 4

During this past week, the crews returned to Estes Park for Mid-Week. During the week, they focus on developing an increased understanding of the National Park Service and Rocky Mountain National Park. Take a look at the crews’ previous week in the field, marking the half-way point of the 2018 season!

Boulder Crew

Week of 6/25/18-6/28/18

To start the week off, we had some unfinished business in the James Peak Wilderness to complete. Our fourth turnpike was still in need of more rip rap and dirt, so off to the borrow pits we went! We spent the whole day digging and dumping dirt onto our final turnpike. With that done, as a crew we had completed over 50 feet of turnpikes over the course of two weeks, something the trail was in desperate need of as it was a very wet area. There was never a dull moment on this trail as it was heavily trafficked, and we would receive a lot of praise from grateful hikers.

Completed Turnpikes

Tuesday came, and with it, a new work location. We were taken to Rainbow Lakes in the Indian Peaks Wilderness area to install check steps and two rock stairwells. The crew split into two groups for efficiency. The first group installed nine check steps to help stabilize the tread and provide a better experience for the hikers. The second group worked in a steeper section of the trail, removing loose and jutting rocks to install two needed staircases. This project involved a lot of ‘rock shopping’ for big, flat rocks, which was not always an easy task. After finding a rock we would dig the tread out and place the rocks in a stairwell fashion. Again, this was a heavily trafficked trail and just about every hiker shared their gratitude. I think this is something my whole crew can agree upon; it’s a good feeling interacting with the people who appreciate your work most.

The First Completed Stairwell

Wednesday was our second and final day in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. Each of the groups finished up their tasks. All together we completed nine check steps and two stairwells; not a small task for two days.

The Second Stairwell

On Thursday we were sent to yet another location, something quite uncommon for our crew as we usually work in the same area for at least a week. However, the variety this week was a nice change. On our final day of the work week we were sent to the Fourth of July trail in Eldora. Again, we split into two groups for efficiency. The first group stayed near the trailhead installing a rock retaining wall on a switchback to combat hikers cutting the trail short and eroding away the terrain. The second group was sent on a maintenance run to cut back brush overcrowding the trail. They hiked three miles up to the alpine, took in the view, and then began their hike down to remove brush. Crew Leader, Zach was excited to put the Silky Saw to some good use! Speaking of excitement, we saw the most unique thing on trail: a ferret! We all got to meet Oliver the hiking ferret and his wonderful owner, he had a harness and all. To make matters even better, we were excited to learn he has his own Instagram to track his adventures. It was a beautiful day, a bit on the hot side but we were fortunate enough to be in the mountains, rather than down in the front country where temperatures reached 100 degrees!

View from the top of Arapaho Pass on the Maintenance Run

Overall, this was a great week for the Boulder Crew. We were thankful for the change of pace and different trails to work on. We are all proud of the work we completed this week and only look forward to the endless amount of rock work to come!

Peace, Madi (Boulder Crew Leader of the Week)

Estes Crew

Estes Crew Blog: Week of June 23, 2018

This week we returned to the Aspen Brook trail. We began new tread this week and worked alongside of the Larimer County Conservation Corps (LCCC). Before we began our day, we hiked down around two miles into the trail where we were assigned jobs and began the reroute. We also learned that we will be continuing our work on this trail for the rest of the summer.

On Monday, Estes Crew was first introduced to the project on this trail and everyone had a great time, we were all ready to get back to work after the weekend and at the end of the day everyone had felt like they had done a great amount of work for the first day. It seems that everyone was anxious to get to this part of the season because throughout the rest of the week everyone came back feeling great about the work and what they accomplished in the day

On Tuesday, we returned back to the Aspen Brook Trail and finished up the work we didn’t complete the day before, some members of the crew did brushing of the trail that was done the day before and collected any tools that were no longer needed. We also got down the trail a bit more! Everyone overall had an awesome day and when we got back to camp everyone was feeling accomplished and ready for the next day of work.

On Wednesday, we attended a safety meeting/training in the late morning around 11:00 and then traveled back to our work place for the week and did the same work. We were also able to meet up with the Moraine Crew during lunch since they attended the safety activity, as well, and reflected with them about how their day and work has been going so far. We’re happy to say that everyone here at the Rocky Mountain National Park is having a great time and experiencing everything they wanted and more.

On Thursday, we returned to our work and continued making new tread and working with LCCC.

-Jovonna (Estes Crew Leader of the Week)

Shadow Mountain Crew

The Shadow Mountain Crew embarked on many adventures this week. We began on Tuesday helping with another district project: installing signs on mountain bike trails near Winter Park. In an effort to standardize trails in the Winter Park area, a project called “trail smart-sizing,” the crew helped Vicky Burton carrying in and dig holes for signs freshly labeling trails. At the end of the day, we had hiked in four signs and carried out four others. We learned that signs are surprisingly heavy, and that they’re treated with a carcinogenic coating, which we had to be extremely careful not to touch with our bare skin. This aspect earned the signs the nickname “cancer stick.”

The next day, we left for a three-day camping spike out in the Stillwater Pass Area. We worked to maintain a user-created trail called Wolverine Bypass that traveled unsustainably up the side of Blue Ridge. To develop a trail that would last much longer, we installed nearly 35 drains over the course of two days to facilitate water runoff, preventing gullying from extended periods of rain. During this period, we also worked to clarify trail at a rather confusing intersection. To do this, the Shadow Crew spent the morning retreading the switchback at the intersection to make the trail more obvious, taking out trees and shrubs to increase sightlines, and moving a cancer stick to more clearly denote which trail traveled what direction.

Thursday brought along a special surprise. Midmorning, our radios began to crackle. The night before, lightning had struck near the Williams Fork, about 15 miles away, and started a fire! During our breaks, the crew surrounded the radio, listening to the engines, helicopters, and Fort Collins dispatch organize units to tame the flames. By mid-afternoon, two other fires had started in the area, and the Shadow Crew gathered atop a ridgeline facing northward towards one of the starts, seeing haze fall over the Never Summer Mountain range. We pulled out our map, listening to the radio crackle GPS coordinates in an attempt to pinpoint where the fires were. It was a really unique experience and, thankfully, our crew was a safe distance away from the dangers.

On Friday, we opted to work in the same area, this time on the Lost Lake Loop Trail and the Lost Lake Access Trail, en route to Lost Lake itself. Friday demanded a lot of brushing, as well as drain work, as the east end of the Loop Trail ascended a similarly steep hill as the Wolverine Bypass Trail. We made it to the lake in time to eat lunch, and under the heat of the sun, some of the Shadow Crew jumped in to cool off. After lunch, we headed back to camp to pack up, head home, and do some quick tool maintenance before we left the west side. The crew will be spending the next week over the Continental Divide in Estes Park for midweek, as well as embarking on a select few adventures with other crews on the Corps.

