As we set out for the fourth hitch, many miles have already been covered in this season of seasons. As we look ahead we wish to enrich our experience, and enlarge our numbers.
The first two days of hitch four were spent primarily in the office. On the eve of the second day we set out for Bald Mountain, where the TrACS was to commence. This day was just to set up the spike camp, though, so we packed up our bags, and backpacked to the top of Bald Mountain. This was the a strenuous trek up a steep grade, but all three of us made it to the top, where one can see for miles. The camp was set up swiftly, and each member got warm and cozy inside their tent.
The next day Danna from the Forest Service joined us on the trail. This day we completed TrACS on the Bald Mountain trail. This trail snaked up the mountain with rocky footings, but breath-taking views. Danna told us about her experiences with the Forest Service, and how she got where she is today. These stories help when you are trying to plan out your own path.
The following day we decided to work on Bear Wallow Trail. This is the trail we used to hike our packs up. The trail felt like it went forever, but we were the lucky ones as Dan spent the day hiking water up the mountain for the three of us. When the top of the mountain was reached for the third time during this hitch, the exhaustion was evident on all of the team.
On Friday, the fifth day of the hitch, the team split. Lucas went to help with a Peregrine Falcon Survey, while Dan and Kayla continued TrACS onto the ridge trail. Kayla and Dan finished the trail, which was around 8 miles long, then hiked back to the spike camp for a total of 16 miles. Lucas went to the White Rocks Recreation Area, where he and some other Forest Service employees sat up on the rocks looking for the birds. The group only saw Turkey Vultures during this survey.
On Saturday, the camp was packed away, and the team departed from Bald Mountain earlier than expected. The rest of the day, after traveling back from the mountain, we worked on paperwork.
Sunday had us go back to TrACS, but only on a short bit of trail. Dan had to find the trail for us, but the trail itself was easy enough to work on. After the trail, and the beautiful view from the top, we continued paperwork and post work clean-up for the rest of the hitch.
As time moves on this summer, words of wisdom from Peter Bauer come to mind. If you are doing something, you might as well do it right. It is important to keep doing first-rate work as the end of the season starts to peak its head around the corner.
Hitch 4 Totals
Trails TrACS'd: 75068 ft
Additional Trails Hiked: 104491 ft