Pacific Crest Trail 2 - Summer 2011

Our crew began its last hitch in the Pacific Northwest on a cool fall day in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. We were welcomed with the Northwest’s characteristically damp and cloudy skies falling softly upon us. The remainder of the hitch we would see the sun briefly now and then but were more often than not struggling through rain. The work consisted almost entirely of brushing- clearing the corridor of the vine maple and blueberry bushes that threatened to completely choke off the trail.

This hitch presented new challenges for a crew that had seen little rain since leaving training in late May from Western Washington. On top of the foul weather we battled with the monotony of cutting branches and cumbersome limbs for eight plus hours a day for over a week. Our best allies in the fight against foul moods were one another. With positive attitudes we were able to uplift each other from the negativity you would expect to accompany a week and a half of slogging through thick, wet brush in soggy cotton pants- your rain gear having long ago soaked through and now serving, at best, as a makeshift sauna keeping you steamy and warm.

We had a brief scare on October 1st. We awoke at midnight to hear someone in the distance shouting “hello,” which sounds an awful lot like “help” when you’re lying half asleep in a tent a couple hundred yards from the person yelling. Sterling, a light sleeper and an adrenaline junky, bursts forth from his tent vestibule, looking for the action; he’s all business. After sending out a few response calls to the hello we had heard, we hear a person coming closer and the “hello” comes into focus. After our pulses normalize we figure out that there are several hunters scrambling lost through the woods looking for one another. They find each other. Exhausted, we fall asleep, knowing we’ll never forget that elk hunting season begins October 1st in Washington.

All told, despite crumby conditions we were able to clear three miles of trail and managed to build a fire every single night. As hitch leader, I took particular pride in the crew’s resolve to retain a high sense of duty and morale in spite of adverse conditions.

-Nate

Our 7th hitch on the PCT brought us to the Diamond Peak Wilderness in Deschutes NF where a short stretch of trail was in dire need of our attention. We immediately began work during our 7 mile hike in to camp, logging out some downed trees in the trail. Issac Daniel, our PCTA liaison, hiked in with us and acted as supervisor as Sterling and Jesse had paperwork to complete and had to hike in later that night.
We worked 1.5 miles North of our campsite where we encountered some complicated crosscutting. Fortunately we were able to use our brawn and brains to tackle the project and we had some laughs and a photo shoot or two along the way.
The proceeding days consisted of many checkstep placements, some timber, some stone, some average-sized, others absolutely massive (see picture below).
The team continued working South past camp and came upon another crosscutting project; this one conveniently situated next to some snow. Snowball fights predictably ensued but, being the hardworkers we are, we pressed on with the trail work, setting 13 consecutive structures in the next 1/4 mile stretch of trail.
Our last few days consisted of a lot of brushing and treadwork and a final logout of a tree whose width was equal to Sterling's height. It took 10 hands and 2 rock bars, but in the end we got the best of that beast of a tree.

Trail Maintained: 3610 feet
Logs Removed: 16
Steps and Waterbars: 38

Tired from the California sun and eager to see Northwestern forest, our crew had our first hitch in the state of Washington. The Goat Rocks Wilderness on the Number 96 trail in Gifford Pinchot National Forest to be exact. It also marked the first hitch where we would be pushed to the limit physically and mentally. Two whole weeks in the backcountry without contact with the outside world, a list of projects that included repairing failing turnpikes, a rock wall installation and putting in check steps.

The sun pierces through the weathered holes from my blue nylon dome, water crashes vigorously from Goat Creek's rapids drowning out all other noise until Andrea gives the gentle 'coffee is ready' call. My day begins...

This was by far the coldest hitch we had, which usually lead to sun bathing first thing in the morning to warm up. The walk to work was only a 1/4 mile up the trail to begin with.

The first couple of days we had Greg Baxter from the PCTA giving us a hand and even gave us a lesson on check step installation. Although we knew we had bigger and badder task to handle up the trail we wanted to get a few checks in to warm up.

Accustom to lopping, minor tread work and shorter hitches this hitch took us to our limits. It was also the first time where we were set free to work on projects alone and without Sterling over our shoulder as he was away at a family gathering. At one point Jesse was digging an earth drainage, Andrea was armouring a creek, while Nate and I each set checks.

Working our way up to the turnpikes we armoured a creek that was running into the trail and de-bermmed more tread. Once we made it up to the turnpikes we picked our battles clearing out most of the failing structures so that the water would flow. It got to be quite messy. With each swing of the tool mud would splatter our work pants. We were able to 3 turnpikes flowing again by cleaning out organic matter alone. The other two needed more work.

The first failing turnpike we fixed was also the first time we got to put Feliciana took work. We cut 3 sections of cedar timber from a down cedar up the hill from our project site. We replaced the rotting timber with a two tier timber support to the left of the culvert on the downhill side and a one tier support on the right. We supported the left downhill side of the structure with a rock wall directly under the two tier timber supports. Surprisingly this only took our crew a day and a half to finish.

