WildCorps - Hitch 7 [1]
It was the first day of All-corps. WildCorps pulled up into the makeshift campground on Tecopa public lands and were greeted by a line of eight Dodge Ram 2500s. Slowly, a familiar pack of desert rats retreated from the cabs and welcomed our arrival with stares and awkward waves. The mildercorps had arrived the previous evening. “Uhh... welcome to your event,” the other crews said. They climbed back into their masculine ruminant vehicles and took off to enjoy the local desert offerings of the sand and mud (dunes and hot springs), leaving WildCorps XII in a cloud of dust, alone, to erect their green monster of a tent and do some real work in preparation of the days ahead.
A short drive from the campsite led us through a remarkable canyon to the China Ranch Date Farm. BLM contacts from Barstow and Brian Brown, proprietor of the farm and member of the Amargosa Conservancy, met with us to plan out the upcoming five days of trail work along the Amargosa River. We hiked out to an overlook where we could view the river. The wind picked up as our minds were blown by the beauty of Rainbow Mountain, the canyon, and the river. A quick Trimble talk was given by DRC guru Matt (The Knife) Duarte, and with that, WildCorps XII was prepared to co-lead pods of corps members with BLM partners.
The following days were a whirlwind of hard work and the chaos of group camp life. The hot days were spent working on various river trail projects, such as battling an infinite thicket of mesquite (the mesquite won), building bridges and rerouting and improving trails. The WildCorps crew enjoyed being bossy leaders and helping direct projects and take GPS data with our slightly temperamental Juno Trimbles. By night, WildCorps shined as culinary gods during the hectic themed potluck nights where we received rave reviews for our fried mini calzones and night of deep fried things (including deep-fried cabbage, pistachios, and avocado slices). The company and commotion of camp life was an enjoyable change from the usual quiet camp of our quad (now quint).
After saying goodbye to Rands and Jawbone, we moved camp to the town of Shoshone, population 10, to attend a two-day conference, The Sierra Club Desert Committee Meeting. We listened to many speakers and learned the hidden horrors of solar and wind farms in the desert. At the end on the day, WildCorps got to lighten the mood as we presented about the work we have been doing and our daily crew life.
We explored the quirky town of Shoshone during our free time. Our campsite was a surprising glamping experience for the DRC. Our ammenities included flush toilets, hot showers, a swimming pool heated by a hot spring, and a cozy library room filled with juicy novels. We made friends with the locals and some members were interviewed by Susan, the owner of the town, for a local paper.
This hitch was also our introduction with our new leader Sterling. We had a great time with him and we are looking forward to getting to know him better on our future hitches.
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Sterling Collins-Hill [4]
Sterling joins the DRC WildCorps halfway through the season with hopes of complimenting and contributing-to an already impressive team of desert restoration champions. This is his fifth SCA endeavor but first purely-restoration experience after primarily trail-maintenance crews. He looks forward to expanding his pallete of conservation techniques as well as practicing data collection and mapping.
Sterling grew up in Maine, went to school in New York, moved to Los Angeles and then Portland, Oregon before taking full time work on the nation's public lands affording him the opportunity to travel The West in a variety of pickup trucks. In his free time Sterling enjoys hiking, making art, eating, not hiking and live music.
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WildCorps - Hitch 6 [8]
HITCH PERFECT
Hitch 6 could not come soon enough as Wild Corps began work out of the long anticipated Palm Springs district office. Not only is Palm Springs the closest office to our humble abode in Yucca Valley, it also offers stunning views, outstanding weather, and (debatably) the crew’s favorite vegan restaurant—Native Foods. Before heading out into the field, we spent two days at home preparing for the spectacle that will be the All-Corps Olympics, aka hitch 7. To prepare the other Ridgecrest crews for the games, we bestowed upon them the first film to have ever been nominated for 21 Oscars in the genre-bending phenomenon entitled “The Invitation.” [See below for exclusive behind the scenes shots.]
This hitch, the DubCee had the privilege of doing trail rehabilitation in, yes, I am not kidding, a ZOO. The Living Desert Zoo & Botanical Garden in Palm Desert offers the surrounding communities access to thousands of diverse desert plant species, miles of beautiful hiking trails, and sand cats. In case you didn’t know, the sand cat is like a regular house cat, but with a boxy head and stocky legs, and two million times cuter. While not kicking and screaming because we could not have one of those sand cats for ourselves, we were using our McLeods and rock bars to polish up some of the washed out sections of the 3.5 mile Wilderness Loop (Eisenhower Trail Wilderness Loop)
Historically, the Wilderness Loop has been a popular hiking destination among the Palm Desert community; built about fifty years ago by a group of Boy Scouts with questionable trail building decisions, the trail has long been suffering from heavy erosive forces. So with clear eyes and full hearts, we put our bodies to work to turn severely cupped trails with 2 foot high berms into the sweetest trail you’ve ever laid your Asolos on. From backfilling to backsloping to outsloping to sauerkrautsloping, the Wilderness Loop will now hopefully stand the test of flash floods and heavy use. While the implementation of knicks will help with non-erosive water runoff, the installment of steps will mitigate berm build-up as well as improve safety for the public. I bet your Grammy could even hike this trail in her flippy-floppies.
