In the Field: Week 6

Kawuneeche Crew

Monday

Our week started out with returning to the deck to dig some holes. There was also a little bit of demolition left to do on some parts of the old deck. Digging the holes for the support beams took up most of the day with also mixing some concrete for the ones that were already finished. There was also time for us to meet the two new people joining our crew to help on the deck.

Tuesday

The day started out the same until three of us stayed to work on the deck. While working on the deck we had to dig a few more holes for the support beams in for the deck framework. During the afternoon we went to deconstruct some picnic tables while also getting rid of the old wood used for the ones already taken apart. The other three went down to the west side to green mountain housing to scrap and stain some cabins. The drive there and back would take almost 3 hours so there was not that much time to work on the cabins.

Wednesday

We were still having half go down to the west side to scrape and paint cabins while the others stayed at the deck. For the first half of the day we were working on the deck and adding support to the pieces that had already been put up. This involved cutting and measuring pieces of wood at different sizes. After lunch we had to wait for an order of lumber to come in so to kill the time we went to start building picnic tables. When the lumber finally arrived we had it sent up to the deck while we stayed down at the shop to finish making tables and help clean up around the shop till it was time to go.

Thursday

In the morning we had a small party for one of our workers that was leaving before everyone went out to their job sites. The ones at the deck were able to finish the framework that still had to be done. The others went down to work on scraping and staining the cabins on the west side.

Garret scraping the side of the cabin.

Ashleigh and Tate mixing some concrete.

Half of the framework being measured and cut to length.

 

-Ashleigh Trujillo (Kawuneeche Crew Leader of the Week)

 

Boulder Crew

Sunday-

Lucas was in a wedding in Ohio during the weekend and arrived to Denver on Sunday.  Ryan offered to pick him up at the airport. Brendan tagged along so the three of them could go to church afterwards. I (Andrea) then concluded “I like car rides” so I signed myself up for the trip. Ally said “well if everyone is going, I might as well go too.” And like that, we all woke up at 5am and voluntarily confined ourselves in a narrow car for a long period of time. I bet Lucas did not expect to find a crowded car, but he must have loved being compressed against the window and being unable to find a comfortable position.  Then, Ally had the marvelous idea of passing by her house to see her DOGGOS! How could we say no to doggos?

Monday-

Crime Scene:

Date: July 17, 2017

Location: Sourdough Trail

Evidence: Sawdust- fresh

No witnesses

From the beginning of the day we knew it was not going to be a normal Monday. Some of our crew members had a rough night. One was visited by food poisoning and another by an unidentified small sized animal. Nonetheless, they diligently woke up at 6am and got ready to hit the road- I mean trail. We were told we were going to work at Sourdough. Only that I never heard the “going to work at” part so I was profoundly confused as to why everyone was suddenly obsessed with sourdough bread. It was not until I saw the trailhead sign that it clicked. We grabbed our crosscut saws, axes, etc, and started to hike. But something was wrong… An hour went by and there were no fallen trees on sight. Then we saw it. A smoothly bucked log with sawdust that looked as if it was mocking us. It could have only meant one thing: a volunteer cleared the trail and never communicated it. A biker confirmed that there were no more trees ahead, so we hiked back and drove to Brainard Gateway to dig some drains.

Tuesday-

On Tuesday we hiked about 12 miles! We arrived at Coney Flats Trailhead really early in the morning. We were welcomed by a beautiful lake that merged with the blue sky, so that was a nice way to start the day. We hiked 3 miles just to get to Beaver Creek, the trail we worked on. There we cut 13 trees and then stumbled upon treeline. Since we had a little bit of time left we explored Coney Lake Trail and got fiercely stabbed by branches, which led us to the conclusion that the trail needed some serious brushing. On our way back to Homestead Ned, a woman drove by us, rolled down her window and said “you drive like an idiot” to our driver.  This provoked explosive emotions inside of me (mostly because it isn’t true) so I wrote a poem about it and read it aloud during dinner. That night we spiced up our sump ritual by making ANIMAL SOUNDS. The dog, elk, cat, sheep, and cow medley led some of us into tears of laughter. It was insane. Afterwards, I taught everyone how to dance salsa for my lesson plan. Every Puerto Rican knows how to dance salsa.

Wednesday-

Geoff came to work with us and he told me I should write the blog in Spanish, así que eso mismito haré. Por la mañana, Geoff nos encontró en el workcenter y todos guiamos hasta Hessie Trailhead, que estaba a una elevación de 9,000 pies de altura.  La altura, el cansancio acumulado y el hecho de que el camino estaba extremadamente empinado ocasionaron que caminara a 0.000000000001 millas por hora. Después de caminar lo que sintió como ochenta millas llegamos hasta Woodland Lake Trailhead. Allí nos dividimos en dos grupos: tedious-lopping (Louisa, Lucas, Ally y yo) y crosscuts (Ben, Ryan y Brendan). Gracias a las conversaciones con Geoff y a la música descargada en el teléfono, tedious-lopping no fue taaaan tedioso. Justo cuando Ben nos avisó que íbamos a regresar empezó a lloviznar. En cuestión de minutos, nubes escalofriantemente grises se apoderaron del cielo. Nosotros básicamente volamos de regreso, pero comoquiera terminamos empapados. Además de esa aventura, Ben y Geoff vinieron a cenar a Homestead Ned. Preparamos una cantidad absurda de [päd THĪ] y ¡SOBRÓ! Ya saben que comí de almuerzo el próximo día.

Thursday-

El jueves empezamos el día con un Safety Meeting en Boulder. Esto fue algo muy positivo pues todos estábamos agotados de caminar tanto y así pudimos descansar un rato más. La reunión fue sobre PPE y dar updates. Después de eso nos dirigimos hacia Brainard Lake y dimos mil vueltas buscando estacionamiento. Como todo estaba lleno optamos por estacionarnos en la calle. Empezamos a caminar y de nuevo no estábamos encontrando arboles así que le preguntamos a unas mujeres si vieron árboles durante su caminata. Dijeron que no, así que fuimos a otro camino, South St. Vrain Trail. Allí cortamos 14 árboles, lo que nos hizo muy feliz porque caminar con sierras para no cortar nada es muy frustrante. Luego fuimos al workcenter para pulir las sierras, hasta que Ben nos mandó pa’ la casa. “You should be at home. Go home!” Seguimos las instrucciones de Ben y, ya en Homestead Ned, cocinamos pizzas con básicamente un lanzallamas que encontramos en el camión del Forest Service.  ¡De ahí fuimos para Boulder, me dejaron con mi padre y ellos fueron a ver una película!

