Progress Reports from the Field

Back from break and better than ever, Kiavah Crew jumped into the New Year and into a rather unusual hitch. Smack dab in the middle of our twelve day stint was nestled a three day Chainsaw Training Session put on by the BLM Firefighters at Salt Wells Fire Station. Realizing the inefficiency of setting up camp in the field for the first four days only to take it all down for the Chainsaw training and then doing it again for that last few days, Hitch 5 became Hitch Ridgecrest as the crew spent each night in town.

While sleeping in a warm house, 24 hour access to an actual oven, hot showers (note theme: warm things), and the disposal of the internet’s full entertainment value are certainly luxuries to relish, we refused to let these creature comforts make us soft. The crew took the opportunity to get good rest at night so as to perform quality work during the day, driving out to the Kiavah Wilderness and Owens Peak Wilderness while the sun shone. We continued our progression of restoration leading out of Horse Canyon, putting in hard barriers where needed to further protect the Wilderness spaces.

Of the work we did, not least of which was to completely update our Trimble GPS device with data of what we have accomplished so far. After having some setbacks with other devices earlier in the season it was great to have a fully functioning Trimble to get all our data in the right place. What this meant for us was that every day we would split into a Trimble Crew and a Restoration Crew, a one-two punch. After plugging in some steady days we’ve gotten everything recorded and put behind us (quite satisfying) and are now ready to keep chugging, Trimbling as we go.

Of course the hallmark of Hitch 5 was the Chainsaw training itself. Instructed by BLM Firefighter John Homer with added lessons from Chief Don Washington and firefighters Craig, Kenny, and Henry, Kiavah Crew joined Jawbone Crew for three days of class room and hands on training with the powersaws. We eased into what could be an intimidating enterprise with the Firefighters support and soon had a sound base for saw maintenance, saw safety, tree felling, limbing, and bucking, and H-brace/hard barrier construction. The lumberjack mythos has been kindled in our smoldering hearts!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

This was our first hitch of 2013 after coming back from a nice Christmas break. This hitch was slightly different from our other ones; we actually got to stay in our house eveHry night! You know what that means? Nice warm showers, a cozy kitchen to cook in that doesn’t require lighting the lantern, indoor plumbing, and the handy dandy internet that provides hours of entertainment and a way to keep in touch with our family and friends.

The incursions we had to restore were at Robbers Roost, an area where we went as a crew for our First Five way back in September. Here’s a quick summary of our typical “house hitch” workday: breakfast at 7:00, leave the house at 8:00, the commute to work takes about half an hour or so, we have snack at 10:30, lunch at 12:30, pack up and leave the work site by 3:10, dinner’s at 5:30, and then the rest of the day is ours to enjoy. If we were out in the field, most of us would probably be reading after work. Since we have the luxury of the house and the town, our list of things to do after work has increased. We could go to the local park to exercise, run around the entire block while the Ridgecrest dogs are viciously barking at you, go to the nearest burger place because you’re simply craving it, stay up late to play The Settlers of Catan with your crew, watch hours and hours of Netflix, spontaneously bake some brownies, Youtube something funny just because you can, Facetime and Skype your family, do a quick run to the store to buy some cookie dough ice cream, and even play the dice game called Farkle.
This was a house hitch because we had three days of chainsaw training with the BLM firefighters at Salt-Wells Station. The Kiavah crew was also there taking the classes with us, as always, we enjoy their company. The first day of training was mainly about chainsaw safety and learning different cuts, second day we finally got to start the chainsaw and learn about the maintenance that is involved and we all took turns sharpening the chains, the last day we all got to do a “pie cut” and “buckling” on wooden poles. By the end of that day, everyone received a certificate saying we have successfully completed “S-212 Wildfire Powersaws” training.
One of my favorite highlights from this hitch would probably be our unofficial hair salon in the backyard. We save a lot of money by cutting one another’s hair, though we’re not professionals, the results have turned out fairly well. If you want the whole “business in front, party in the back” mullet or merely just trimming your split ends, the Jawbone crew can do that for you.

Overall, this hitch was a nice change of pace. We are really grateful that we didn’t have to stay out in the field overnight because the temperature definitely dropped and it was quite frigid. I’ve learned to appreciate the simple things that the average person would take for granted, such as the fridge and washing machine. I hope that 2013 would bring great changes for all of us and yesterday (1/13) was officially our halfway mark through the DRC program. 4 more months together and we will be parting ways to begin our next adventures and go wherever life takes us.
-Suradee Thongkiattikul

Please find attached to this entry the final report for the entire SCA Army Corps Visitor Use Survey Program. Any questions about this program may be directed to Alex Olsen at aolsen@thesca.org.

