Hitch One

After the drive to Oregon our season began with a couple of reroutes near Mt. Washington in the Willamette Nation Forest. Sections of the trail were so badly eroded that the rocky bench was nearly impassible. We started by cutting the corridor through thick Pacific Northwest forests. There were trees and bushes to plow through, downed logs to remove, rocks to avoid and a number of other obstacles to tackle before we began cutting actual trail. We had a blast swing axes, working the crosscut saws and using all of our new skills to give the trail those nice curves and scenic vistas. Once the corridor was cut we set to making the smooth bench and gentle grades that western trails are known for. It was hugely rewarding to create such a nice piece of trail from scratch and then get to rehabilitate the old section in attempts to restore it to its natural state. We worked really hard in the beautiful weather and only got more excited for the work to come.