The goal of the SCA/USFWS Trails Inventory program is to provide the Fish and Wildlife Service with a comprehensive and accurate inventory of all trails on USFWS sites across the country. This is certainly an ambitious project as there are over 600 USFWS sites nationwide. This project will take us to every corner of the country, to high mountains and low deserts through bayous and fjords. We are all extremely excited for this opportunity as it provides the chance to perform an important service to the USFWS, expand our own knowledge and expertise, and experience many different parts of the country for the first time.
Hitch 7- SoCal and Arizona
Toji and Dave made up Team Alpha during Hitch 7 to Nevada, Southern California, and Arizona. To start our hitch we flew into Las Vegas, and worked at a three refuges just to the North of the city. The heat was intense in this area and throughout most of our hitch, with temperatures in the 100’s for the majority of the time. After finishing up in Nevada we drove down to Joshua Tree National Park for some rock scrambling and camping then onto San Diego for a week. During the middle of a meeting with the San Diego Refuge Manager, all of San Diego County experienced a blackout, along with parts of Arizona and Northern Mexico. Power came back after about 9 hours and when our week was up we went to Southern Arizona for the Buenos Aires Refuge and San Bernardino Refuge. It was an interesting experience to see these desert areas so green because we showed up in the middle of monsoon season. Overall it was a spectacular hitch; during our rec time we were able to check out Las Vegas, spend time at the beaches on the Pacific, eat amazing local and regional food, and meet some wonderful people.