Well, December has all but come and gone, which means the 2012 season of the Trail Town Outreach Corps is coming to a close.

Joe Crumbley and Cara Madden, the two TTOC members who began their 10 month term of service in February have gone back to their respective homes. We would like to thank them for their commitment to service, to the SCA, and to the Trail Towns they worked in. They had quite a successful 10 months, donating 500+lbs of fresh, organic produce to the local food bank, finally getting the Adopt-A-Bioswale program rolling, creating a brochure advertising GAP SBN members and the Sustainable Supplier Guide to help members make sustainable purchasing choices, and reviving the Sustainable Trail Guide which will help volunteer trail groups with sustainable trail maintence. We wish them luck in their future endeavors.

Michelle Rapp and Rachael Christie, two TTOC members who started in June, will be with us through April 2013. They have some very exciting projects that they will be working on. You can look forward to updates about a Trail Town Art Brochure, the GAP SBN merger with Certified Trail Friendly, the new 2013 Trail Count System, and the Trail Town re-assessment results and planned projects. We look forward to another great 3 1/2 months with Rachael and Michelle.

Finally, I will be leaving TTOC this January, planning to attend graduate school next fall. I have learned so much from working with the SCA and the Trail Town Outreach Corps as a corps member and a project leader. I have learned valuable project management skills, leadership skills, and communication skills. Most importantly, my work with TTOC has informed what I hope to do with the rest of my life, combining the fields of community development and local food studies. I wish all future TTOCs the best of luck! Thanks for a great two years.

Emma Strong

As the Rand Mountains crew prepared for their fourth hitch, there was something significantly different than in hitches past. Though the pre-hitch preparations were the same, they were headed to a different environment. For the coming hitch (and the two to follow) the Rand Mountains crew wasn’t headed for the Rand Mountains Management Area, but to Fremont Peak and the areas managed by the Transitional Habitat Conservancy(THC). The change in partner agencies, albeit temporary, meant that the Rands crew would have to operate differently than they had on BLM lands. The new environment brought new scenery and new challenges which would surely make hitch four an interesting one.

Upon arriving in the Fremont Peak area, the Rands Crew quickly set up camp and began preparations for our first meal in our new environment. The area was certainly different; the roads were less tame, the camp sites more remote, and there was the massive Fremont Peak looming over our camp site. As we began work, we soon realized that the road systems were not as easily identified as those in the Rands, and that the work sites were a considerable distance further from camp. As our project leader broke out the USGS map of the area and began to introduce the basics of backcountry navigation, it became increasingly apparent our time in this new management area would require a different approach to restoration.

Within a few work days (and a few instances of getting “turned around” on the way to the worksite) most of the crew had become familiar with the area and navigation became second nature. Aside from being in a different environment, the crew employed the same tactics of soil de-compaction, vertical mulching, horizontal mulching, and berm construction as they had in the Rands to keep OHV riders off of trails that led to THC managed parcels. With the Winter Holiday break following the completion of the fourth hitch, the work moved along quickly and the Rands Crew restored nearly 1500 square meters of illegal OHV trails.

As the hitch wound down, we were given the opportunity for a team building day, in which we worked standard restoration procedures in the morning, and hiked Fremont Peak in the afternoon. As it had been looming over our campsite for the duration of the hitch, all of us were excited at the proposal of a hike to the top. We summited Fremont peak in under an hour. Upon our arrival at the top, a quick check of the Trimble indicated that we were currently at 4,795 feet above sea level. The view was nothing short of spectacular; given that it was a clear day we were able to see for miles and miles in every direction. After taking a few pictures, someone pointed out that the date was December 21st, 2012: The last day on Earth (according to the Mayan calendar and popular superstition). As we looked out on the desert, we all agreed (in jest) that we had one of the most beautiful views for the end of the world.

As we descended, we joked about being the last humans to set foot on top of Fremont Peak before the end of the world. Within a few days we would pack out and head home for the holidays. As we left, we knew that we had not only summited Fremont Peak (which had often glared at us from a distance while we worked in the Rands), but that we had also done some quality restoration that would hopefully help this region heal itself a little bit.

-Ryan Ledden