Every end has its beginning and for Kiavah Crew Hitch 11 is the beginning of the end. This second to last hitch saw Kiavah and Grass Valley bidding farewell to DRC comrades, Jawbone and Rands, and gearing up for the end of season push. It was a Hitch for some excellent collaborative All-Corps work and a Hitch for some full season reflection.
We started with some much appreciated work variation, spending two days with BLM Archeologist Ashley Blythe in Portuguese Canyon. The Canyon holds an impressive concentration of obsidian artifacts and milling features as the site was a type of nexus of peoples dating back tens of thousands of years. We helped Ashley inventory the site, named Biface Junction for its high concentration of Biface artifacts (a piece of obsidian worked on both sides and thus a substantial tool), and so spent the days walking transects, flagging, and recording specific items. This site is still in the beginning phases of being charted and catalogued, so it was a special experience for us to see what that process looks like.
The second half of Hitch 11 was devoted to the end of season All-Corps! Hosted by the Grass Valley Crew, the entire DRC joined forces to work on a huge fence project. Camping on a small dry lake bed just north of Cuddeback Lake, the group came together over Frisbee throws, soccer circles, cut throat Settlers of Catan games, and some top notch potlucks.
Split into three work groups, we divided and conquered a four mile stretch of boundary fence just outside The Grass Valley Wilderness. It’s always nice working with new personalities and we generally spent All-Corps cracking each other up. Still, we got some serious work done. With a few more days of work next Hitch the fence should be completed and the Wilderness that much better for it.
We said goodbye to Jawbone and Rands as their season has been wrapped. Those are some fantastic people on to big and bigger things!
One more for Kiavah, Grass Valley, and WildCorps! Talk to you at the end!!