Happy Trails!

-Mary Cretney (Shadow Mountain Crew Leader)

Moraine Crew

Week four in the field has been very busy, but as always our week starts off with the Moraine Crew waking up with the sun on a lovely Monday morning.

On Monday when we arrived to the office, we were split up into groups to work on a variety of projects such as building picnic tables (a classic), painting windows (always a favorite), and working on constructing a solar shower in Glacier Basin campground (something new and exciting). After work, chef Will cooked a scrumptious family dinner that consisted of rice noodles mixed with a coconut red curry sauce and a large dollop of peanut butter. As mix-ins, there were eggs, cabbage sautéed with onions and garlic, broccoli, and green beans. For a garnish, there were green onions, peanuts, and orange slices to squeeze on top. Will keeps us full and healthy and always asking for more. After dinner, the first “Crew leader of the week”, Hayley, gave her lesson teaching the crew how to play a card game called Shanghai. It was a very complex but extremely fun game that we will have to play on a rainy day.

Randy painting redwood boards for the picnic tables

Will using the force to complete a picnic table

Tuesday we were visited by a wonderful woman, Lori, who discussed ergonomics, which focuses on the importance of appropriate posture and mobility while working. Lori first talked with us about posture and body safety in the workplace, touching on some of the co-workers’ biggest problem areas involving the lower back, knees, and shoulders that are associated with mainly lifting heavy objects. Next, we warmed up with squats, hamstring stretches, and torso twists. Then we began lifting objects using correct techniques and posture or being corrected on our approach to better improve in the future. After Lori’s talk, we were split up again to the project locations from Monday. Anna stuck to painting windows on Tuesday and has become more acquainted with the little girl at the house she works at, and now their friendship is official.

Will discovering his waistline during ergonomics training

Wednesday was staff safety training and appreciation day, which involved educational booths that discussed different safety topics that involved chemicals, fire, and the body. After expanding our safety knowledge, we had the privilege of moving picnic tables to set up for the appreciation lunch. After the lunch, it was back to work, both work and play here for the Moraine Crew.

On Thursday, we were again separated from each other. Some crew members finished up the last of the picnic tables and delivered them as gifts to different areas around park housing. Anna finished painting all the windows on the house she has been working at for two weeks. The rest of the crew members hauled 10-foot logs to the solar shower to line the paths that will be leading to both the comfort station and the solar shower. All in all it was a very successful day!

The view from the solar shower and comfort station at Glacier Basin Campground

Next week will be a break from working at the project shop, and when we come back we plan to hit the ground running on finishing up the solar shower project as well as start any new projects awaiting us. We are all very excited for mid-week and camping with all the other crews we have missed seeing these past few weeks! There are so many adventures to come, thanks for reading.

-Hayley (Moraine Crew Leader of the Week)

Rawah Crews

This week in the Rawah Wilderness was another exciting one!  We started off the week strong on the West Branch Trail with a surprise project. In the previous week, we encountered some day hikers that were forced to turn back where the West Branch Trail met the North Fork of the Larmie River. Armed with this information about the impassable river, the Rawah crew decided to take action.  After assessing the area, we decided to delegate two crew members to prepare a log to be placed across the river while the remaining eight crew members had the task of carrying on with a regular maintenance run. At the end of the day, everybody worked together to set in the prepared log across the river. It was a big success!

Crew members James and Nate preparing the log bridge

On Tuesday we began work on the very popular Blue Lake Trail. We completed no large projects, but the day was just as productive. Although it took a bit of overtime, we were able to cover the whole five miles up to Blue Lake. Everyone had a wonderful hike down after a quick break at Blue Lake.

Views from the Blue Lake Trail

On Wednesday we tackled the Big South trail. It was quite steep, but our entire crew did a stellar job. It was a great day of maintenance, saw work, and lots of progress. We completed a whopping 193 drains. At lunch we enjoyed a beautiful view down by the beach.

Crew leader Noah installing a new drain while field coordinator Morgan and crew members Reche and Stevie bump up trail.

Thursday was a special day, we had visitors! We were graced with Tommy and Morgan’s presence as we maintained the Roaring Creek Trail. It was our first time on this trail and it was beautiful!

Crew leader Jordan and crew member Daniel showing a tree some love

As it was a short day (due to accumulated overtime), we were only able to cut down five trees and cover three miles of trail.

Crew leader Jordan and crew member Daniel showing a tree some love.

Until next week,

Noah and Jordan (Rawah Crew Leaders)

 

 

In the Field: Week 3

Estes Crew 

Crew Leader of the Week: Maximo T. Bye

Week Of: 6/18/18

Monday, 6/18/18:

The week started strong with a typical Monday morning. Estes Crew and the National Park Service had our Monday meeting about this week and quickly got to work with the horses. We were to brush Finch Lake today. Brushing consists of taking out small trees, branches, or plants that are growing in the trail or onto the trail.  We finished around 2.3 miles of the trail. The hike was amazing and featured a steep climb to start, an aspen forest, and even a forest of Ponderosa in such little time. Thanks to the rain over the weekend, the day was humid and every branch we cut let loose a small collection of water droplets that kept us cool through the day.

Looking out at Longs Peak

Tuesday, 6/19/18:

Tuesday was a lot less hiking. We were given the task of hauling old wood used for fencing from Sprague Lake to Bone Yard, a place where old wood and tools go to die. In addition to this we brought A-frames to Sprague Lake that will eventually be new Buck and Rail fencing. It quickly became apparent that we needed more logs to make A-frames with, so we quickly hiked out to Bierstadt where we collected 20 more logs that were suitable for the job. Everyone worked together to bring the logs down to the Bierstadt parking lot for pickup after they were cleaned up. Before long, the day was coming to an end and Estes Crew prepared for the next day.

Unloading Buck & Fence at boneyard

Wednesday, 6/20/18:

Another job of brushing for Estes Crew! We were grouped with about 12 other people to conquer Andrew’s Glacier. Everyone hiked out from the Bear Lake Trail Head towards our work place. The plan was to take a fire trail to shave off an extra mile on our hike. Soon enough we had made it to our destination where we split into two groups, one starting at the top of the trail and the other starting from the bottom. Quickly, we worked towards each other. Before we knew it, we had met in the middle and hiked to the top for a break by the snow. A few snowballs were tossed, and many attempted sliding down the snowy hills. After our lunch we had finished all of Andrew’s Glacier and needed more work. We hiked back to Bear Lake where we embarked onto the other side of Bierstadt. The rest of the day was working on this trail. By the end of the day, over 10 miles had been hiked by the crews.

