Hitch-13 S. Fork Skokomish Differed Maintenance and End Of Program Wrap Up

Here it is the 13th and last report from the field. As many of us talked over these last few days we began to reflect on the previous 6 months. Most of it went like "WE'VE BEEN WORKING HERE FOR 6 MONTHS!! IMPOSSIBLE." My, how the time has flown and so much amazing trail and so many people we have seen and met. It's easy to sit down and start to quantify our accomplishments by adding ups miles of trail worked on, trees cut out, structures built, delicious camp dinners made and the list goes on. The hard stuff to put into perspective is the people we have met, the stories we now share, the breath taking scenery we enjoyed everyday (even in the rain) and the opportunity to give something back to our public lands. I could spend paragraphs writing about our time here, what everyone might be doing next, our fears and hopes, but let us not forget the work we got done this last week.
We set out on Monday bound and determined to set our crosscut saws into any down tree that may be laying on the S. Fork of the Skokomish west of Camp Comfort. After a bit of walking we found our opportunity and over the course of two days we logged out 12 10" diameter and bigger trees. Not mention the countless vine maples and alders that began to get the late fall droop. On tuesday as we left the forest for what would be the last time for this field season, we took a moment to just take in some of that beauty, serenity and freshness back with us as we re-enter "society." I hope that some time down the road I can look back and remember that moment as I am surrounded by honking cars, bustling sidewalks and endless expanses of concrete and just imagine a life less complicated.
I'll end with a big thank you to my crew and there tireless work and enthusiasm over the last 6 months, the SCA for its support and mission, the Olympic National Forest for giving us this great opportunity, to all the wonderful people we have met here on the Olympic Peninsula, and last but not least the Forest itself.

Thank You for an amazing field season and farewell!

*12 trees logged out
*1 tool cache cleaned and sharpened one last time
*FS Bunkhouse cleaned from top to bottom
*240 service hours