-Andrea Rodriguez (Boulder Crew Leader of the Week)

Red Feather and Rawah

This week Red Feather and Rawah joined forces for a hitch in the Comanche Peaks. On Monday morning we set up camp next to the beautiful Comanche Reservoir for four days of intensive trail maintenance in the heart of the Comanche Peaks Wilderness.

Morning Trail Maintenance Next to Comanche Reservoir

Monday afternoon we trekked up to Comanche Lake, tools in hand, on our first maintenance run. Gus, Noah, and Will cross cut through a monster obstructive log.

Gus, Noah, and Will Pose Next to Their Crosscut Accomplishment

A twelve crewmember team made for speedy drainage and trail clearing and we made it to the lake with enough time for Anna and Noah to catch us some fish for dinner.

Noah The Fishing Magician

Anna’s Fresh Trout Sizzles Over The Whisperlight

Tuesday Redwah tackled the Beaver Creek Trail, digging over 70 drains on our way up to treeline. The morning break was spent cooling off with a brisk snowball fight in a perfectly positioned snowpatch.

Jumping For Snowy Joy

We stumbled upon an illegal campsite right off the trail and Gus shared his obliteration knowledge as we decommissioned the area back into natural habitat.

Gus Teaches Campfire Ring Obliteration

On Wednesday we headed back up the Beaver Creek Trail to hit the Mirror Lake Trail. While Mirror Lake trail never lead us down to Mirror Lake it did wind through Comanche Pass with a spectacular view of Rocky Mountain National Park and the Never Summer Mountain Range.

Rawah Crew Atop Comanche Pass

Stephanie also taught a spectacular yoga lesson that was both relaxing and challenging.

Crewmembers Limber Up With New Yoga Skills

Thursday we packed up and headed out from our Comanche site, digging drains and clearing trees on the lower half of Beaver Creek Trail.

Will Digs a Drain Next to Comanche Reservoir

Anna headed the removal of a downed tree with a particularly tricky bind.

Anna and Gus Crosscut on Beaver Creek Trail

We couldn’t get enough of the backcountry so Redwah capped off our work week of backpacking with a weekend backpacking trip up to Twin Crater Lakes in the Rawah Wilderness. By some stroke of impeccably timed fate, we ran into previous RMCCC members Ben Williamson and Gus Waneka in the parking lot! We joined camping forces and summited South Rawah Peak with four generations of Rawah conservation crew members!

Four Generation of Rawah Crewmembers on South Rawah Peak!

-Shelby Ahrendt (Red Feather Crew Leader)

Estes Crew

Quite a week!

Estes went back to vegetation crew for their last week with them. (Sad but true.)  This time around they were “de vegetating.” The task for the week was to spray Musk thistle, Canada thistle and anything that was invasive such as toad flax.  Musk thistle is a highly competitive weed that invades disturbed areas, forest lands, pasture, to name a few. It spreads rapidly and forms stands (look like small little thorns or needles on the leaves) which forces out desirable and native vegetation. To kill the thistle, they used 6 ounces of milestone, 4 ounces of MSO and 2 ounces of dye in each tank. The rest of 3 gallons of the tank is made with water.

Monday

Estes started out spraying Upper Beaver Meadow. They sprayed around the area until it rained them out at around 2pm. (When it rains, no more spraying).

For the rest of the afternoon, they spent it around Beaver Meadow visitor center, and around NPS housing, digging out any thistle and Mullein plants.

Tuesday.

Tuesday was a similar day.

They started out  at riding stable parking lot spraying any invasive thistle they can find, then in the afternoon, made their way to cub lake trail head.

Wednesday

Woke up with the same mission. “Kill the Thistle”. Moraine Park was the target this time around. Sprayed around the whole camp ground. (This camp ground had bushes of them. So it was a win for Estes.) They were running out of the herbicide (aka the killer juice) within 30 minutes. It was a fun day until rain intervened. They were forced to go back to the shop and do some housekeeping around the shop.

Thursday! (Geoff and Tommy are here!!!)

This day was fun for Estes because they had to work with not only Geoff, but also Tommy! Tommy used to lead the high school program and since that’s over, well he gets to work with us now!

Estes went back to Moraine Park to finish the unfinished business! They are one very committed crew for sure. Although the whole camp ground could not be finished in two days, they did kill a lot of thistles (as promised). Now the camp ground is almost thistle free. Hopefully, some vegetation can grow back to their places now.

Since every “veg crew” had an afternoon meeting, Estes was back to the green house to do some transplanting.

What a fun week “de vegatating”

 

Claire in a sea of Musk Thistle

Claire, Chris and Sal use a grid to tackle invasive species

Chris, Simbi, and Grace spraying some weeds with a view

-Simbi Umwali (Estes Crew Leader of the Week)

Shadow Mountain Crew

What a great week!  There is nothing better than spending time with good people doing excellent work in places we love.  This week Izzy, Will, Mary, Anna, Elise, and I spent our days on hitch in a beautiful part of the Rockies.  The trail we worked on is a 24-mile loop known as South Fork Loop.  Our main objectives were to clear the trail of all fallen trees and scout ahead to get a better idea of what needs to be done in the upcoming years.  Every morning we started our day at 7:00am for our routine stretch circle, safety concerns, and question of the day.  The question of the day is a great way to wake up the brain in a fun and sometimes interesting way.  Once awake and stretched out, a game plan on how to best tackle the objectives of the day is discussed.  Most days we would split into teams of two to four members, to work on different sections of the trail.  Two teams worked on clearing trees with chain saws, while the third focused on cutting tread and clearing brush.  All together we cleared well over 200 trees, and cut 500 feet of tread.

It was a wet hitch, almost every day coming off the trail we were welcomed by a rain/ hail storm that kept things exciting.  However, there was nothing that could dampen our good time.  The Evenings were filled with lots of laughs, good conversations, and warm camp fires.  We even stopped to soak our feet and wet our hair in the cool waters of the nearby streams.

-Curtis Jay Hall (Crew Leader of the Week)

In the Field: Week 5 (Part One)

After a week spent on the east side of Rocky Mountain National Park for RMC-CC’s educational mid-week, the Kawuneeche Crew returned to the beautiful Kawuneeche Valley. On Monday, we arrived at our comfort station and were pleased to see that in our absence our NPS supervisors replaced nearly all of the windows. After admiring the glimmering glass, we jumped right back into work. In the morning, the crew prepped an area outside the comfort station for a concrete (or as we’ve learned is often called “mud” in the business) sidewalk to be poured later in the week. Prepping the area for concrete included digging out the area four inches deep, and creating a border using wooden boards and stakes. Once this was completed, the rest of our day was spent framing the new windows (to ensure that they stay in place), using wooden boards, a nail gun, and a lot of precise measuring. While half of the crew spent the afternoon doing this, the other half worked on removing grout from the comfort station’s tile floors, via a rotary tool equipped with a specialized and extremely sharp blade.