Thursday, 6/21/18:

Closing the week with some more brushing! This time the crew headed to our day’s scenery, Fern Lake. Jovonna was given a separate task for the day, she was sent to join the Moraine Crew! She painted and worked on picnic tables for the day. We worked from the pool towards Cub Lake, eventually ending at the Cub Lake Trailhead. The day started nice and cool, but slowly heated up. We did our best removing everything that was impairing hikers from hiking the trail, or that would shortly grow to impact the trail negatively. The views from the trial highlighted the mountains that surrounded us, snowy peaks shined in the sun as we took a morning break. Like all breaks though, it soon ended, and we worked to preserve this moderately popular trail. Many people stopped and thanked us for the work we were doing, it made everyone happy to be complimented for the hard work we love. We all enjoyed the view of Cub Lake and its lily pads as we worked. Eventually, we finished the trail and headed back to the vehicles. Our day was not done, and we headed to a pull off near Hollowell Park where we talked to one of the wilderness firemen, Doug. He told us all about his job, his life, and his love of wilderness fire. He said he had been “bitten by the Fire-Bug” and couldn’t stop what he wanted to do. In addition to this he told us about how fires work, the ways forests defend themselves from fires, when they burn the burn piles so many visitors ask about, and the history of how people fought fires. Everyone learned so much from Doug and thanked him for his time. This concluded our work day and week. This weekend we rest and prepare for next weeks challenges and surprises.

Clearing Brush

-Maximo Bye (Estes Crew Leader of the Week)

Rawah Crews

Hello again! As the first half of the season begins to wind down, the Rawah Mega Crew has only been winding up. Week three was quite an interesting week in the Rawah Wilderness. On Monday, we returned to the Link trail for a second day packed full of drain digging, trail clearing, and what some might consider a fair amount of hiking. After ten hours of work and nearly eighteen miles of round trip hiking, the resiliency of the crew really began to shine. Despite an exhausting and demanding day, the crew was able to bounce back after an evening spent with our boss, Geoff, who came up from the mother ship to pay a visit.

Noah taking care of Ruby Ann’s blister.

Tuesday marked the first day of maintenance on the Rawah Trail and what a wild ride it was. Not only were we blown away by all the traffic we encountered (three separate groups of people!), we were able to embrace the mailman way of life by working through rain, sleet, snow, and sunshine.

The crew enduring a light blizzard during lunch

Pre-Thursday was a special day for us as our beloved crew member, Reche, returned to work after time spent with family. The Rawah crew was in full force for a second day on the Rawah Trail. With the return of Reche, we were able to properly surprise a soon-to-be twenty-one-year old Zoe with a birthday cake and great company.

Thursday may have been the fourth day of a long and exhausting week, but that didn’t stop us from having fun and working hard. This day was rather unique in terms of some work we were able to do, including both obliterating an illegal campsite and fire ring as well as mitigating the effects of water run-off from a waterfall. In addition, our crosscut coach, Chris, surprised us at lunch and took a break from official business to visit us for a bit.

Until next week!

-Noah and Jordan (Rawah Crew Leaders)

Boulder Crew

Week three flew by as we spent our second week at the South Boulder Creek Trail in the James Peak Wilderness! Although it was supposed to rain, the good weather was in our favor and the sun shined every day!

This week we continued our turnpike construction and finished up our fourth turnpike on the trail to mitigate water erosion damage. Just like last week we spent our days collecting rocks, dirt, and more rocks! As most of us are new to turnpike construction, last week was a learning period for us. However, by the end of this week we consider ourselves professionals.

Hard at work

Charlotte swingin’

A completed turnpike!

On Thursday, we headed to the Boulder Ranger District for a meeting with the U.S. Forest Service about the importance of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) and how to check the vitality of the equipment. It was great to meet everyone and talk to them about their careers and the path they took to get there. Especially since many of us hope to be in their positions in our future careers.

We wrapped up the week by visiting the Shadow Mountain Crew to spend time with everyone by the water and in the town of Grand Lake!

Camping in Grand Lake

-Hannah (Leader of the Week)

Shadow Mountain Crew

West Side Best Side

We started off this week heading to the Strawberry West Trailhead where we met friend of the forest and hut builder, Andy Miller. He showed us where he had done a short reroute and shared some of his plans for building a new hut. After parting ways we did our stretch and safety circle and contemplated whether we would rather have dustpan hands or sweat jelly. In the end, team dustpan took majority with an astounding switch of teams from Kendra after a four year run on team sweat jelly.

Having adequately stretched and exhausted our job hazards we shouldered our full packs and walked the mile and a half in to the junction of Strawberry West and Caribou trail where we set up camp. We brushed for a few hours before we called it a day and headed back to camp for rose, bud, thorn and tacos made by Caitlin. Rose, bud, thorn is our end of the day ritual where we each talk about the good parts of the day, what wasn’t so good, and what we’re looking forward to the next day. Most of us are always looking forward to the getting horizontal part (sleeping).

Shadow Crew’s home for the week, featuring the dynamic duo of alpenglow and an evening thunderstorm.

In the mornings, there was a fine layer of frost covering our tents and the grass. Adam, being the first one up, would build a fire in the pit for us all. We would eat our oatmeal around it and stare at the flames in an early morning daze.

On Wednesday, Amy and Kendra showed us how to make drains well so that they wouldn’t need much maintenance other than debris removal every once in a while. So we spent Wednesday walking down Caribou brushing in pairs and putting in drains as necessary. A little after 3 in the afternoon we spotted a moose not far off from the trail so we backed down for fifteen minutes until he wandered off in his majestic moose way. While we waited we talked about the possible damage a moose could do if angered and what an angry moose looks like. Adam wanted to test our moose friend and see if he could knock over a tree. Mary assured him he didn’t need to test it.

On Thursday, Kendra and Amy walked with us and pointed out the good things of the drains we put in and helped us to make them better if necessary. We parted ways around 10, leaving us to brush as they took the llamas and the chainsaws off to clear more of Strawberry West. We cleared all of Caribou and made it part way up Strawberry West. Towards the end of the day we started putting in some tread near an unnamed peak on Strawberry West. We were about a half hour into the work when it started to drizzle and the thunder cracked. Mary decided it was best to head down the mountain. We played a riveting game of contact on the way back, in which I had them stumped for half the walk with the word paratrooper. Pro-tip: use words with common prefixes.

The process of constructing a reroute for a muddy section of the Strawberry West Trail

We started the day on Friday sharing what we thought Mary would be like at the age of thirty in honor of it being her 21st birthday. Then we did a cinnamon roll hug in despite the stank of our sweat that only trail crews will know. We brushed for an hour on Strawberry West before the trail became a beaver dam lake. So we turned back and packed up camp. Since we had a bit of time and our campsite was a well used one we spent a while picking up a trash compactor bag of garbage to haul out. We brushed on the way back to the trucks as Amy and Kendra cut trees that had fallen across the trail. After lunch we put in tread on the reroute that Andy Miller had made. It was pretty cool to put work in on a new trail and know that we were part of making a better experience for users. At the end of the day we walked to the High Lonesome hut, sat in the shade and did rose, thorn, bud.

