Crew Spotlight: Red Feather Crew

Tommy Egland (Red Feather Crew Leader)

Favorite Picture:

This photo is from the Comanche Peak wilderness week. And is from the third day on the hitch where when we were on the Browns Lake trail.

My favorite project this summer was the working on the Killpecker Trail. This was my favorite trail this summer because of the peak we were able to get on top of. We were able to look out over the whole Red Feather area and we got to the top of one of the tallest peaks in the area. It was nice to have a trail that went to a view rather than end at a random spot or at a road. This was also the most difficult trail in the area by far and it was nice to have a challenging day on trail.

My Favorite memory from the summer would have to be from the first week. We went to Rattlesnake Canyon outside Fruita and Grand Junction and attempted to go on a backpacking trip. This ideas was thwarted however by the fact there was no water, so even though we ran out of water we made it to the arches and eventually hiked out and a seven mile day turned into a 14 mile day with some of the best views I have ever seen.

Maggie Bolger (Red Feather Crew Member)

Favorite Picture:

Favorite memory: My favorite part of my experience this summer was getting to know my crew over the few months that we spent working and living together. I especially enjoyed our time together after work watching movies, having fires, making food for my crew and walking down to West Lake to fish and watch the sun set.

Favorite work Project: One of my favorite projects this summer was when we went back to North Lone Pine to clear the nine down trees that we left. We finally got to put our cross cutting skills to use. I enjoy using the cross cut because it takes team work and it is a task that takes thinking through and strategy.

John Lunzer (Red Feather Crew Member)

Favorite Picture:

Favorite picture: Picture of me and Maggie after we finished cross cutting the huge tree at the end of the lone pine trail.

Favorite moment: Second trip to lady moon when we were walking through the huge field. The wind was blowing the grass and the surrounding landscape was incredible. Made me realize how happy I was to be there.

Favorite work location: Swamp creek trail. Finally felt like we were getting out there and got to enjoy the trail in the middle of nowhere. The solitude was a nice change and the scenery was awesome.

Cortney Dodge (Red Feather Crew)

Favorite picture:

Crossing the continental divide on top of flattop mountain then to the North Inlet trail to go camping in Grand Lake for the Fourth of July weekend. At the time it was the longest hike I had ever done and the most satisfying at the end of the day to finally take off my boots, eat an entire pizza myself, and sleep

Favorite memory: One weekend I went backpacking with a few members of the Estes crew. We trekked 6 miles and over 3,000 vertical feet up to the Boulderfield on Long’s peak. Exhausted when we arrived, one of our tent poles snapped while we were setting up at 9:00 pm. Our tent was in rough shape and would have collapsed had the wearer been anything but perfect. Luckily the night remained clear despite predicted storms at 11:00 pm.  In the morning we picked our way through the boulders to summit Storm Peak and then Mt. Lady Washington to get some unique views of the park. Afterwards we went down the other side of Mt. Lady Washington to Chasm Lake. The down climb  was the most sketchy and exciting thing I’ve ever done. Rocks and skree were shifting beneath my feet, threatening to send me into the lake below. You had to constantly think about your next move and the two hour ordeal was overwhelmingly mentally taxing. Looking back up the slope we came down made my head spin with awe and a fresh, profound respect for the Mountain.

Favorite work experience: Working backcountry in the Comanche Peak Wilderness with the Rawah Crew was without  a doubt my favorite work experience. I had never been backcountry before and up until that point, I had a mild fear of it. But camping next to the reservoir  on forest service land, pumping water every morning and working/exploring the alpine trails in the area quickly whipped away all my fear. The trails themselves were incredible, with views of the Rawah Wilderness as well as several of the mountains in Red Feather where we had been working all summer. One day after work a few of us summited a rolling peak above tree line to get a 360 panoramic of the Mummy Range, Rocky (we even saw trail ridge road on one of the mountains!), the Never Summer range, the Rawah Wilderness, the Poudre Canyon, Red Feather, and way off in the distance, a mountain range in Wyoming. Before working there I had no idea that such a compete view of northern Colorado’s mountains existed, and the memories I made camping and working on the trail with our two crews will stick with me for a lifetime.

Galen Elisha (Red Feather Crew Member)

Favorite Picture:

Favorite memory: On the Fourth of July weekend this year I hiked up and over the continental divide, from Estes Park to Grand Lake, for a backpacking trip.  This hike was 18 miles and required I bring at least 40 pounds of gear with me.  A mixing of the RMC’s Estes crew and Red Feather Lakes crew made the journey. The trip consisted of several obstacles to overcome.  The first being that, on the morning before the journey I had discovered my backpack had a torn shoulder strap.  Being the resourceful type (sort of) I grabbed my 11^th backpacking essential (duct tape) and made some emergency repairs.  These repairs were quick and not the most well oriented, but they more or less worked.  The only issue with them was that it left my bag hopelessly unbalanced, meaning I had to put in much more effort on balancing my pack on my shoulders than hiking.  This did slow me down, but I persevered and pushed through.

