For the last hitch of the field season the California Wildcorps lived in the lap of luxury – staying in old Coast Guard barracks in the shadow of the Piedras Blancas lighthouse. One of the main perks of the lighthouse was waking up to beautiful sunrises after sleeping in a cozy bed each night. We started out the hitch re-routing an existing trail at the lighthouse and widening another section of trail. From there the Wildcorps removed a couple acres of invasive mustard plants, invasive iceplant, stacked lumber, dug out and re-routed garden irrigation, dug drainages, painted fences, raked and sorted gravel and rocks, as well as completed other small jobs around the property. Mid-hitch we had the opportunity to take a free tour of the Hearst Castle – the extravagence was a huge change from our lifestyles for the past six months, for sure. (One of the tapestries at the castle was from Versailles and apparently there is a replica of it in the Louvre!) After our castle tour, Trevor treated us to incredible cheeseburgers from the Hearst Ranch and Josh went for a final November dip in the Pacific.
Looking back on the season, the California Wildcorps put in a lot of hard work, hiked hundreds of miles, were visited by lots of wildlife, laughed a lot, hacked a lot, and ended it all with a hearty group hug.
California Wildcorps 2011, over and out.