Trail Work Ahead? I sure hope it does!

By the way, did you know owls have legs?

-Nico (Shadow Mountain Crew Leader of the Week)

Moraine Crew

This week we wrapped up our first big project and got setup for next weeks’ solar shower project while continuing the Quarters Five project and picnic table construction.

On Monday we all returned to McGraw ranch to continue window work on the main building. We did not get as much done as we wished because we spent a bit of time fixing small errors made the previous week. These little errors like moving sashes before they are completely dry resulting in marks and scuffs took almost as much time to fix as painting an entire window sash. From this we learned that working patiently to get the job done right the first time saves a lot of time in the backend of the project.

On Tuesday Will, Hayley, Max, Randy, and Anna returned to McGraw ranch to start work on the last, and largest, set of windows that needed to be restored. By this point we all knew what needed to be done and how to do it right. While Anna and Hayley worked on scraping and calking the windows in preparation for painting the rest of us had an assembly line system for prepping and paining the sashes. Max was on scraping and priming duty Randy was cranking out almost all of the finishing paintwork. Will was hopping between tasks managing the process to avoid the damage to finished sashes that kept occurring the previous week, finishing touchups, and cleaning the glass that had not been cleaned in years! Barnabas attended a First Aid class for a majority of the day to learn about assessing and treating injuries that may occur in the field, he was able to join us near the end of the day and help paint window sashes.

On Wednesday Will, Randy and Hayley got to see the completion of their first big project, the windows at the McGraw ranch. It was a little bittersweet because we do not have any plans to return to the ranch, and the tranquil landscape that it is set in for the rest of the season.

It was very rewarding to look at the results of our hard work! While they were at the ranch Anna and Barnabis were working at Quarters Five, one of the historical homes on the east side of the park. Their day consisted of patching rotting window frames that will eventually lead to severe building damage. Max was off by himself working with Wilson to move the redwood we stained last week to the site it will be installed into. He also learned to to remove glazing from windows for them to be chemically stripped and restored.

At the end of the day Geoff met us at McGraw Ranch as we were competing the window restoration project. He was accompanied by Robert Burkhart, a writer from the local Estes park newspaper, who is putting a column together about important NR work being done around Estes park. He interviewed us with questions regarding why we are working for the RMC and how the work we do plays into the big picture of conservation and preservation. He also interviewed Barnabas, Anna and Max at their work site.

On Thursday we took on one more crew member, Jovonna from the Estes crew. Earlier in the week she took a fall during trail work and was not feeling ready to go back on trail but still wanted to work. So we adopted her for the day and she helped us start another round of picnic tables.  Earlier in the week Chuck and Bob went to the lumber yard and got 25 boards, enough for five more tables that will be used. During the day we completed the preparation of all the boards and began the assembly of one table. Every one we make has been looking better then the last! We can’t wait to see what the last one of the season will look like, it will probably be a museum piece.

Max set posts for the solar shower project at Wild Basin with Bob, Chuck and Wilson from the projects office, we all can’t wait to get more involved in this project in the coming week. Meanwhile Barnabas and Anna worked with Dolly to complete the window restoration project at Quarters Five. It was a stressful day for them because after adding new coats of paint the the windows in the building did not fit anymore and had to be trimmed down with the table saw in the shop requiring lots of back and forth. Little hiccups like this are very frustrating but need to dealt with regardless of how much it may stink.

Max and Randy working the assembly line of sash painting.

Hayley finishing up the prep work before painting the last set of windows. In the back left you can see the completed sashes that have been reinstalled.

Crew Leader, Will, battling the chilly morning with a puffy, beanie and layer of warm coffee.

At the end of the week we all look back in awe at how fast time flew by, its amazing we have all been living and working together for a month now.

-Will (Moraine Crew Leader)

In the Field: Week 2

Boulder Crew

Time flies when you’re smashing rocks! Week two for Boulder Crew gave us an opportunity to showcase how hard we can work, and what we can achieve as a team.

(Insert img5 caption: Boulder Crew, best crew!)

This past week, we spent our time at the South Boulder Creek trail in the James Peak Wilderness. Our focus for the week was the construction of a turnpike (raised section of trail intended to mitigate water erosion damage). To properly improve the section of trail we were working on, we were required to build a massive turnpike, roughly 40 ft and counting! Although turnpike construction may sound simple, it requires significant time investment in materials gathering. We spent the majority of our days collecting dirt, and hauling massive 100 lbs plus rocks. Overall, the construction of a turnpike of this magnitude was highly rewarding for all involved—many thanks were received from hikers, and of course their dogs!

Terrific turnpikin’

Jess and Rachel practicing the arduous yoga pose: gopher form

Dead tired from dirt collecting.

 

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of working on the South Boulder Creek trail is the abundance of historic artifacts in the vicinity. This trail starts at the Moffat train tunnel, which travels roughly six miles through a mountain. The tunnel was built in the 1920s, and greatly influenced historic human activity around the James Peak Wilderness. Within only a few miles of the trailhead, there are about six historic structures. A hiker that had grown up in the area took some time to share what she remembered about it from her childhood. According to her, one of the old cabins along the trail was built in the 1890s, and was the birthplace of the local sheriff that worked during her childhood! She also shared with us that the site we were working around was the old Jenkin’s Saw Mill, constructed and operated to provide wood for the Moffat train tunnel. Furthermore, we learned that there used to be botany researchers based out of the valley working throughout the mountains. After learning of this, we began to piece together what the little human made items we found were used for. Among interesting things that we found were: leather work gloves, moccasins, whiskey bottles, leather fittings, square head nails, glass scientific apparatuses, and metal cabinet handles.

We rounded off this already full week with a little mini vacation to the Sangre De Cristo range in southern Colorado. Friday morning, we summited Humboldt Peak, enjoying the beautiful views of the many rugged peaks around. We played as hard as we worked this week and had a great time doing it. Cheers to many more successful weeks for Boulder Crew!

-Zach (Boulder Crew Leader)

Rawah Crews

The Rawah Mega Crew started week two off sharp. Chris from the USFS Canyon Lakes Ranger District Trail Crew commuted to Stub Creek on Monday and Tuesday to train and certify the crew as type II crosscut sawyers. Training consisted of two scenarios of bucking (sawing fallen trees) to ensure that our crew’s abilities are up to par.

The mega crew hiking out after a day of training on the trail.

Following our two days of training, we began work in the Rawah Wilderness on the McIntyre Trail.  To start work, we had two sets of crosscut teams, as we expected to encounter many down trees.  The other six crewmembers were given the task of repairing drainage structures on the trail to mitigate water erosion. 

Zoe, James, Noah, Stevie, and Jordan crosscutting.