On the home front, we were fortunate enough to stay at the Ritz-Carlton of all Forest Service campsites: the (read in your head like an old British woman, think Judy Dench in Skyfall) Ribbonwood Equestrian Campground. While previous hitches have involved camping under large power lines in the Palo Verde Mountains Wilderness, or a different set of large power lines in the Chemehuevi Mountains Wilderness, Ribbonwood had a stunning array tables, fire pits, and yes, again, I kid you not, a bathroom with hot showers. Although most members only indulged in the controlled deluge once or twice, we were grateful for the option, and forever thankful to those kind BLM souls who convinced someone to let us desert rats sleep on their fine soil.
The inauguration of the President coincided with Wild Corps’ inauguration of The Green Monster, an animal whose picture should be placed on the walls of every government building right next to the big man himself. The Green Monster, to all ye front country folk, is a large 10-man-Army-Surplus-Arctic tent that can very comfortably fit 4 people in the cold desert night. After the whirlwind rain-dance required to set up the Monstruo Verde under the leadership of DRC pro Matt Duarte, Wild Corps rejoiced in a week long inaugural ball that involved a hearty buffet of peanut-based dishes, Joni Mitchell’s “California” on repeat, and philosophical discussions about the mythology behind the Celtic cave-dwelling creature Anna Kendrick Lamar.
Some other highlights of hitch 6 include: opening up one’s pup tent to a snowy winter wonderland after working in the hot desert sun the previous day, Kettle brand Honey Dijon chips, sand cats, dried mango, the wonderful Canadian woman who called us “Angels” for improving the Wilderness Loop, all the other Canadian women who commended us for our work, aaaand sand cats.
Wild Corps Peace Out
SIDEWINDER aka Scottie
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Yucca Valley, CA - Home Base [21]
Yucca Valley, California, is a town of about 25,000 people located on California Route 62 (aka The 29 Palms Highway). Neighboring towns are Morongo Valley, Joshua Tree, Yucca Mesa, Pioneertown, Landers, Flamingo Heights, Johnson Valley, and Twentynine Palms. The two major economic stimulators in the area are Joshua Tree National Park and the marine base outside Twentynine Palms. Many people who live here commute down to the Palm Springs metro area about 40 minutes south. Yucca Valley is built up mostly against the highway, with supermarkets, a movie theater, coffeeshops (local and Starbucks), restaurants(local and chain), and a few big box stores. Driving up Route 247 (aka Old Woman Springs Rd) you can get a picture of what desert towns used to look like before four lane highways and big commerce.
One of the beautiful parts about living in a desert town is that the relatively untrammeled desert exists in close range. Yucca Valley borders Joshua Tree National Park, most of which is designated wilderness. Joshua Tree is an excellent place to take up rock climbing or get into the wilderness. There are 69 designated wilderness areas under the BLM’s management, several are a short drive from Yucca Valley: Sheephole Mountains, Cleghorn Mountains, Big Morongo, Bighorn Mountains, San Gorgonio. Just off the highway in Morongo Valley is the Big Morongo Preserve, a BLM-managed oasis where water flowing underground down from the mountains gets close or breaks the surface. It’s a world-renowned bird-watching spot. You will be close the Wildlands Conservancy Preserves as well. They are a non-profit land manager and we have a good working relationship with them. Whitewater Preserve has a trail that connects to the Pacific Crest Trail, following the Whitewater River. There is a thriving, if strange, artistic community in the desert, and a collection of people who believe in extraterrestrial contact.
View Larger Map [23]
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California Desert District [25]
The mission of the California Desert District (CDD) of the Bureau of Land Management is to protect the natural, historic, recreational and economic riches of the beautiful California Desert for generations to come. California is a state wealthy with resources and natural beauty, but this beauty can quickly disappear if not properly taken care of. The California Desert District is responsible for protecting and preserving nearly 11 million acres of California’s natural heritage.
In 1976, The United States Congress created the California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA), which covers nearly one quarter of the State. As one of the government’s primary authorities for the management of public lands, the Bureau of Land Management - through the California Desert District - acts as steward for 10.4 million acres of this 26 million acre preserve. In an effort to provide the most benefit to the most people, while preserving one of the west’s most rugged and awe inspiring landscapes, the CDD developed a balanced, multiple-use plan to act as a guide for the management of this vast expanse of land. The plan, completed in 1980 with the help of the public, divides the desert into multiple-use classes. These classes were created in order to define areas of in critical need of protection, while allowing for the use and development of less-vital swaths of desert.
In addition to the lands under the CDCA, the California Desert District also manages 300,000 acres of scattered parcels in Kern, Inyo, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange, Imperial and San Diego counties. The district is divided into five resource areas, governed by field offices in Ridgecrest, Palm Springs/South Coast, El Centro, Barstow and Needles. The CDD currently has over 200 full time employees.