Crew leader Dom and crew member Dax examining and working on the area outside the comfort station to be filled with concrete.

Crew member, Will, working on placing a border around the area outside the comfort station for the concrete sidewalk.

Tuesday brought more window work. In addition to continuing to frame the windows, the crew also replaced the remaining few windows, which are the windows that can be opened and closed to the outside world. (It is also worth noting that we now no longer have to board up the windows before leaving for the day…which is very exciting for us!) In the afternoon, we framed these windows and also worked on removing more grout from the tile floors. Tuesday further consisted of chinking at the Mess Hall up at Lake Irene. And after work on Tuesday afternoon, I, as the assistant crew leader of the week, taught the crew a lesson on making art from nature. After I spoke about some of the history and theory behind nature art, the crew created their own pieces of art from the nature found in our backyard, and explained their pieces to the rest of the crew.

Crew member, Adam, displaying his nature art, in the form of a mandala, to the rest of the crew.

On Wednesday, the crew completed even more grout work. Not only did the crew finish removing the grout (a much more difficult and time consuming task than you might otherwise think, and hence why it took nearly three days to complete) from the women’s side of the comfort station, but crew member Dax and crew leader Dom also grouted the women’s side. This, too, was another time consuming task, as it involved a great deal of waiting for various steps to be completed, namely the washing and drying of the tiles before and after the grout had been placed. Lastly, the other half of the crew spent the day chinking at Lake Irene, working primarily on the corners of the building; and we came incredibly close to completing the project.

Crew Member, Adam, using the rotary tool to remove grout from the comfort station’s tiles.

            Our last work day of the week, Thursday, was an exciting and busy day for the Kawuneeche Crew! While half of the crew spent the day at the comfort station, the other half headed over to the east side of the park to help transport materials for a project next week. At the comfort station, Dom and Dax spent the morning hauling and dumping wheel barrels of concrete from a truck to the area for the sidewalk. Once the concrete was dumped, our NPS supervisors Bob, Chuck, and John spread and evened the concrete into the area. The exterior of the bathroom continues to progress, and now that it has a brand new sidewalk, it looks wonderful! Once the sidewalk was completed, Dom and Dax spent the rest of the day doing (you guessed it!) more grout work. In the meantime, the rest of the crew, including myself, Adam, and Will loaded our work truck with all of the shingles remaining from the re-shingling of the comfort station’s roof a few weeks back. After loading the shingles, we headed up to Lake Irene to finish up chinking the last corner of the Mess Hall. An hour of work later and we were proud to have finished this project for the summer, and it looks fantastic! We then headed over Trail Ridge Road with the shingles (just imagine driving over a curvy, mountain road with a huge, weighted down truck) and unloaded them near the park headquarters. Next, we loaded James’, one of our NPS supervisors, truck with logs and drove to a picnic area near the Wild Basin area to drop them off. Because we needed to take forty logs to this area, we ended up taking two trips. And while we spent a good deal of our day driving, the scenery was beautiful and was a great way to end the start to the second half of the season!

Crew Leader, Dom, admiring the newly poured concrete sidewalk.

            Next week, we are looking forward to making more progress on the comfort station and to some new projects on the east side of the park!

-Rachel Eckert, Kawuneeche Crew Leader of the Week

One of my favorite things about the Estes Crew is that we are given opportunities to work in other areas of the park outside of trails. Don’t get me wrong- I absolutely love trail work. However, trail work is not something that everyone is interested in turning into a life-long career. So this week, the members of Estes Crew got to work with the Resource Stewardship division of Rocky and explore more options for future jobs or careers. This week, we worked with a crew that manages the flora of the park by removing invasive plants.

Today, invasive species are one of the largest threats to native plants and wildlife all across the globe, and the culprit is often humans. Rocky Mountain National Park has a huge diversity of plants from the montane life zone all the way to the tundra. This diversity even earned them recognition as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. However, it is the beautiful landscape that affords the park recognition and attracts the people that bring with them invasive weeds such as Musk Thistle and Cheatgrass. This is where crews like the one we worked with this week step in.

The main methods for removing invasive weeds are manually removing them and using herbicides applied with a backpack sprayer. Herbicides can sound like a scary thing, right? With some of the invasive species in the park, using herbicides is the best viable option for their removal. For example, simply pulling Canada Thistle does not work, because the roots will then sprout several more plants in the same spot. I can assure you that the NPS employees who manage the plans for invasive weeds rely heavily on the best science available, only use them if they are the best option, and hold their crews to the highest safety standards. The chemicals used in the park are specific to certain plant families, and don’t stay in the environment long. The use of backpack sprayers allows only certain plants to be targeted and there are strict guidelines on where the use of herbicides is allowed. If you would like more information on the use of herbicides in parks, I have provided links at the end of this post.

Thanks for checking back in with our RMC crews! It’s now the weekend and we’re all off to hike, climb, and float the beautiful land that we’re living in.

Rocky Mountain NP Environmental Assessment- Exotic Plant Removal

Yosemite NP Treatment of Invasive Plants

 The Estes Crew, along with the Park Service employees, work through a field looking for Musk and Canada Thistle.

 

 Estes Crew members Jessa and Yuritzi head back to the car at the end of our workday.

Before we use our backpack sprayers, we had to calibrate the amount we would spray per acre. Here, crewmember Jesse is going through the calibration process before spraying weeds.

 

  Crewmember Jessa sprays Canada Thistle in the thickets of the Sheep Lakes area of Rocky.

-Miranda Thompson, Estes Crew Leader

Over the course of the last week, the Boulder Crew worked on three main projects. The first of these involved constructing a turnpike within James Peak Wilderness, just south of Nederland. On the first day, we were joined by Geoff Elliot who aided us in the construction of the turnpike. For construction, we spent a great deal of time collecting rocks of all shapes and sizes. The perimeter of the turnpike consisted of very large rocks that required two or more people to carry with the help of a rock austin. Once the outside perimeter of the turnpike was complete, the crew had to line the inside of the turnpike with large rocks followed by smaller rocks, a layer of dirt, more small rocks, and then a final layer of dirt. Having good clean dirt was essential in construction. Crew Leader, Tom Enright, proved to have a true natural ability in selecting the site to borrow dirt from. Tom spent the better part of two days sifting through dirt, removal large impurities, to ensure that we have a pure final product. Way to go Tom! One of the more interesting things we saw while working in James Peak Wilderness was a man walking his three goats on the trail. The most exciting thing we usually see, as far as domesticated wildlife goes, is an abnormally large dog, so it was pretty special to see a small herd of goats.

Tom excavating the turnpike section.

Dalton creating the edge for the turnpike.

Hailey removing loose soils from the turnpike area.

Milda and Tom using rock bars to unearth rocks.