As the week progressed, we were able to get ahead of schedule.  We had originally intended to be on McIntyre for two days, but due to the distance covered in our first day we decided to start the Link Trail on Thursday. Because of this, we had to do a little bit of midweek planning, as pictured below. 

Crew Leaders Jordan and Noah prepare for the coming week.

Overall, we had a successful week here in the Rawah Wilderness and our expectations were exceeded! To wrap up a week of hard work, the mega crew is heading to Laramie, WY to visit and explore the area and then to Steamboat Springs, CO to enjoy some hot springs. 

Crew member Nathan celebrates a trail well-cleared.

Tune in later for next week’s adventures!

-Noah and Jordan (Rawah Crew Leaders)

Estes Crew

Purge the Spurge! This was the motto of Monday as we walked through a large field near Fall River Road. Our day started out in the NPS greenhouse meeting with the vegetation crew to talk about their goals for the week and safety. We then met with Glenn, expert herbicide sprayer and vegetation crew technician, at the Moraine “boneyard” to calibrate our spray packs. Our crew couldn’t help but sing the Ghostbusters theme song as we walked around spraying water out of large white packs on our back. The purpose of this was to see how much liquid was used when spraying a certain area. If too much or too little water got used, we had to adjust the drop size and how quickly we were moving. This helps insure that the invasive plants will die, but not too much herbicide will be used.

Who you gonna call? Estes Crew!

After calibrating our sprayers, the Estes crew moved to a field next to the Fall River entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park. Our goal was to spray the invasive species, Leafy Spurge, with herbicide. This species loves wet soil and sunlight. As we scanned the field for Leafy Spurge, the vegetation crew was able to teach us about other types of plants, such as wallflowers and lupins. At certain points we had to dodge through Aspen Trees to look for spurge. By the end of the day 7.5 acres of land had been covered.

Nate and Glenn walking through the trees.

The vegetation and Estes crew joining forces!

Tuesday was a training day for us. Our crew had the opportunity to join the National Park Service seasonal training day at the YMCA of the Rockies. In the morning, we learned about the different branches of service, safety, harassment, and park rules. One of our groups favorite quotes of the morning came from Barry Sweet, a worker in the wilderness office, referring to the Rocky Mountain Nation Park:

 “We continue to protect this treasure and people won’t know our names, but that’s okay because it isn’t about us.”

In the afternoon, the seasonal workers were given an orientation around the National Park Service headquarters. Groups rotated stations to learn about each division and what kind of service was provided there. We learned about the museum, the greenhouse, the research center, the search and rescue cache, the fire station, as well as the trails and signs building.

Llamas are used by trails crew because they can carry up to 100 pounds and do well on uneven terrain and high altitudes.

At the end of the day we went back to the greenhouse and weeded through baby Ponderosa pine and willow trees.

Cora, Sydney, and Jovonna weeding at the greenhouse.

The next two days were spent working on a wetland mitigation project by Sprague Lake trailhead. Over a 100 years ago the area was a wetland, but soon got converted to a horse stable. Since then the stable was moved across the lake, leaving the old wetland empty and full of dry soil.

Our job was to seed and blanket the soil in hopes that one day a healthy wetland would grow there. On Wednesday we carefully raked the slope of the land to help make an even terrain for the seeds to be thrown down on. Nate, Maximo, and Curtis worked a trench that was to hold the top of the erosion blanket.

Nate, Maximo, and Curtis working hard to dig a trench.

We then began to lay out the erosion blanket, cutting it to perfectly match the slope. Laying down the fabric is important because it will allow the seed to grow while being protected from large gusts of wind, storms, and erosion.

The next day, we were finally ready to seed. This consisted of throwing down grass seed across the slope, then going back and raking it. Afterwards the pre-cut erosion blanket was laid down and staked it to the ground. As our crew dug and hammered away, we sang songs that ranged from 50’s bebops to early 2000’s rap music to keep the energy up. Soon our work was finished, and it was time to head home.

Crew member Sydney securing the erosion blanket.

Our time with the vegetation crew was not only educational, but enjoyable; we cannot wait to see them again!

-Cora Starke (Estes Crew Member)

Moraine Crew

This past week, the work of the Moraine crew shifted. The second week of the season has come to a close and crew members are beginning to settle into their roles within the project shop and are looking forward towards their future projects. Mothballing, the picnic-table restoration, and housekeeping business of the previous week is wrapping up. This past week’s work was split between a preservation project at the famous McGraw Ranch on Monday/ Wednesday and a Park Service orientation for fresh-faced seasonal employees on Tuesday.

The McGraw Ranch, originally homesteaded in 1884, was transformed from a cattle/dude ranch to the Continental Divide Research Learning Center after its 1988 acquisition by the National Park Service. Now accommodating field scientists and researchers, the site strives to maintain its original architecture and facilities. The Moraine Crew this week helped to further this tradition through the restoration of original windows by using historically accurate preservation techniques. On Monday the crew removed and began stripping the old crumbling paint from the windows, green on the removable storm window and white on the window on the house. It takes a lot of time and patience to first find all the loose paint bits to remove, and give an even coat all while avoiding the original log work millimeters away from some section. We got about 1/5^th  of the house done after Wednesday, and that is a success considering there are about 35 windows on the house! We’re not too upset about spending more time out at the McGraw Ranch later in the summer. This new paint will prevent the original windows from rotting away and preserve the original structure of the building.

Before…

After!

The NPS orientation on Tuesday also proved to be enlightening and educational, as the crew was introduced to the rich history and wide scope of Park Service operations. Presentations by employees and a tour of NPS facilities highlighted a sense of community and pride from regular public land stewards and extended the sentiment out to those working under more temporary circumstances. We also got randomly assigned seating and were able to talk to other employees such as interpretive rangers, law enforcement, and climbing rangers to name a few. This helped us see a lot of different opportunities and potentials niche in the NPS.

The crew ended their week with an exciting look forward. Thursday morning began with a briefing of upcoming projects and safety meetings exploring the potential hazards of each. Crew members showed enthusiasm towards their future work constructing Solar Showers and replacing sill-logs at Glacial Basin Ranger Station, and were quick to key in on safety concerns, as both projects require heavy machinery and face the potential for unwanted interference by a curious public. After this the crew split up with Randy, Hayley and Max finishing redwood staining while Barnabas and Anna went to continue striping windows but at a new location. While all this was going on Thursday, Will had to remain home because he had a severe case of dehydration that had onset through the week, but is following proper rehydration recovery and will be back to work on Monday!

-Will (Moraine Crew Leader)

Shadow Mountain Crew

Our first full week of work brought us just a few minutes down the road from Shadow Mountain to Roaring Fork. First spike of the season; what better occasion to pull out the cross-cut saws and clear some trails. I personally still prefer my silky.

