This past Fall, Cam Honan of The Hiking Life and myself attempted a loop in the Mt. Evans Wilderness. Unknown to me, the area had suffered a microburst that felled a lot of trees. Making the area essentially impassable.
PCO of thehikinglife.com
Well, a few trips later, Steve of the Friends of Mt. Evans and Lost Creek Wilderness contacted and invited me on some trail work in the very area where the blow downs were located. The project has been ongoing for almost three years. I gladly accepted a chance to assist on this project. Trail work can be very rewarding and a great way to see the backcountry.
After some email correspondence, we agreed to meet at the trail head the following morning.
I used this opportunity to get in some camping on Friday night at a free semi-dispersed area maintained by the state of Colorado.
A quiet stream, a book and a little libation in the form of Pinner Throwback IPA was a perfect way to end a hectic week.
The following morning, I met Steve and the rest of the crew for the day. There would be six of us total going up the trail.
It was a perfect day to work in the “office”.
Throughout the day, we encountered various blow downs. In a 10+ mile hike, twenty-two trees were cleared.
Hard work..but enjoyable and rewarding.
Seeing the people out and thanking us really made the work gratifying.
There is still a .75 mile stretch to clear….
Microburst remnants on the side of the trail. The section left to to do looks similar to this…
…and I did more than take pretty photos all day. Honest. 🙂
It was a long day, but very satisfying. Glad I can do my part to help out in the back country.
More information? Check out the Friends of Mt. Evans and Lost Creek Wilderness. If you are local to the area, a great group to join and assist on some trail projects. They have an active Facebook group, too.