Milda and Tom work together to carry a large rock to the worksite.

On the final day of the work week, the crew split with half of us going into Brainard Lake to work on the Long Lake Connector and the other half traveling to Ceran St. Vrain to construct a rock retaining wall. At Brainard Lake we spent the entire day removing hazard trees and other trees that were in the corridor of the connector. The connector is going to be crucial to the Brainard Lake area because it will provide an off-road alternative to walking the road from the main parking area in order to access some of the more popular trailheads. The work at Brainard Lake was taxing at times but the need for the corridor kept the crew engaged. At Ceran St. Vrain, the other half of the crew spent their day building a rock retaining wall in an effort to reduce erosion near the trail. It seemed that the general theme of the week was rock collecting, with this half of the crew spending the majority of the day once again collecting rocks of all shaped and sizes.

This week was a little more interesting than usual due to the Cold Spring Fire. The fire started just north of our work center and spread south skirting the east side of Nederland. On Saturday, the fire spread quickly and due to the proximity of the fire it was a major topic of conversation whether we should relocate where we were staying for the week. But thanks to the hard work of our wildland firefighters, the fire was contained within a few days, and our home within Kelly Dahl Campground was safe along with the rest of Boulder County. By the time the blaze reached 100% containment five homes had been destroyed and a little more than 500 acres of land were burned.

-Dalton Moore, Boulder Crew Leader of the Week

This past week the Rawah and Red Feather Crews partnered up with Wildlands Restoration Volunteers (WLRV) back at Young Gulch. Here is each crew’s account of the work completed!

After a great weekend trip to Moab Utah, the Rawah Crew was ready to head back to Young Gulch with Nate, our Wildlands Restoration Volunteers (WLRV) contact and the Red Feather crew. This week had hazards that we discussed every morning before starting our day. Hazards like Rattlesnakes, Poison Ivy, the heat, and tool safety. Both crews did a great job at be spatially aware of each other and being safe of these hazards.

We widened and adjusted the tread of the trail that we established from the week of June 13^th. The Wildlands Restoration Volunteers created a switchback turn in previous weeks, and several members of the Rawah Crew lowered the height, made the slope more gradual and widened the tread of the turn. This allows for future mountain bikers and hikers to have an easier transition up or down the trail.

 

Rawah Crew Member Gus lowering the slope using a Pick Mattock

Rawah Crew member Garret adjusting the height of the trail.

Rock walls are a way to support the trail. Three new rock walls were established on the trail, and several more were readjusted to make sure they work effectively. Looking for large flat rocks in tall grass with rattlesnakes around is not fun, but all crew members were safe, vigilant and enjoyed finding rocks that worked well. In order for the rock wall to be stabilized, smaller rocks or “crush” was used to fill in the negative space of the rocks.

 

Gus wearing his personal protection equipment to create crush for a rock wall.

Creating rock walls are fun! Des smiles as Geoff is impressed with the rock wall.

Both crews were able to create a quarter mile more trail after the gulch crossing. Poison Ivy was abundant. However, crew member of the week, Sam Ruhala, used a McCloud to clear away any on or close to the trail. He helped keep both crews safe. The Red Feather crew did more creation, as the Rawah crew did the rock walls and maintenance of the old trail. Being on the Rawah trails can get quite lonely. Aside from the crew, we see very few people on trails or anywhere while we are working. That being said it is always a pleasure working with another crew. Especially one as fun and productive as Red Feather. One of my favorite quotes is by Simon Sinek and it is “If you have the opportunity to do amazing things in your life, I strongly encourage you to invite someone to join you”. At the end of the week we all felt accomplished and proud of our maintenance and creation of the Young Gulch trail. Nate, our WLRV contact, surprised us with two big watermelons to thank us for our work.

Rawah crew members Kyrie and Sam pose for a picture after a day of work.

 

Red Feather crew member Sabrina enjoys the watermelon at the end of a hot, hard week.

-Eeland Stribling, Rawah Crew Leader of the Week

This week July 11^th-14^th the Red Feather Lakes crew collaborated with the Rawah crew at Young Gulch in the Poudre Canyon. This was the second time the Red Feather Lakes crew has worked with the Rawah crew in Young Gulch, the first time the crews joined forces was the first week when all of the Rocky Mountain Conservancy crews dispersed to their permanent residences until the end of the season. Due to severe floods the Young Gulch has been closed since 2013 and not set to reopen until 2018. Once a very popular hiking and biking trail on the 14 highway west of Fort Collins, the trail was damaged by the high park fire in 2012 and only days after reopening in September 2013 until the torrent took out majority of its trail. The two crews, Red Feather Lakes and Rawah, have been working with the forest service to rebuild a new route that is more sustainable.

Our objective, this week, in Young Gulch was to reinforce and fine tune sections that had been previously worked on. We did this by back sloping and leveling out the tread and inaugurating a drainage grade. Section notes were provided to both crews which helped immensely. Each section was cut into 100 foot long blocks of which there were 23 blocks that we worked on, that’s close to half a mile of work done in 4 days. A lot of what we did consisted of hauling many loads of dirt and transferring from different sections of the trail. We stored much of the trail materials into designated piles consisting of rock piles, mineral soil piles, and organic soil piles. Our biggest concerns with the trail were the rattle snakes, which we saw several in a days’ work and the poison ivy that the crews had cleared out to create pathway.

The picture above is the adventurous Wyatt from the Red Feather Lakes crew holding a bull snake that he found on the trail. Wyatt is fearful when it comes to finding wildlife, but his curiosity supersedes his fear of handling the wildlife. The Young Gulch has a mélange of wildlife from shrubs, ponderosa pine, juniper and Douglas fir along its’ hillsides. Along with the vegetation Young Gulch also has different breeds of snakes, fish, and deer.

The picture above (from left to right) is Wyatt, with the Red Feather Lakes crew, Sam, with the Rawah crew, and Daina, with the Red Feather Lakes crew. All three of the crew member’s just completed a drainage grade by carefully selecting melon-sized rocks and by depositing each one along the inside of the turn and finishing it off by adding crushed rock in between the larger ones to hold them into place. The Drain was made because the natural flow of water ran right in that section of the turn so the drain keeps the trail from eroding.

Many of the crew members agree that working in Young Gulch has been their favorite project yet because they are able to see a brand new trail put in with their very own efforts and this give everyone a great sense of achievement. Everyone has worked adamantly to create this trail and you can see that the work that was put into it was made carefully and diligently.

-Daina Daniels, Red Feather Crew Leader of the Week

I was fortunate enough to make it out to the Young Gulch project this past week and took some photos of my own. Here they are:

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In the Field: Week 4

The Red Feather Crew worked to complete maintenance runs on the Killpecker and North Lone Pine trails over the past we week. The water damage turned the North Lone Pine trail into a soupy mess towards the end of the system, but with hard work and good music we were able to take the soupy mess and turn it more into a hearty stew, worthy of walking on. All in all we were able to complete the maintenance runs on both trails and help alleviate the swampy problem that is the last half mile of the North Lone Pine trail.