- via BLM, CDD website (http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/cdd/about_cdd.html [26])
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Sarah "Parker" Throop [29]
My name is Sarah Throop. However, I prefer to go by Parker, which is my middle name. I am 22 years old. I just graduated from the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia. My degree was in Anthropology. I am looking forward to the DRC. I think that it is very important to preserve our wildlife. With over population, desertification, deforestation, and modern industry the next 150 years will define the human race. We only have one Earth to live on, and giving back, preventing further devastation is vital. This will be my second internship with the SCA and AmeriCorps. It will also be my second internship with the BLM. I am very outdoorsy and active. I love bicycling, adventuring, exploring new places, Urbexing, and trying new things. I am also very personable and friendly. I also really enjoy joking around and puns. I am currently attempting to become fluent in French. I expect this internship will have its trials and tribulations but I welcome them.
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Lauren Sherman [32]
My interest in conservation was seeded while I was growing up in Bellingham, WA in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. I felt very connected to nature from hiking in forests with views of the Cascade Mountains and exploring tide pools on the coast. That interest grew when I moved to Asheville, NC to attend Warren Wilson College. The extreme biodiversity of Western North Carolina moved me to change my major from Education to Environmental Studies concentrating in Conservation Biology.
My passions include sustainable food and studying wildlife, particularly birds. I like to be active and outdoors as much as possible whether it be hiking, camping, biking, birding, or floating down a river.
I look forward to doing meaningful outdoor work with Wildcorps and exploring the Mojave Desert.
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Marcus Perry [35]
Having biked across the middle of the country and hiked all around the south and southeast, I am now looking to extend my learning and services to the American southwest. I grew up in beautiful western North Carolina and am still deeply moved by the right styles of bluegrass and bbq. I recently graduated from Tulane University in New Orleans, where I studied all things environmental and geology, and am looking forward to continuing my education in the outdoors. I seek to better understand the relationship between humanity and nature such that I may work to improve the public's knowledge of and respect for the environment. I believe that nature is as much a part of humankind as we are of it.
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WildCorps - Hitch 5 [38]
This hitch took all four members of Wildcorps to the far reaches of eastern California, Arizona, and for a short while even south of Mexico. Amidst our journey through the far east we were able to monitor 14 water sources, which required on the fly differentiation between old data sets rife with projection error. The sites we monitored required intense 4x4 driving, many miles of hiking, and an overnight backpacking trek. The “roads” (I use the term very loosely) in this area were so washed out and harrowing that at one point our beloved work truck became incapable of traversing a wash which happened to cut right through a designated route. After approximately 7 hours of intense road building, rock moving, and failed attempts at videoing our escape from the clutches of Julian Wash, we managed to turn around and make our way back out through the mouth of the beast.
It was the end of the day and to our dismay less than a klick away we became stuck in the gray. Our tired mount was beaten alas, this vertical washout too steep to surpass—up, up, karumph and down on its ass, a driveshaft sheared by the heft of our mass. Now seriously stuck alone in this wood we tried our best we did what we could, but sticks nor stones could splint the bones of our metal steed, now graciously digging us holes without need—deep, deep in the wash. So we slept in the truck a cold winter night and awoke the next morning without much delight, til o’er the horizon somebody spied two white trucks, blue triangles aside, come to rescue us— save our crippled ride.
Once we were reunited with our remaining truck and trailer, we decided to hoof it to the other side of the mountain to Senator Wash Reservoir North Shore Campground. Other than an obscenely long name, the campground did not offer much more than a vault toilet, amazing sunrises over a lake, and a quizzical look into the life of generally older people who camp in RV’s in areas designated by signs picturing a roadrunner over a snowflake… apparently the BLM takes its snow birds pretty seriously. Mr. Matt Duarte joined us for some backpackage and monitoring in the Indian Pass, Picacho Peak, and Little Picacho Wilderness areas just in time to catch a massive cold front sweeping over the new south from way up in Alaska. Fortunately, the front fronted forty mph winds for only a fraction of a fortnight, and the rest of our monitoring proved relatively uneventful other than the sightings of several owls, a large mountain cat, burros, jackrabbits, lizards, and snowbirds. We were also treated to a hike with BLM ranger Joya to see several natural rock arches and learn about the BLM’s youth initiative in California.
Until next time,
Wildcorps out
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Scott Shinton [48]
The name’s Scott Shinton, and I was born and raised in the creeks, pools, and shores of the second smallest state in the country, where a hop, skip, and a jump through the woods will (literally) take you to foreign territory (a farm in Maryland or Pennsylvania) within minutes. While spending the last four years in Connecticut studying history, art, and architecture, I have spent summers living and working in the hills of a medieval Tuscan town, a forest in rural Kentucky, and the East Village of NYC. Moving to the West Coast swiftly upon graduation, I have been smitten to find communities who love the Great Outdoors, good coffee and microbrews, and water-dwelling as much as I do.
I am extremely excited to be working with WildCorps on restoration projects in the diverse ecosystems of Southern California, and to live with a crew of awesome, adventurous people.
Remember: stay together, learn the flowers, go light.
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