Corps Member Training and Workskills

Corps Member Training
February 8th – February 14th

The crew met in Tucson, Arizona and we traveled North to begin training in beautiful Catalina State Park. We were lucky enough to spend the week working with some Native Plant and Trail Conditions and Survey crews as well as our sister Pacific Crest Trail crew. We were schooled in Wilderness First Aid, Leave No Trace, basecamp setup and all things SCA (history, policy, goals, etc.). We had a great time making friends and getting psyched for the coming season. We then departed for Southern California and made plans for our intitiation to PCT trailwork at our new barracks in Joshua Tree.

Workskills
February 18th – February 22nd

Our workskills session took place in Coyote Canyon, just South of Anza CA. We were under the tutelage of seasoned trails veteran Steve Hester and thoroughly enjoyed our introduction to trail theory and tool use. We had a variety of projects that challenged us and provided great learning experiences. We also were privy to the spectrum of weather that the desert can offer; from 80 degree bluebird days to snowy nights in the 20s we got a taste of what may be in store for the rest of the season... lets hope its more of the former.

We contributed to the:
2628 feet of trail restored
8 drain dips
66 foot realignment
20 foot stone retaining wall
25 square feet of riprap
2 rock waterbars
3 check dams
4 large gargoyles
And a stream crossing