Most of our work consisted of clearing and building drains, with the occasional tree clearing. The maintenance runs were on the shorter side of what we usually do, but the change in elevation helped keep us humble. One cannot help but contemplate what it means to be in shape when they are trying their best not to fall over backward from the combination of exhaustion and a crosscut saw pulling them back as it bounces behind their shoulder.

On Monday we experienced a unique situation with an injured dirt biker. The biker and his friend were just finishing up their ride as we were headed back to the bunk house. They passed us on the road as we stopped to clear some limbs and trees that blocked part of the drive. A few minutes later we came upon the two riders on the ground, one of them had hit the forest service gate that blocked the road. Fortunately three of the six of us have our Wilderness First Responders and were able to help the biker with his wounds and provide him with a ride to his vehicle.

We were visited by our manager, Geoff, on Tuesday and were able to put him to work helping us limb and clear downed trees that blocked the trail. In the large gaps of trail between downed trees we were able to employ him as a porter of sorts for our crosscut saw, with the promise of a meal at the end of the day. Little did Geoff know that the meal that day was an improvised effort by me and Otieno, put into effect after learning that yes, Geoff will be staying for dinner.

-Arin Leopold, Red Feather Crew Leader of the Week

For Estes Crew, we ended the first half of the summer with a completely different type of trail work. Instead of going out on maintenance runs, we worked on a trail revitalization project in the Tuxedo Park area of Rocky. This trail is used frequently by the public and by groups from the YMCA- including large groups on horseback. Due to the frequent use by people and the impact from horses, the trail has been heavily rutted out and the wooden log steps have been damaged. This is where we can step in and work to improve this trail so that it is easier for people and horses to use and lasts for decades to come.

The kind of work involved in this project is very different than simply going on a maintenance run. Trail improvement projects are often centered on a much smaller area and require thinking more strategically than digging drains on several miles of trail. The main component of this project that we worked on was installing log checks. Log checks are first and foremost used as erosion control structures and also as steps on steep grades. The process of installing a log check involves using math (wasn’t expecting to need that this summer) to calculate the grade between each step, moving boulders and positioning them just right to secure the logs, crushing rocks using double and single jacks, and then filling them in with wheelbarrow loads of dirt.

The crew thoroughly enjoyed the project that we worked on this week and it was fulfilling to see the constant progress as we worked. It was definitely an excellent way to end the first half of our week season. Now, we look forward to the educational portions of the upcoming midweek along with getting to reunite with the other crews and find out what everyone else has been up to for the past month.

Hunter and Ben loading up the wheelbarrows full with new tread for our trail

Jessa and Jesse get to show their intensity when smashing rocks with single jacks.

Some of the boulders we moved were massive, but the payoff is a stronger log check and stronger muscles.

-Miranda Thompson, Estes Crew Leader

This week, the Boulder crew continued their work at the Brainard Lake Recreation Area, swamping out a future trail, constructing drains, doing some crosscut work, and breaking down an area that had been dammed up with debris. It was a productive work week leading up to mid-week.

On Tuesday, the crew continued their work in the high country above 11,000 feet. The work that was conducted the majority of the day was drain constructing. The entire crew worked along Sourdough Trail for the first half of the day. Shortly after lunch, the crew split up into two different groups. One, continuing their work on drains, while the other of the group started swamping out a future trail. When swamping out a future trail, the group follows a Sawyer, who cuts down larger trees with a chainsaw. The cut trees are carried to areas from 50 to 100ft away where they cannot be seen from the trail.

On Wednesday, the crew split up into two separate groups. One group continued swamping the future trail while the other traveled to Jean Lunning trail to take care of a tree that had fallen onto the boardwalk. The group that worked on the new trail got an exponential amount of work done, getting halfway through the trail. The second group had a lot of work ahead of them. The tree that had fallen was about 30 inches in diameter and needed to be cut a certain way so that it wouldn’t damage the boardwalk. The first cut was a challenge and took more time than expected, but the team worked together to get the job done. They proceeded on the trail to remove snow that had collected in the pathway. The two groups reconvened after lunch; finishing the day off with some crew swamping.

 

On Thursday, a larger number of combined crews split up into two groups. The first group finished swamping the future trail. The second, smaller group broke off and went to check out what work needed to be done on a separate trail. As the day carried on, so did the weather. Both groups received quite a bit of rain accompanied with some pea sized hail. The larger group finished swamping out the  new trail, which began winding its way through the lush green landscape. The trail leads through a more scenic route between the Mitchell Lake trail head and the Isabelle Lake trail head.  The two groups reconvened and started their work on a different trail that needed their attention. The trail was needing some work in the drain area. As the rain continued, so did the crews effort in insuring that the water would quickly be led off of the trail. The crew ended their day with the sharpening of their tools and the cleaning of their work vehicles.

The crew split into two different groups on Friday. One working on a dam that had been created at Mitchell Lake; clearing fallen trees and debris of plants that had been taken with the water from the melting snow caps. The other group worked on the Isabelle Lake trail, creating drains to maneuver the water off of the trail as quickly as possible. The crew ended the day, wishing everyone an enjoyable Fourth of July weekend.

The fourth week, overall, for the Boulder Crew, was filled with conservation work that ranged from clearing small bushes to moving 1000lb trees. It was a very productive week that many of the first time crew members will certainly remember as they will take with themselves much gained experience.

-Hailey Frost, Boulder Crew Leader of the Week

The Shadow Mountain Crew completed our first backcountry project this week! We built a turnpike on the High Lonesome Trail, camping out by Hamilton Creek. The High Lo Trail is a section of the Continental Divide Trail, which runs from Mexico to Canada through New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana. Over the course of the week, we met quite a few thru hikers from a variety of places, including Korea and Germany.

On Tuesday (the first day of our wacky work schedule), we hiked all of our tools and gear to the campsite. We decided to hike from a road instead of the trailhead, which meant the distance was shorter but we were also hiking through some unmaintained swampy areas. We made it to the campsite, set up camp by the creek, and checked out our worksite – an 100-foot-long marsh with a view of the mountains. The crew was definitely feeling tired, and Amy’s dinner of kale gumbo was physically and emotionally revitalizing.

 Crew leader Amy and Forest Service liaison Kendra survey the marsh and determine where to build the turnpike

On Wednesday, we got to work. We spent most of the day debarking logs with draw knives, digging trenches to set the logs in, and collecting rocks for crush. Wednesday was also Abigail’s 19^th birthday, which we celebrated with cookie and frosting deliciousness following some yummy burritos.