Footnote 1: “Silky” is code talk for a much more compact hand saw.

Before we settled at camp, we spent that Wednesday limbing and bucking an armada of trees at another site further away; a great precursor to what would soon be the great war against tree pollen, saw dust, and sap. We are still fighting.

Wednesday came and went before we knew it, a hard day of work indeed, but a productive one. We all made it safely to our camp site that evening and had a restful night. Well, almost all of us. Poor Ric forgot his sleeping bag at the house and was shivering his tail off all night. Bruce didn’t do a great job of keeping him warm either.

Footnote 2: Bruce is our mint-green, F-250 pickup truck.

Rumor is he will be retired at the end of the season. He’s an old dog, but he’s been treating us well thus far. Any who, Niko was gracious enough to swing by the house and grab Ric’s sleeping bag when she went back to the village with Amy to pick up the llamas. You heard right, we have llamas, two of them to be exact. Kuzco and Kuzco. I can’t remember their legal names for the life of me. They are informally known as Two Socks and Oreo, and we make them carry our tools. Poor things don’t get paid. Emma made us a kick a** dinner Wednesday evening.

Rise and shine bright and early Thursday morning, 7 am. It was about a two-mile hike in before we started emerging from our cocoons as young sawyers with our crosscuts. The two miles turned into what seemed like four miles as we progressed further down the trail. The week was incredibly hot, and my forehead had never swam in so much perspiration, but I do enjoy wearing those hard hats. They make me feel invincible with my boots, eye-pro, and ear-pro.

Footnote 3: “Pro” is short for “protection.”

Those crosscut saws are bad to the bone, they can cut through anything. It is imperative we take care of them though, as they are the last of their kind. Pretty cool feeling using those saws; almost like handling a living relic that’s still got a lot of life in it. Our great leader, Mary, cooked us a kick a** dinner Thursday evening. Ric slept nice and warm this time. The two of us heard some strange animal right outside our tent in the early hours of Friday morn. It may have just been Emma very aggressively blowing her nose, who nose..

By Friday, I had already lost track of how many trees we’ve cut. At this point, our crew is close enough to plan each other’s weddings and openly talk about our grandest poops. No footnote needed for that last word, you read correctly. I thought the week would never end, ten hours of manual labor a day takes a lot out of you. It was a great time though, and I cannot wait to pick up where we left off come this Tuesday. Hard work is good work. We’ve gotten a lot done, and there is still much to be done. We are stewards of the land, and I am sure I speak for my crew when I say that it is an honor doing what we do.

So, Caitlin decided to drive us back Friday evening. As I recall Thursday morning, I remember all the flowers we observed on our hike, and how the kinds of flowers changed as we hiked higher up the trail. The first were pink. “Pretty pink flowers, that’s the technical term for them isn’t it?” said Kendra.

Footnote 4: “Pretty pink flowers” is slang for Yellow alpine saxifrage (Saxifraga serpyllifolia), or simply, wild roses.

-Adam (Shadow Mountain Crew Leader of the Week)

In the Field: Week 1

Boulder Crew

The Boulder Crew’s first week away from Estes Park was filled with hard work, new places, and new faces.

The week started off with the crew’s big move from Moraine Park Campground in Rocky Mountain National Park to Kelly Dahl Campground in Nederland, CO. Within only a few hours, Kelly Dahl quickly felt like home. Lovingly, we decided to call our little patch in the woods the “Ned and Breakfast”.

On Monday, we met up with our Forest Service coworker and trail guru, Agatha (Aggie). Throughout the day, Aggie taught us how to properly build trail drainage, clear trail corridor, and construct water bars/check steps. We finished off our afternoon with a quick hike up to Timberline Falls on the St. Vrain River.

Taking a rest at Timberline Falls

Tuesday was our first day of truly tough trail work. We spent the day constructing water bars and check steps. Since this was many of our first times doing rock work, Aggie was there to guide us with her wisdom. Perhaps the highlight of the day was the plethora of hikers with dogs enjoying the trail. Throughout the day, we stopped to chat with hikers, and play with their dogs. I began to dub these little dog breaks “dog-stractions”.

Beautiful dog enjoying the trail

On our next day of work, we were visited by our wonderful Field Coordinator, Morgan. The rest of the day was spent building check steps out of massive rocks. We all enjoyed wrangling rocks into perfect spots, and getting muddy all the while.

Jess partaking in his favorite aspect of trail work—rock smashing

The crew wrapped up the week by cleaning up the trail and adding our finishing touches. Overall, we were highly satisfied with the quality of work we produced. At the end of it all, we maintained roughly 15 drains, constructed 10 check steps, and 3 water bars. Thanks to Aggie, we all learned a lot about trail work and safety.

Boulder Crew happy to have completed their first trail together!

-Zach (Boulder Crew Leader)

Rawah Crews

Week one of work was a success! The two Rawah crews worked together this week (which will most likely happen all summer) on the Young Gulch Trail in the Roosevelt National Forest.

Nawah (Rawah Crew – Noah Lead) and Jawah (Rawah Crew – Jordan Lead) combine for a family photo after our first day of work.

In 2013, the Young Gulch trail was wrecked by a massive flood and has been closed since then.  The Wilderness Restoration Volunteers (WRV) and other conservation corps have been working hard since then to open the trail back up.  During our week there, we dug new tread and built a ton (actually several tons) of new rock walls to help support the trail.

James and Nathan posing before they CRUSH this rock wall.

Stevie and Ruby Ann establishing new tread.

Throughout the first two days, Nate (aka Trail Jesus), from the WRV, was kind enough to hang out with us and teach us the best ways to create new trail and build strong rock walls.

Our spirit guide and trainer Nate of WRV (aka Trail Jesus) providing guidance.

This first week was pretty unique because it was also our first hitch.  However, we got lucky and were able to camp in the parking lot at the trailhead, which meant port-a-potties and potable water across the street! Additionally, we cleansed ourselves of dirt in the nearby creek at the end of each day and one day we looked for the watermelon that Nate supposedly “floated” for us, but we never found it…

This is how we roll (burritos)

Until next week,

-Jordan and Noah (Rawah Crew Leaders)

Shadow Mountain Crew

This week, the Shadow Mountain Crew moved out to Grand Lake, Colorado to embark on the most glorious adventures! But first, the crew worked with the Sulphur Ranger District of the US Forest Service to get acquainted with the village in which we live and everyone who works on the district, even those outside of trail crews, including the District Ranger, firefighters, wildlife biologists, safety personnel, and the Statewide Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) crew. Once we adapted to village life, the crew attended S212, a class designed to introduce us to crosscutting and chainsaw usage. The crew learned about tree binds, safety precautions, and MUCH MORE.

