Hitch 14: I think, Therefore I Gnar
Our last hitch started by packing up our camp in Joshua Tree National Park early morning heading into San Bernardino (SBD). Once in SBD we embarked on our final customary stops to Costco and Home Depot. After shopping we caravanned to the Silverwood Lake campground group sites and began setting up our camp. Later in the afternoon our PCTA contact Greg Baxter showed up to scout the section trail we would be working on with Tim. The next day we piled into the truck for a short driving commute to the PCT access the trail we were to use. Nate stayed back camp this day due to a 24 hour gnarness bug he was fighting hard. Tim and Tony ran the anti-gnar-saw while Carolyn, Kristen, and Matt dug drain dips and worked on tread. Day three of hitch found us at the Hesperia Public Library doing end of season paper work. The day in town turned out to be super productive for everyone on the crew but we found we were just as exhausted at the end of day as we would be from trail work. The next day when we arrived at the work site, Tony realized he had left his pack back at camp so he and Tim had to drive back and retrieve it. When they got back they resumed anti-gnar-sawing again while the other four members all did tread. At one point during the day Tony and Tim played a game of Tetris with the saw when a small screw fell into the exhaust casing. Day five of hitch Nate and Matt took a turn running the saw while Carolyn, Kristen, and Tony did tread. Throughout the day Tim did one on one end of the season evaluations with each of us. He jokingly fired each us for bad performance during the season. Our second to last trail work day Tim spent running the saw and absolutely destroying the gnar while the rest of the crew worked on rock projects. Tony and Kristen did a rock wall/cribbing, Matt worked on a rock waterbar, and Nate and Carolyn worked on tread and a check step. The next day will prove to live in infamy for generations of gnar to come. It was our last flair Friday and our last day of work on the PCT, our home for the past six months. Every crew member went all out with their flair and it payed off. We all looked amazing our last day on the trail. For work that day we all worked together doing tread and lopping the gnar. At the end of the work day Greg stopped by again presented us with Federal Adventure Passes, water bottles, and certificate of appreciation from the Forrest Service. That night we celebrated and had a grand dinner underneath the stars. The final day of the hitch we spent cleaning and repairing gear before we set off for a few days of leisure in Ontario, CA.