It rained all day on Thursday, but we kept our morale up and made a lot of progress on the turnpike. Toby figured out how to communicate with Jed, our pack llama.

Toby learns to speak llama

 Jed, the most beautiful llama in the world

We spent all of Friday gathering and crushing rock. We finished peeling and setting the logs, setting and nailing in the Geo Tech, and laying over 300 square feet of crush. We nourished ourselves with some delectable tuna mac ‘n cheese for dinner.

Crew members set up rock crushing stations, using single jacks and double jacks.

On Saturday, we hiked back out to our worksite for the last time, dug barrow pits for soil, and filled in the top layer of the turnpike. After celebrating our success with some locals who crossed the completed turnpike on their morning hike, we broke camp and headed back to civilization. After another couple trips of wet hikes through the swamp, we made it back to the truck. Feeling dirty, tired, and accomplished, we celebrated the week by going out to Miyauchi’s Snack Bar, a local favorite in Grand Lake. Toby truly outdid himself by ordering enough food to warrant a box.

Overall, it was a great week! We worked hard, learned a lot, and had fun. The crew is looking forward to a week in Estes Park before heading out for another backcountry hitch in mid July.

-Izzy Owen, Shadow Mountain Crew Leader of the Week

As we start mid-week soon, us over at Kawuneechee are glad to have gotten a few jobs done at the comfort station that set us up to leave it alone for a week. On Monday half of the crew hung FRP board on the walls of the comfort station. To hang this it has to be precisely cut with a skill-saw so that it fits the wall and is aesthetic. After it is cut an adhesive is spread on the back with a special trowel and then it is placed on the wall, no nails are needed.

While half the crew worked on this the other half went to the east side and helped put new picnic tables in at Longs Peak Campground. There used to be a bunch of wooden tables there but we put in new concrete tables that will last longer and also are harder to move away from sites. They weigh 1800 pounds so we had to place them with a front end loader to lift them up. We dug the ground away to level them and then set them in place.  We also replaced a bear bin at Aspen Glen campground.

Dax and James, NPS Staff, contemplate how to move this rock to set the table.

On Tuesday the two halves of the crew switched places and one crew got their chance to hang the FRP board in the women’s side of the comfort station. The other half of the crew went up to Lake Irene and worked on chinking at the mess hall that we have intermittently worked on throughout the season.

A good reminder to be responsible at your campsite! (Observed at Timber Creek Campground)

On Wednesday one half of the crew began tiling the inside of the comfort station. The entire floor was not re-tiled, but places where the toilets once were needed to be re-tiled and the sides of the back wall needed to be re-tiled. The other half of the crew went back to the east side to help them cut out plywood for cage Windows that will go in at the mess hall at Lake Irene. We also set up for the Conservancy sponsored lunch for the park service. The Conservancy provided us with pulled pork from Smokin’ Daves in Estes and put on a great lunch for the park. It was much appreciated.

The Kawuneeche Crew appreciating the wildlife and views on Trail Ridge Road

Dax cutting plywood to re-frame windows on the east side.

On Thursday myself and Dax Deshazo stayed at the comfort station to grout the tiles. Grouting is long process that takes some patience to do. Our day was mostly consumed with this work as we learned the process and did our best to keep everything clean. The rest of the crew went back up to Lake Irene to do more chinking for the day. In the late afternoon we cleaned up the comfort station and closed it up in preparation for mid-week.

Dax grouting tile with the newly placed FRP on the wall to his left.

 

 

-Dominic Rickicki, Kawuneeche Crew Leader

After tackling the Link and McIntire trails and starting work on the Rawah Trail in their first week in the Wilderness, the Rawah crew switched gears and started this week on Blue Lake Trail. With a picturesque alpine lake and paved road access to draw in the crowds, it was the first time the crew saw more hikers than moose on trail. Geoff Elliot, the Conservation Corps Manager, met the crew at the trailhead first thing Monday morning and helped them start off their week strong.

Geoff and the Crew relax on a cairn at the top of Blue Lake Trail.

The Rawah Crew above Blue Lake

After a hard day of digging drains, cutting trees, and lopping willows the crew returned to the Stub Creek Workstation to eat a final meal with Geoff and to wish him farewell as he departed for Red Feather.

Geoff and the crew enjoy some homemade pizza at the Stub Creek Workstation.

Tuesday morning brought the crew back to Blue Lake as they continued work on the lower part of the trail. With multiple mud-ridden sections and a few hefty crosscuts, the five and a half miles of trail took the crew two more days of tough work to complete.

Crew Member Kyrie trudges through snowpack on Blue Lake Trail

 

Crew Member Gus digs out a drain on Blue Lake Trail.

After spending three days on Blue Lake Trail, the Rawah Crew finally returned to the Rawah trail on Thursday to continue their work there.  While the rest of the crew continued work on the rockbars they began last week, Crew members Sam and Garret worked their way up the trail cutting and clearing freshly fallen trees. By the end of the day, the crew had completed two major rockbars and cleared three and a half miles of trail. With two full weeks of work in the Rawah Wilderness, the crew returns next week to Estes Park and cell phone coverage for Midweek.

Crew member Eeland crosses a creek on the Rawah Trail.

 

-Garret Fox, Rawah Crew Leader of the Week

In The Field: Week 3

The Boulder Crew spent most of their week in the Brainard Lake Recreation Area, working in the snow pack while enjoying beautiful 80 degree weather. It was pretty novel work for most of the crew members!

On Tuesday, the crew started their first work of the season in the high country above 11,000 ft.  Our focus on Tuesday revolved around clearing snow off the Mitchell Lake Trail to clarify the trail corridor.  The ultimate goal of this work was to assure that hikers do not attempt to skirt around the snow and create large areas of impact on social trails.  This work is particularly important given the high usage of the Brainard Lake Area and the fragility of the vegetation in this season of rapid snow melt.  The crew was able to take their lunch break at the beautiful Mitchell Lake and then begin to work up the trail towards Blue Lake in the afternoon. This environment provided a beautiful change of scenery and started off the week on a high note!

On Wednesday, Conservation Corps Manager Geoff Elliot joined the crew in the field as we undertook similar work on the Long Lake trail towards Lake Isabelle.  In addition to digging out the snow on trail, we also worked on some minor drainage work to direct the flow of snow melt off trail. Our work in the field on Wednesday concluded with a project at Lake Isabelle to clarify the trail on a large snow field with a stream running beneath it.  After taking in the stunning view of Lake Isabelle, we hiked out and returned to the work center to sharpen tools to prepare for the remainder of the week.

