March 11 - March 16, 2012
So what do you do when your date to prom ditches you for an undisclosed reason? Do what the Florida Trail Team does by grabbing an axe and going to town on a bunch of logs! Well, we weren’t really going to prom with anyone, even though that would have been pretty sweet with all those fancy suits and dresses. Instead a group of college kids had to cancel an awesome trip to the Osceola National Forest with us to do some trail work. Fortunately, we don’t go to the same high school thus removing that awkwardness on the first day back from school.
Now I know what all of you are asking right now…”Well what did you do for that one week?” Well all you Florida Trail Junkies, we did what any teenager does after being ditched and traveled to the Tosahatchee Wildlife Management Area to repair a bridge! Located within one of the largest Sabal Palm canopies within the state of Florida, this bridge needed a makeover. Below the decking of the bridge, the exposed stringers covered in sheets of brown metal made it an eyesore. With the assistance of our awesome prom group, (oops I mean FTA staff and volunteers) we covered the bare stringers with wooden 2x4s to give it that 2008, not 2000 and late look. This was no easy task; in fact it included the use of power drills, circular saws, and a whole lot of muscle power. We even needed to call in some water support via canoe to remove hardware from fallen power lines due to the fact a 12 foot alligator was spotted under the bridge we worked on!
After two and a half days of hard work, we completed the bridge and gave it that fresh new look the FTA wanted it to have. This week we learned that you don’t need an awesome date to have a good time. All you really need are your team members, a couple awesome volunteers and the outdoors.
- Michael Marchetti