9 Hard Days equals 75 Tons of Material Moved
Welcome to our trail crew – SCA Trail Corps Gabrielle, Miranda, Chad, Ryan, and Alexis. Follow our summer journy as we build mountain bike trails with the Cleveland Metroparks! If you want to get to know us a little better take a look back at our first Welcome Blog and you will find bios about each one of us as well as a little more history on the Cleveland Metroparks! You can continue to follow our crew and our adventures through August 15th 2014.
In the past 9 days we have moved just over 75 tons of dirt and rock to fill in all the washed out imperfections on our trail. At the beginning of this nine day adventure we were given a trail that was hit hard but flooding (see previous post for more information). We had a huge task ahead of us to bring this trail back to riding condition but that is exactly what we did in more.
Over the past 9 days we have placed 26 water bars, 4 stairs, and moved 75 tons of dirt and rock. We fought rain and extreme mud pits; learned how to use candy cons (mechanized wheelbarrows); and became experts in restoration to help rehab sections that were a little harder hit by our work.
These 9 days brought a variety of emotions from happiness, frustration, madness, and accomplishment. Every member took every day with a stride of confidence as their skills increased and seeing what they have accomplished grow. They took every change big or small with smiles. When frustrations did set in a clear explanation of the why we had to change 3 water bars or again cut the edge of the trail back a little more they would take on the project with more pride than before.
As a leader watching my crew take on new tasks and develop confidence in the skills they are learning is my biggest goal. At the end of these 9 days I felt great pride for my crew watching them take charge and need less direction as well as take on helping out 2 volunteers that came out to help. 9 days straight of hard labor is a lot to ask from someone but my crew took it on and not once complained!
Now with 9 days of work of course my crew had 7 days off to venture, relax, and see friends. As we return for the second half of our seasons we will take on some pretty awesome projects from staircases, boardwalks, and some rigging days to move rocks! Stay tuned to see what the Cleveland Crew does next!