Thursday and Friday were spent on trail, doing project and maintenance work. On the Doe Creek trail, the crew enjoyed a beautiful walk through a wide open meadow to our work site, where we installed nearly 80 feet of trench to facilitate water drainage, as well as dug 10 feet of tread to reroute the trail around a muddy area bogged down with seepage.

The Crew walks to Doe Creek.

The newly dig trench helping keep water off trail to prevent erosion and trail braiding.

During lunch, we had an intriguing conversation about what air tasted like (feel free to comment your opinions below). In addition to this, with a bit of extra time at the end of the day, the crew cranked out 6 check dams. These were put in place to prevent further gullying of the trail, and topped off with a layer of fresh soil to ease travel.

Friday, the Shadow Mountain Crew made their way to the Williams Peak Trail, a long drive, but aided with a great jam session in our beloved Forest Service truck, Bruce. We had a great time, clearing almost three miles of overgrown corridor and reinventing drains and trenches in particularly tricky spots. The lunch break of this day was also notable, as the crew pondered ant exoskeletons, found a frog, named them Michael, and, of course, ate food. We reached a creek just as our turn-around time encroached, and paused for a quick splash to relieve the heat of the sun, much appreciated for the walk back to the car. This weekend, we travel back to Estes Park to climb mountains and take CPR/First Aid training and rejuvenate ourselves for another week of hard, rewarding work in the field!

 

-Mary (Shadow Mountain Crew Leader)

Estes Crew

6/4/2018 – A strong start for the RMC-CC Estes Crew! The work day starts with an early morning meet and greet at the National Park Service Trail Shop at 7:00 AM. The crew was introduced to 30 other professional trail workers including their NPS ambassadors, Marieke and Jessie. We can tell already that we are welcomed and expected to work hard. Next, we moved on to clean the horse stables, a 30-minute task that takes place every morning. Shoveling hay and horse poop is a great way to warm up the muscles, meet the pack horses, and get to know the NPS staff, who also participate in this daily activity. The rest of the day was spent at Aspen Brook, a trail that was destroyed during the floods of 2013. We restored around 100 yards of tread (trail surface) by removing 30 feet of berm that was causing water to flow onto the trail rather than off it. We also helped by moving unwanted rocks from the trail, some weighing up to 300lbs. Cora spent her time cutting new tread insuring that the back slope was properly cut at the correct angle. We covered the existing trail that was there before with sticks and pine needles, so the public will be encouraged to use the new tread, also known as brushing in or duffing. Another part of the day consisted of moving rocks to a section of trail that had been rutted out by rain fall. Adding large and crushed rock to these areas raises the tread up out of the gully and insures that water runs off successfully. After lunch, we spent the rest of the day clearing the slough, a mixture of small sticks, rocks, and pine needles that accumulates on the trail. This widens the trail and prevents people from walking out on the critical edge.

6/5/2018 – The day was spent with NPS trail crew member Ben, who took the crew back out to Aspen Brook. The crew spent the entire morning removing half a mile of slough from the trail. Clearing slough is beneficial for many reasons, one being that it creates a safer environment for backpackers and horseback riders by erasing trip hazards from the trail. Crew member Nate spent his time down trail moving rocks in preparation for new and improved tread. During lunch, we learned about the historical value of the Aspen Brook trail. It turns out, this was one of the first roads that lead to Boulder, with tea houses along the way. The afternoon consisted of a walk through on how to detonate rocks safely with small amounts of TNT. However, due to the softness of the rock, the explosion had very little impact. We instead used a double jack and a single jack to slowly chip away at the large rock.

6/6/2018 – On Wednesday, the 6^th of June 2018, Estes crew set out to provide support on a future bridge project. We spent the day peeling logs of its bark, just like potatoes. Using proper body mechanics and draw knives, we were able to perfectly strip large chunks of bark off at one time. It’s important to strip bark from the logs before a project because it will decompose much faster than the wood itself, making weak spots in the structure. Once the logs were peeled, it was time to move them to their new location. We were able to move the logs around 50 meters with 8 people and 4 straps that were placed evenly down the log. Each log weighed around 700lbs, so we were only able to move them a few feet at a time. This required extreme teamwork and communication throughout the process. Later in the day we also observed while Marieke fell two trees, giving us some insight on tree safety.

6/7/2018 – We spent the day participating in SAR training (search and rescue). After meeting the other members of the course, we split into 4 groups that would rotate throughout multiple stations. The stations included patient packaging, navigation, GAR scale, and check-in and check-out procedures, each of which are important steps in a SAR situation. Then after lunch we assessed in a mock rescue situation. During this scenario two groups responsible for locating an injured hiker, assessing the situation, packaging, and finally moving the patient. We as the Estes crew are now able to assist in search and rescue operations.

-Curtis (Estes Crew Leader)

Moraine Crew

WOW! What a first week for the Moraine Crew. It is amazing how quickly four days can go when you are having a blast! After getting settled into our “bunk houses”, which are actually very homey cabins, over the weekend we were ready to get working.

View from the Moraine Crews Cabins

Monday started off with getting to meet our supervisors, Chuck and Bob, as well as the rest of the employees that we will be working with over the summer. Then, we were each given our tool buckets and were sent up to an area called Tortilla Flats to break down and reclaim the metal from old and broken picnic tables. This gave us all a chance to get tools in our hands and start learning how to use them. By the end of the day we were working together like a NASCAR pit crew breaking down tables in mere seconds.

Because most of our big projects this summer take place in campgrounds throughout RMNP, we do not want to start making noise and disturbing campers at 6:30am, so in the morning we will be working on side projects, like using the reclaimed metal to make new picnic tables for visitors to use for decades.

Tuesday started off by visiting the local lumber yard and learning how to assess lumber quality when buying the boards that will be used for the new tables. Once we had gotten enough high quality boards to start building tables we went back to the shop and learned how to use a router to bevel the boards, power sanders to make a smooth surface, stain to make the wood resistant to weathering/ rotting, and the intricate process of assembling a picnic tables (it is a lot harder then it may seem). By the end of the day we had about twenty boards finished and ready to be made into tables and one table near completion, building a picnic table is a bit trickier then one might first imagine.

Moraine Crew staining boards for picnic tables.

Wednesday morning after completing another table and finishing more boards we headed out to the Moraine Park Campground comfort station that we will be continually improving through the season. Today our task was to dig a 45 feet long and 18 inches’ deep trench to allow electricity to be hooked up to the comfort station improving visitors experience. Although it was a hot day and we were all in the sun for hours, we all had a blast! The entire time we were working together laughing, joking and making the best out of what many would see to be hard work. During that time Hayley ended up finding her passion for digging trenches ensuring that her section was a perfect 18 inches deep with steep parallel walls. After the trench was complete and the electrical lines laid we replaced the soil and scattered forest litter to help the area recover and maintain the aesthetics of the area.

Moraine Crew showcasing their success in digging trenches!