Thursday morning started with a much needed bit of maintenance work at our campground at Kelly Dahl.  Our Forest Service partners arrived with a truck to reposition our trailer to a more level area.  Cooking on our propane stoves in the trailer had been complicated thus far because the trailer sat at an uneven angle.   Thanks to the help of the Forest Service, we’re now able to cook on a level service for the rest of the season! After the up keep work in the campground, we returned to the Brainard Lake area to work on the Beaver Creek, Long Lake, and Jean Lunning Trails.  The crew split ways at the trail head so half could return to the Long Lake Trail and Jean Lunning Trail with a crosscut saw to clear out fallen trees blocking trail.  The other half of the crew worked up the Beaver Creek trail to work on drainage work and to undertake a larger project involving rehabilitating a broken retaining wall.  After pausing in the late afternoon to allow a lightning storm to pass over, the two groups reconvened and worked on drainage work together on the Beaver Creek Trail to end the day.

The crew split into two groups on Friday as well, with one group focusing on clearing down trees and snow off the Jean Lunning trail and the other crew continuing the work started the day before on the Beaver Creek trail.  After finishing up work on the trail, our week concluded with a separate project involving loading and transporting buck and rail fencing from the work center to the Camp Dick area.

As a whole, the third week of work together provided the Boulder Crew a change of pace by undertaking a new type of conservation work in the beautiful high country of the Indian Peaks Wilderness.  The combination of beautiful mountain lakes and a new type of work will certainly make this week a highlight of the first half of our season!

– Tom Enright, Boulder Crew Leader

It’s week three and the Estes Crew is continuing to cover many miles of trail in Rocky Mountain National Park. We’re not even half way through our summer work and we’ve dug drains and brushed vegetation on 55 miles of trail. While it’s great to look back on all we’ve accomplished, we definitely feel the hard work in our legs and arms and feet. Fridays are always welcomed with open arms and a guarantee of sleeping past 6 am, finally.

This week, we covered a total of 39 miles of trail and had the opportunity to work alongside National Park Service employees each day. Monday took us to Flattop Mountain, which despite being flat offers spectacular views from the Front Range to Grand Lake. On Tuesday, we trekked 9 miles from Moraine Park to Fern Lake, Odessa Lake, and Bear Lake. Wednesday we worked with the Larimer County Conservation Corps on a maintenance run to Thunder Lake. At 12 miles, Wednesday was our biggest day yet. Along with getting to see the spectacular Thunder Lake, we were glad to have had the opportunity to work alongside another conservation corps with similar values and goals as the Rocky Mountain Conservancy. Finally, we ended our week with a light maintenance run on the Fern Lake trail.

As we approach the end of the first half of the summer, we are all starting to understand the importance of our work. It’s especially easy to see when we work in Rocky Mountain National Park, where 4 million people visited in 2015 and people are frequently asking what we’re doing and thank us for our work. The Rocky Mountain Conservancy attracts interns from all over the country and from all different outdoor experiences. We all come from different backgrounds, but when placed in the setting of the Rocky Mountains, it’s easy to gather around the idea that our work is meaningful and that these lands are worth conserving.

Well, as always, the workweek is tough, but that won’t stop us from hitting the trails this weekend! Who knows where our plans will take us but it will likely include a combination of hiking, climbing, and sleeping.

Ben with a view of Longs Peak from our maintenance run.

Us and some of the NPS crew making our way down from Flattop Mountain.

Hunter hanging out at Odessa Lake during lunch break.

Ritzi making her way across a snowy pass

Hunter admiring his handy drain work on the Fern Lake trail

Jesse on the Odessa Lake trail

A very serious group photo at Thunder Lake

– Miranda Thompson, Estes Crew Leader
This week the Kawuneeche Crew would like to begin by taking a moment to dedicate this blog to our French press. Since most of our jobs require little to no hike in, we have the luxury of not worrying about the weight of our packs. So we carry in our French press and make ourselves some fresh cups of Joe on break or at lunch to keep us fired up and working hard on our projects. Thank you, French press.

The French Press

Moving on to what we completed this week; Monday, Geoff came to visit us and helped as we finished painting the outside of the comfort station at Timber Creek Campground. Throughout the day, we were able to put on two coats of paint and finish that project.

On Tuesday, we hung sheets of OSB on the inside of the comfort station. Figuring out angles for our cuts to match the ceiling proved to be challenging at first, but after a little reminder of middle school mathematics, we found our groove and got the sheets hung properly. Hanging these sets us up to hang FRP board next week, which is a fiberglass material that can be hosed off if it needs cleaning. This allows for easy cleaning of the bathroom.

Wednesday was a lot of prep work for painting the inside of the comfort station: we replaced some plywood sheets that we had removed earlier to take out windows, we replaced the trim around the windows, and cleaned the walls. We set up tarps and sorted through our gear so everything was organized and easy to move once we started painting.

On Thursday, we began by painting inside the comfort station. We used an epoxy paint that required us to mix two different cans of paint that activate the epoxy. After careful mixing, we were able to spend the morning putting on the first coat. While we waited for the paint to dry, we went back to the little buckaroo barn and set the nails we used to put in the windows. We used a tool called a ‘nailset’ that sets the nails deep into the wood so we can later cover them up. After doing that we went back to the comfort station and finished up our second coat of paint. The comfort station is getting close to completion!

Dominic enjoying his cup of joe while jokingly commanding his crew members.

– Dominic Rickicki, Kawuneeche Crew Leader

After three weeks of car camping  and couch surfing, the Rawah Crew finally made it to their designated workstation at Stub Creek. Excited but exhausted, the crew hit the hay early upon arrival in preparation for their first day of work in the Rawah Wilderness. McIntyre Trail was first on their list.

With rolling terrain and a creek side view, McIntyre proved to be a beautiful yet challenging introduction to back country trail restoration. Their leader cycled each member through their first cross cut use on trail. In the meantime, clogged dips and drains were restored and crew members solidified their familiarity with trail maintenance. By the end of their first day, the Rawah crew cleared over four miles of trail that was scheduled to take them two days to complete.

Crew member, Sam, admires the cross cut.

Crew members, Gus and Garret, master their cross cut skills.

With their routine already set in stone, the crew immediately began work on their next task: Link Trail. The ambitious bunch hiked five miles in, then worked back down the trail. By Wednesday afternoon the crew removed 76 trees and cleared over 95 drains, completing their work on the Link trail, yet again, ahead of schedule. That evening, they trucked on over to the Rawah Trail for some more maintenance work.

The crew enjoys lunch and the mosquitos enjoy theirs – not so pleasant.=

The Rawah Trail posed much less trees early on, as the Poudre Wilderness Volunteers seemed to have already handled the task. There were, however, an ample amount of grade dips and drains that kept the crew busy through Thursday morning. The final afternoon of this week’s work was spent on a gnarly section of corroded tread about three miles up the trail. A braided path of erosion defied most of the previously installed drainage structures. Shaded under an aspen grove, the crew began to reroute drainage by installing a series of massive rock bars. New tread has been planned and this project will surely meet completion early on next week.