As we felt good about our first turnpike repair we pushed ahead to the big fix of the hitch. About a mile from camp a turnpike had begun to erode downhill making it unsafe for horses and pack animals to get by. First and foremost, we collected rock, we collected so much rock we had rocks for days! We replaced the uphill and downhill side of the turnpike's rotting timber with rock. The first rock for our biggest and best rock wall to date was a scary 4 feet off the trail. I knew when I saw Sterling set the rock that he wasn't playing around and neither was this rock wall. It took the best of us over the next 3.5 days. Two or three of us would usually be finding these massive rocks while two others work on the dry masonry art of setting these >200lbs beast.

It's safe to say after two weeks in the Goat Rocks that we came, we saw and we were challenged on all levels of trail work.

Before this past hitch we spent a few days in Portland, Oregon exploring the vibrancy and culture of the city. Days later, recovered from the physicality of the last hitch but strained financially from a few days of sampling the local victuals, we piled into the car and headed back towards northern California and the Klamath National Forest. Several hours later, only halfway through one heady Phish jam, we arrived in Seiad Valley, CA; population: 14.
On the 13th, we met with Bill Roberts- packer, pilot, poet and National Forest Service rep. Bill, his wife Peggy, and their SCA intern, Claire, helped pack in our tools and some of our supplies with the help of their string of burly mules and sleek horses. Packs strapped tight, we moseyed the 3 miles into the backwoods of the Klamath National Forest. Bill encouraged us to interact with his animals, brushing them and leading them to graze, and was more than happy to share his 40 plus years of backcountry wisdom and stock-packing experience.
The work began the next day on the PCT where we got busy cutting back brush and clearing out drainage ditches. After that we spent the next several days hiking three or more miles out onto the Red Butte Wilderness Boundary Trail to do more brushing and treadwork. A snow bank along the trail provided a welcome opportunity to cool down on the way back from work at the end of long days. Snow ball fights in July are a novelty for sure.
The terrain was remarkably different from what we had been experiencing in southern California and Tahoe. Only 6,000 feet or so above sea level, the clouds were often undercast on our morning hikes to work. When the fog and drizzle hadn’t overtaken the hillsides, Mount Shasta was visible, looming hazily over the ridges in the far reaches of the horizon. The wildflowers were in full bloom- Iris, Desert Paintbrush, Beargrass, and Mountain Lupine abounded.
Hiking back and forth the three miles onto the Boundary Trail each day, our pants would become saturated as we walked through the thick, dewy brush that blanketed our path. Brushing our way back toward camp was a gratifying team effort with tangible results- no wet pants. And being able to walk back over your work at the end of the day and recognize that you’ve had a hand in shaping the trail for years to come is satisfying.
The last afternoon of the hitch as we headed back towards our base camp a few of us decided to explore a draw we had heard of from hikers earlier that week. A small stream could be heard trickling down the hillside. We followed the water down a half mile or thereabouts to where it emptied into a small pool. At the edge of this bluish green pool grew a hedge of Manzanita. Water from the pool spilled beyond the hedge, and splashed down a steep rock wall. The ravine continued down for miles to where the ridges rising above us met.
The work that we engage in is rewarding. But the opportunities to connect with your teammates in these serene, scenic, and intimate atmospheres is perhaps more worthwhile and personally fulfilling. Trail work is people building, so I’ve been told. Like a freshly lopped trail, this truth is becoming clearer, too.

Trail Maintained: 10700 ft

For our second test, we were presented the task of Mount Baden Powell near the city of Wrightwood, California. While our campsite was next to the Pacific Crest Trail, we had to commute to the heavily used trail that led to the Mt. Baden Powell summit. Not only did we run into a lot of people on the trail, we went head to head with 40 switchbacks that covered 4 miles of the PCT. As we worked our way up the mountain we touched up platforms, increased turning radiuses, applied some rehabbing techniques to washed out or overly used areas, and built a rip-rap wall. Another focal point on this section of trail was that there were a lot of areas were people had gone off of the PCT to try and cut corners. One of things Mt. Baden Powell gave us a chance to do was to talk about SCAs mission and to hopefully educate people about why it might be better to stay on trail versus creating a new one.

At the junction of Mt. Baden Powell and where the Pacific Crest Trail divert there was also a 14,000 plus year old tree that had fallen over. After inspection, we decided to make the trail that went around the tree more visible. While up on the summit we learned from an ultra marathon runner who had stopped to talk that the trail we had been working on was going to be used for the Apache Crest 100 mile marathon. There was an great sense of satisfaction after learning that our trail would see so much use.