My second challenge for the day was the honey (for my sandwiches) spilling on the inside of my bag.  This left most of my gear a sticky mess.  While this wasn’t much of an obstacle for hiking it certainly didn’t help morale.  This leaves the final obstacle for hike, a very large bull elk right in the middle of the trail.  The elk remained on trail for a solid 45 minutes.  He was a rather inspiring sight; however his presence put the trail on hold and put our crew behind schedule (a problem when your schedule includes hiking for 9 hours, just hoping for the chance to have a feast in Grand Lake).

Combining all three of these obstacles, I was certainly hurting at the end of the hike.  However every ache and pain was worth it.  I had such a sense of accomplishment and pride.  I knew I had done something great and felt incredible.  We all collapsed at the end of our trail and basked in the glow of our achievement.  To finalize our goal we worked up the last of our strength, got up, and strolled into to town to find some of the best pizza of our lives (more so from the exhaustion than the pizza itself, but nevertheless it was amazing)

Favorite work experience: The Comanche Peak Wilderness was, without a doubt, the best experience of the summer.  That week will forever remain as a vivid memory etched into the back of my skull.  Working for the Rocky Mountain Conservancy resulted in a lot of scenic views and that is what made the job worth all of the sweat and hard labor.  The second to last week of the internship the Rawah and Red Feather Lakes crews collaborated on a back country hitch in the Comanche Peak Wilderness and I was lucky enough to join this expedition.  All around me was lush forest, majestic views, and fresh air.  Out of all of these views, one stands above the rest.

On the Wednesday of that week the crews went to work the Browns lake trail.  The trail took a steady ascent past Browns Lake into the alpine tundra. By following this trail, the tundra pointed to a peak that stood above a wide open valley.  Without hesitation we continued working the trail, knowing we would be rewarded heavily at the summit.  Once on top we were gifted with a view like no other.  The summit allowed us a three hundred sixty degree view, where we could see the Rawah Mountains, the Bald Peaks, the Mummy Mountain Range, and Rocky Mountain National Park.  It was like standing above giants and existing on a plain of existence that is incomparable to others.

As far as the eye could see, there were picturesque mountains that were so awe inspiring that everything else seemed to fade away.  The pain in my legs was but a distant memory. The cold wind against my face felt distant and unimportant.  Every one fell quiet and just enjoyed ourselves.  This was the kind of view that leaves the mind blank, except for an extreme sense of joy and an overwhelming feeling of just how lucky one person can be.  This view was by far my favorite experience while working.

Dominic Rickicki (Red Feather Crew Member)

Favorite Picture:

My favorite memory from the summer is going out on a backcountry hitch wth the Rawah crew. We spent a lot of time with them throughout the summer because they were so close to us and we also did our training with them. We became so close in fact that we created the name “Redwah” as if our crews were one. During that hitch we were able to cover a lot of miles of trail and drain a lot of muddy sections of trail, all while keeping our sense of humor and having a great time.

My favorite project from this summer was the turnpike we built on the Mt. Margaret trail in Red Feather. It was one of the first projects that we had done, but despite our inexperience we fixed a heavily damaged section of trail. About a month and a half after completing the turnpike I went on a bike ride down the trail after work and was pleased to see it had settled and was holding up to a lot of abuse from stock and cattle.

Spotlight: Red Feather Crew

Today I was able to go out and do a site visit with the Red Feather Crew on the Lions Gulch Trail just outside of Estes Park along CO 36. The trail is currently closed due to significant flood damage. So, Rocky Mountain Conservancy – Conservation Corps Red Feather Crew was on the trail completing trail restoration work today with the USDA Forest Service, Larimer County Conservation Corps, and NEPA crews. When I arrived onsite after navigating my way through the damaged sections and missing river crossings, I discovered one of the USDA Forest Service staff working with Red Feather worked on our Estes Crew in 2006, and he in credits his experience with the Rocky Mountain Conservancy for his position with the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest.

Nonetheless, the crew was hard at work when I arrived. Clint, Jay, and Mary were busy building drainages and repairing rutted trail tread.

Mary digging a drainage to divert water off the trail.

Clint and Jay resurfacing rutted trail tread.

A series of newly installed drainages and a section of newly resurfaced tread by Red Feather Crew.

The rest of the crew was just up-trail working on a turnpike. A turnpike helps people navigate through wet areas without damaging the sensitive ecosystem by raising the trail tread above the ground on top of rock fill. Rebecca, Joe, and Michaela were helping complete this project by clearing the brush along the turnpike and building a horse ramp to allow horses to pass through the area as well.