The “Trench” after the area was restored.

On Thursday, or as we call it Friday, we began prepping boards that will become the border for our accessibility path at the same Moraine Park Campground comfort station. The objective of these accessibility, or ADA, paths are to allow individuals with mobility impairments to utilize our facilities and enjoy the same comforts other campers have. The boards were anywhere from 10 to 22 feet long and required mutable coats of stain to insure they will last decades in the ground. Around lunch time while we were outside staining boards we saw the Estes park crew walking up to say high while they were on their lunch break during their search and rescue training. We had not taken our lunch yet so we decided to join them and put our brand new picnic tables to the test. It was very nice to get to use what we had been building all week and share some food and conversation with our coworkers. After lunch we continued our staining project and finished about 1/3 of the boards, which is good considering the surface area of the wood we have to stain is over ¼ of a football field and we are doing at least two coats!

All in all, the old saying time flies when you are having fun definitely applies to this first week of work. We all cannot wait to see what is coming next!

-Will (Moraine Crew Leader)

Ready, Set, Go! 2018 Season Training

Here we go again!

This past week we kicked off the 2018 season of the Rocky Mountain Conservancy-Conservation Corps by welcoming 28 new crew members and welcoming back six former crew members as crew leaders. We started out by setting up camp in Moraine Park Campground, a plethora of ice breakers, and crew introductions.

After going through gear distribution, the crews got some time to meet each other and do a variety of activities focused on establishing group expectations and setting goals. We took some time to learn about the Conservancy’s mission and programs and how the Conservation Corps fits into them. We ended the day with distributing uniforms and boot fittings. Big thanks to the Estes Park Mountain Shop for helping the Corps with boots this year!

The next day we did a trails training day with the National Park Service, practicing specific skill such as; digging drains, crushing and moving rocks, cutting brush, and practicing proper use of hand tools.

 

That afternoon we came back to the Field Institute where the newly minted crew leaders lead us through training on preventative first aid, how to backpack, Leave No Trace, outdoor hygiene, and how to use our backcounty cooking tools.  An additional activity included blindfolded tent building, where one crew member wore a blindfold and depended on the rest of the crew’s instruction to set up a tent.

Next, we were met by the Recreation Forester for Canyon Lakes Ranger district where we learned about defensive driving. This certification allows everybody to drive government vehicles and may even lower their insurance rates! We then attended the Volunteers In the Park, or VIP, training in the park where we learned how to properly interact with the visitors we will inevitably come across while working in Rocky Mountain National Park and the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest.

To wrap up our former training’s of the week, Jim Pickering (Estes Park Historian Laureate and Board President of the Rocky Mountain Conservancy Board) led an engaging historic tour through RMNP highlighting the role the Civilian Conservation Corps played in it’s creation and maintenance. After a day of traveling through the park, crew members met at the local high school field to end the week with a friendly game of capture the flag.

On Saturday, June 2nd the Corps celebrated National Trails Day and the 50th Anniversary of the National Trails Act with an on-the-ground project. The crews were accompanied by Rocky Mountain Conservancy staff and board members as well as other members of the surrounding communities to work on trails within RMNP. The groups were led by NPS staff and taught a variety of new trail building and restoration skills.

 

The day was capped off with a large group cook-out and gathering to celebrate National Trails Day.  We then bid farewell to our Conservation Crews as they made plans to head off to their respective sites.

Stay tuned for more updates as the season goes on!

-Morgan Cannon and Tommy Egland, Field Coordinators

Winter Updates

As the winter wind settles into Estes Park, we are working through our preparations for the 2018 season!

That being said, before we look forward to next summer, I wanted to share a Story Map created by one of our 2017 Conservation Corps Crew Members, Ally Gustafson. Ally created the map as part of her internship requirement as she prepares to graduate from Colorado State University’s Warner College of Natural Resources with a degree from from the Human Dimensions of Natural Resources Department. The map provide a unique visual perspective on the geographic scope of the Conservation Corps’ impact during the 2017 season. Check out the map and project highlights at the following link: RMC-CC Project Story Map – 2017.

Now, let’s take a look at 2018!

First and foremost, we are excited to announce the 2018 application for crew leader and crew member positions are live as of 12:00PM on December 1, 2017 (TODAY). Be sure to share this opportunity with anyone interested in learning about the outdoors, natural resource management, and conservation work. Crew members need NO previous experience, just a desire to learn and a strong work ethic! Follow the link below for more information: https://rmconservancy.org/learn-us/rocky-mountain-conservation-corps/

Secondly, we are pleased to share that we are transitioning into becoming an AmeriCorps program. This transition will allow us to provide a greater benefit to our Conservation Corps interns in the form of an Education Award that can be applied to tuition, student loans, and other qualified educational expenses. This will allow participants to better utilize the educational benefits of the internship depending on their particular educational goals.

Lastly, as we gear up for 2018, follow our “Photo of the Season” series on Facebook and Instagram. Each installation features a photo from the 2017 season selected by a corps member with a brief description of their selection!

I’ll leave you with a photo of a recent ski trip in Rocky Mountain National Park…

The season has officially changed in Rocky. Photo taken on November 17, 2017.

-Geoff Elliot, Conservation Corps Manager

End-Of-Season Wrap-Up

With the 2017 Conservation Corps season a month behind us, the Conservancy has had a chance to compile some of the data from the season and reflect on our successes and lessons learned. Most notably, we are excited to share our 2017 End-Of-Season Portfolio, recapping the experience of the crews, work completed, and individual reflections from the season. To view the portfolio, visit 2017 End-Of-Season Portfolio.

Over the course of the twelve week season, the Conservancy hosted 36 conservation corps interns spread across six crews. All in all, the crews contributed over 12,000 hours of volunteer service on public lands. This service equates to $289,680 contributed to the National Park Service and USDA Forest Service in Northern Colorado. During these hours on-the-ground, the crews:

• Maintained 225 miles of trail
• Cleared 1,452 downed trees from trail
• Repaired or installed 1,110 drain structures
• Built 28 check steps
• Constructed 2.7 miles of trail
• Constructed or repaired ten stream crossings
• Replaced 267 feet of turnpike (raised trail through wet areas)
• Planted 2,480 native plants
• Decommissioned more than 1,000 feet of social trail
• Rebuilt a 1,200 square foot deck
• Moth-Balled a historic structure by creating 25 window coverings
• Refinished the exteriors of five cabins
• Installed 50 bear boxes for campsites
• AND MUCH MORE!

In addition, the young adults developed leadership skills, learned about the natural and cultural history of the Rocky Mountains, and gained valuable jobs skills and career resources to help propel them forward in their academic and professional careers.

To see a brief recap of the season, view our slideshow at 2017 End-Of-Season Recap.

As we work through the off-season, stay tuned for posts of Corps members’ reflections and photos from the summer!