– Sam Ruhala and Garret Fox, Rawah Wilderness Crew Members

 

In the Field: Week 5 (Part One)

After Education Week, the crews are right back in the field, hard at work, preserving and conserving the natural resources of Northern Colorado. Check out the updates below from each crew’s week!

This week, the Estes Crew worked with the National Park Service revegetation crew at Tuxedo Park on Bear Lake road. After the construction of a shuttle us stop, there was a large disturbed area. On Monday, we pulled all of the cheat grass and pennycress, both invasive species, from the area and laid down a layer of good soil. We then planted plants such as rose bushes, shrubby cinqfoils, yarrow and a variety of native grasses. On Tuesday, we worked with a group of volunteers from Costa Rica, who were here because Rocky Mountain National Park and Sana Elana Cloud Forest, where they are from, share many migratory bird species. It was interesting to learn about their culture and how our ecosystems in our respective parts of the world share many similarities and differences.

On Thursday, Geoff came to help us plant for half the day, then attended a Round Table discussion for the Natural Resources division with us. The discussion was about shifting paradigms and seeing things from a different perspective. It was interesting to see the viewpoints on career advancement and conservation from a variety of people with a wide range of experience working in Rocky Mountain National Park. Overall, it was a fantastic week and we aided in planting 4,668 plants at Tuxedo Park.

Andrea giving some young visitors a hands-on lesson in restoration

Jeremy teaching the crew and NPS staff about edible and medicinal plants

The crew working as a team to plant native plants

-Bryce Goldade (Estes Crew Leader)

It was a busy week for the Kawuneeche Crew, we finished the roof of the mess hall at lake Irene, and moved on down the valley to the Little Buckaroo Barn. There is a lot to do there, but we’re starting with laying out tar paper and plywood on the roof, which is installed before placing the asphalt shingles. We also replaced some of the rotten siding boards with new ones and reset the original siding boards we had removed when repairing the rafter tails earlier. With the lower roof’s rafter tails finished, we moved to the upper roof and took off the first layer of sheeting board and upper siding to saw off the rafter tails. We then cut and measured new tails and prepared them to be drilled into the existing rafter base. Joe, Dhante and Margaret got to start using their respirators and super suits at the barn this week as well, spraying a bleach solution over the hay loft and the ground floor to neutralize the hantavirus that could be lurking there. Overall, a few more splinters, a few more mosquito bites, and a lot more work completed this week!

The crew in their PPE for the Little Buckaroo Barn

Nearly finished with the roof at Lake Irene

– Margaret Johnson (Kawuneeche Crew Leader)

This last week of work was quite the doozy with the Red Feather Crew hiking nearly 40 miles in 4 days. Everyone thought it was a nice change of pace though as we got to stop building turnpikes and start some trail maintainance.
On Monday and Thesday we worked on the North Lone Pine trail doing general maintainance run while also putting in 15 new drains and a few check dams. We also were able to cut some trees out of the trail cause with a single buck saw.
On Wednesday we found ourselves working in the Swamp Creek trail. This is a multi use trail which saw its most action from motorcyclists. On this trail we spent the majority of our time clearing corridor as well as cutting logs that were too close to the trail and lining basically the whole thing. We also put in another 10 drains and did a good job of clearing out several very wet areas that are now dry and will be much easier to hike and ride in.
On Thursday, we went back to Lady Moon. This time not to build a turnpike, but to hike the trail and do some drain clearing. This entailed us to build a large drain system that was around 30 feet long diverting the trail, which had become basically a creek, to a meadow with the help of the long drain and an awesome rock bar. We hiked out to Disappointment Falls and turned around from there and continued to do tread work and make sure there was a defined path at necessary points through the meadow.

Untill next time,
The Red Feather Crew

Using the pulaski to clear out a downed tree

Cortney problem solving on trail

John and Maggie working through some drainage issues

-Tommy Egland (Red Feather Crew Leader)

A week in the life of the Boulder Crew:

Life continues to be simple and charmed in the small town of Nederland. This week we found ourselves clearing a snowshoe trail, which had been completely covered in blown down trees. This took hours of hauling and meticulous teamwork, as we tried to navigate jagged branches. We also had the opportunity to sit in on a USFS district meeting, where we were welcomed as “the trail crew”. Our other work days were spent installing trail signs on newly created trails. Overall, another excellent week that brought us even closer together as a crew.

The most exciting part of our week was moving into the USFS bunkhouse. While it was slightly bitter to be leaving our campsite, it is absolutely sweet to have running water and the ability to watch movies and use an oven. We look forward to the closeness these quarters will inevitably bring.

Chivi swaping through a burn down in Brainard Lake area

Reid pulasking out a stump to clear corridor

Clearing drains on Long Lake trail

– Annie Makuch (Boulder Crew Member)

This week the Shadow Mountain Crew worked in the backcountry with eight Forest Service employees from the Wilderness and OHV trail crews to build a turnpike near Columbine Lake in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. The crew started the week by attending the district meeting for the Sulphur Ranger District. At the meeting they discussed safety in the field and budgeting for the 2016 field season, and the RMC-CC crew even got a shout out for their work on the Knight Ridge Trail! After the meeting the crew left for the Columbine Lake trailhead and spent most of the day packing in camp and tools for the turnpike project. The next morning was spent building new trail for a small reroute and rehabbing the old trail. Once the reroute was completed the crew got to work on the turnpike. The project got underway by falling a few trees with crosscuts and cutting them into sections for the sides of the turnpike. The turnpike was divided into sections in order to allow continued natural flow of water through the meadow where it was built. Once the trees were debarked and put into place with log carriers the crew spent most of the next two days gathering rock to fill the walkway of the turnpike. Jed and Henry, the crews llamas, were a great help all week, but they were especially helpful in hauling rock to the turnpike from the rock quarry about 400 yards away. The final turnpike turned out great, and its construction was definitely appreciated by a lot of hikers on this busy trail. It was a hard week of work for the Shadow Crew, but they still found the time and energy to enjoy themselves once the workday was finished. At camp the crew had good times playing whiffle ball and frisbee, and on the last night they took an alternate route to Columbine Lake and hiked up a couloir near their work site. It was cold and rainy at the lake, but it didn’t stop Elias from taking a quick dip! Now its time for a nice long four day weekend to rest up and have some fun in Grand Lake. This is Shadow, until next time!

The meadow area before the turnpike

The crew working its way up the couloir to Columbine Lake

Nearly completed turnpike!

The Shadow Mountain Crew enjoying the help of Jed and Henry

– Blake Crossland (Shadow Mountain Crew Member)