Rebecca, Joe, and Michaela discussing the use of the horse ramp and needs for completing it with USDA Forest Service Supervisor.

Completed horse ramp structure before creating the tread.

The turnpike with the brush cleared and horse ramp built by Red Feather Crew on the right

 

Rebecca and Joe harvesting to create tread on the horse ramp

After I left, the crews were headed further up the trail to create trail tread on a rerouted section.

Aside from their work today, here’s an insider perspective on the Red Feather Crew’s first week in the field from Joe:

“Red Feather’s inaugural week in the field began Saturday afternoon (May 24^th) when the crew invaded Fort Collins’ “Old Town” in hopes of learning a little about where we’d be living this summer. Highlights from the afternoon included an extended visit to a quaint local used bookstore as well as a dinner at a BBQ joint. With Jay and Clint both having lived in Fort Collins for school, some of us were used to such a backdrop. Still, the city was a bit of a change for some. Joe, hardly an urban fellow, was a little rattled when a strange old man suddenly approached and asked for his phone number. Luckily Rebecca had his back or God knows what would’ve happened to the kid.

Sunday began bright and early with a leisurely day hike over at Lower Dad Gulch. The weather was hot and humid early on, but soon changed to pouring rain by the afternoon. Red Feather was ready, however, with Clint and Rebecca having wisely advised us to pack rain gear beforehand. All in all it was a great time and an enjoyable way for crewmembers and leaders to become acquainted.

Memorial Day was very low key in the Forest Service bunkhouse, with many of us just trying to catch up on rest before the real work began on Tuesday. We took the time to get to know some of the Forest Service employees who shared our bunkhouse. They were welcoming and continue to be friendly toward their younger housemates.

The first day of work started unnecessarily early for some as we set our alarms the night before to make sure we’d have time to complete all of the morning’s tasks. After making lunches and securing our packs, we headed out to the tool shed to await the arrival of our fearless leader. Though simply known to us as “Fred,” the man’s character proved to be more complex than his name could ever imply. He is perhaps best described as the smooth blend of lumberjack and philosopher. Though rugged by trade, Fred is strangely refined and perceptive. He would have us rolling with laughter while maintaining a genuinely stoic countenance. It wasn’t humor, just him speaking the truth.

However entertained we may have been by Fred, it was still our job to learn from him, and learn we did. Day one consisted of an introductory lesson on the basics of trail work, which we did in conjunction with the Rawah Crew. This was particularly helpful to the uninitiated, who worked firsthand to control water flow in the trails and streams, constructing a large earthen dam that was successful in alleviating moisture on the nearby tread. It was a lot of fun working the trail with Fred, who was always there to offer advice and pitch in when needed.

Red Feather and Rawah underwent saw training on Wednesday and Thursday, driving out to various regions with Fred to learn and refine critical skills. Using crosscut and corona saws as well as various other sharp metal objects, hundreds of already dead trees were further destroyed in the name of education. Fred supplemented our hands-on training with far-fetched anecdotes pulled from his nearly twenty years with the Forest Service. We would come across large messes of tress, and Fred would give us hypothical situations where we’d have to clear paths using the tools we had. By Thursday afternoon Red Feather and Rawah had cut a forest of already dead trees and were ready to work independently. We reluctantly said good-bye to Fred, who promised to visit our work sites on what we knew would be an unpredictable basis.

Red Feather awoke early Friday morning self-confident and just aching to work the trail alone for the first time. Full of fervor and enthusiasm, we made the long drive out to someplaceImnotsurewhere and were met by…rain. It poured from noon on to the end of the workday. Our rain gear weighed down heavy from the saturation and our boots sank deep into the foul-smelling muck. It was far from ideal, but Red Feather’s spirit refused to be broken. We ended up applying our new saw skills right away after coming across two large downed trees. The crew cleared them in no time. From there we split up into two groups to maximize our effectiveness and cover the most ground. Many a tree was trimmed, no doubt saving hundreds of unassuming hikers from debilitating and certainly mortal injuries. We did what we could.

The first week took a lot out of us, but I’ll be damned if we didn’t put a lot of work in. We resume work on Monday after the short weekend. I think things have gone great thus far, and I look forward to next week.

Outside of trail work:

• A bunch of us watched The Shining one night during the week and determined that it is not scary at all. Y’all are wimps.
• As a crew, Red Feather has set out to try all the BBQ places in town so we can write volumes about which is best.
• We began crew dinners this week. On Tuesday, Rebecca and Mary made pizza, corn on the cob, and salad. On Wednesday, Joe and Jay made pancakes, eggs, and bacon. And on Thursday Michaela and Clint made chicken and pork fajitas along with some beans and grilled potatoes. Not bad for the first week. “