The Jawbone crew was all over the place this hitch, tying up lots of loose ends but also starting some new projects that will inevitably create some loose ends in the future. Our biggest accomplishment this hitch was retrieving our water tank, which was abandoned on the side of a mountain sometime in December. We are also proud to say that we finally finished the incursion where the water tank was left, despite hail and snow. The weather only added to previous evidence (lots of rain and snow in December) that the Jawbone gods agree with us that we should never have to hike thirty minutes straight uphill to work. Another loose end tied up was a campground definition that felt like it had taken an eternity. Much to our confusion, when the numbers were tallied, forever only added up to five days.
Other work included the completion of another campground definition, retouching two old incursions, walking and measuring the fence lines for new projects at the Pacific Crest Trail and at Robbers Roost, outreach with the Owens Peak crew in the Rand Mountain Management Area, and removing ten bollards from successfully restored incursions. We experienced the standard repertoire of Jawbone weather including, but not limited to, sun, rain, snow, and fierce wind, none of which deterred grazing cows from hanging around our campsite. They were welcome and entertaining visitors, but our favorite visit came from the WildCorps crew, who came to check out Jawbone and share dinner. There was some confusion and debate over whether the guests would show and apparently, the WildCorps dinner time is Jawbone bed time, so we ended up with no food to share. Oops!
Regular mishaps have become familiar and entertaining. In fact, we’ve heard that when things go wrong, other crews say they “pulled a Jawbone.” We are very proud of our reputation and this hitch was no exception. Not only did we nearly run out of gas in the middle of Jawbone, we also accidentally hiked the wrong mountain. We intended to make it to the top of Scodie Mountain, the highest peak in Jawbone and the namesake of the range of mountains after which our roads are named. That would have been too easy, though, so we bravely hiked the next mountain over. No one was upset when we learned the truth, and we had a delightful afternoon in a beautiful area where we were reminded that trees do exist. The hike left us cheerful and was a great end to a great hitch. With limbs and vehicles intact, the Jawbone crew can confidently say that Hitch 8 was a success!