One of many firsts for our crew was snow. While ascending Mt. Baden Powell we met some snow banks and of course had a nice round of snowballs fights. While at camp, one of the first through hikers, Scarecrow, that we had met on our previous hitch arrived at Mt. Baden Powell and joined us for dinner. It was nice to reunite with a hiker and I’m sure it won’t be the last time.

Also, we had our first volunteer Eugene, join us for each day on Mt. Baden Powell too. Not only was his insight to gear impeccable and helpful, his work ethic was seemingly unmatched. A true volunteer, Eugene shoveled snow from the trail so that hikers wouldn’t be going off the trail or put themselves in danger.

Another hitch under the belt means a lot of things to different people. Onlookers will point to the visible signs of hands that are calloused, feet that are blistered, bodies are caked with dirt and exhausted as indications of hard work, but I think that most of us will say the satisfaction that a once depleting section of trail is now re-worked and ready for hiking means a lot more than the blisters and showers.

Trail Maintained: 4 miles
Stone Retension: 130 sq ft
Switchbacks Regraded: 20

The crew arrived at a Girl Scout Camp in Longview, Washington and began their training for the coming months. Hailing from Connecticut, Michigan, South Carolina, Texas and Minnesota they boast a wide array of different backgrounds and experiences that will certainly be helpful in our adventure on the horizon.

They spent ten days getting trained in everything from SCA logistics to Risk Management to vehicle maintenance to Wilderness First Aid and Trail Work Skills.

The Western Washington climate kept us on our toes but the vibrant, communal attitude was more than enough to make up for the occational rain.

Tessa was raised on sweet tea, disco music, and all the trappings of city life. She went out West for the first time last summer, on a college geology field trip. Edward Abbey wrote “There is science, logic, reason; there is thought verified by experience. And then there is California.” After spending her first night in California, she understood this quote. As she saw the sun set while wading in the waters of Lake Isabella, she knew where she wanted to be.

She eventually wants to be a high school social studies teacher, but she wants to explore more of the world first. Camping in all 50 states is on her bucket list, and she jumped at the opportunity to cross Washington and Oregon off her list. Listening to bands from the Pacific Northwest while in high school made her yearn to get out of Texas and experience for herself what these artists were singing about. In short, being a trail maintainer on the Pacific Crest Trail was something she simply could not pass up. She is a lover of stationary, had written letters, skylines, pine trees, acrylic paint, HBO television shows, nail polish, Japanese culture, trashy gossip magazines, economic and science news, indoor soccer, Vietnamese food, live music and riding her mountain bike around her college campus.

She is looking forward to living and working in backcountry settings. She is excited about seeing parts of the country she has dreamed about going to. She is excited about going months without watching her Bravo Television. She is excited about working with only her hands and simple tools. She is excited about working outside all day long. She is excited about going to a new town every few days. She is excited about getting to know her crewmates who hail from all over the country. Most of all, she is excited to be working nowhere near Excel spreadsheets and fax machines.

Whit is originally from Auburn (War Eagle) but grew up in nowheresville South Carolina. He came from a family of green thumbs and a ma that urged him to explore and reach his dreams. After a love for the outdoors was established in Boy Scouts early in life, it was rediscovered through geology field work and trips out west.

He currently attends University of South Carolina, where he studies geology. Living in the city lights is definitely not his style and hopes to break away from the city as soon as possible. Ramblin' has become a part of life and the western skies do nothing but feed that hunger.

Little more than 6 months ago Whit got a visit from a SCA recruiter, Gary, who told him that he could find himself working his way up the PCT for 6 months. With that in mind Whit decided to leave those city lights to join a movement and to take perhaps the biggest leap of faith he had ever made.

When he is not ramblin' through the woods and the Appalachian mountains, he can be found exploring any and every kind of music, road trippin' and keeping up with his beloved Auburn Tigers.

A true 'Yooper' at heart, Jesse grew up in the beautiful Upper Peninsula of Michigan. She spent most of her childhood outside exploring, camping often with the Girl Scouts and family/friend backpacking trips. Later, in college, Jesse worked two summers as a special needs camp counselor and fell in love with helping others experience the magic of nature.

Just this past May (2011), Jesse graduated from Ripon College, a private liberal arts school in rural Wisconsin, with degrees in Anthropology and Psychology. Her involvement and leadership in campus organizations such as Amnesty International, the Ripon Outdoor Club, and Psi Chi, the Honor Society in Psychology, have sprouted Jesse's passions for human rights, awareness and understanding of diverse peoples, and environmental activism. She plans to hone her leadership and outdoor skills in her time with the SCA in preparation for graduate school and a career centered around service.

In her spare time, Jesse enjoys reading, cliff-diving into Lake Superior, baking, music, running, cross-country skiing, watching films, and hiking in the U.P. woods with her dog Forrest. She is jazzed to be embarking on the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of working and living on the Pacific Crest Trail for the next six months.