Mid-Summer Wilderenss Trail Work 7/1-7/24
Summer is here, and the Trails Collaborative crew has doubled in size. This month, we brought on two more seasonal hires, which has doubled the size of our trail crew from two to four. The crew is on an eight-day on, six-day off schedule, clearing Wildenress trails from the North Cascades to the Chelan Sawtooth Wilderness. Our Trails Coordinator has been responding to reports of new trees down on front country trails and working with volunteers and youth crews. Occasionally, we pull the director, Allen, away from the computer to maintain some trail-cred and get his hands dirty, too. There have been logs cleared, brush cut, and tread improvements to boot. It’s hard work, but rewarding knowing how many people will benefit from log-free trails. Wildflowers, bugs, and berries have been out on the trails. Hope you’re able to get out into the mountains and enjoy the cleared trails.
Allen maintaing his trail-cred by helping Nick F. with the logout on the Scatter Creek trail in the July heat.
Andrews Creek: (06/25-07/01) Our dynamic duo piggy backed off BCHW and FS’s work in late May and were able to clear this trail all the way to Border Ridge and still had enough time to begin clearing down the Chewuch trail past Remmel Lake where, they eventually tied in with a crew clearing from the West. On top of the few hundred logs the two of them cut, they also managed a few hundred feet of brushing and tread work.
Scatter Creek:(07/07) We decided to take our new hire, Nathan, out for an overnight before sending him off on his first hitch. Nick and Nathan spent a night at the spectacular Scatter Lake and worked their way down the trail clearing blowdown. This steep trail seems to have new trees down after every windy day, so we had to come back for another day trip to finish the final stretch. The brush that has been cut back last fall is starting to regrow, but Nathan got a taste of backcountry trail work before his first hitch, and the trail is log-free… for now.
PCT Harts Pass to The Border:(07/08-07/15) MVTC was able to bring on a new, but burly, employee who started with the crew for this hitch. We are certainly excited to have been able to bring on someone new to trail work who took to the physical demand and nuances of crosscutting so quickly. The three person crew cleared out the 30 mile stretch of the PCT, and while the log load was mainly concentrated to the Castle Pass area, the crew was able to get to cutting back brush and retreading some of the more particularly rough sections. When paired with the Forest Service’s efforts, the PCT from Rainy Pass to the Canadian Border is clear of blowdowns.
Eagle/ Oval: (07/18) I was joined by another new hire to our staff for a trail crew orientation where her previous background in trail work and hard work ethic proved an asset for the day. Despite this trail already seeing maintenance from MVTC, more logs had come down, and potentially more than were down the initial log out days in May. Together, we were able to cut 25ish medium diameter trees before the 1 pm chainsaw shutdown and then continue on to cut 5 more trees in the wilderness, leading us to the creek crossing at 2 miles. The trail gods were smiling on us that day, for it was the only time I’ve ever run out of gas at the last tree before the wilderness boundary, RIGHT before the 1 pm shutdown. The Washington Trails Association has scheduled Back Country Response Team trips on this trail 07/30-08/03 and 08/29-09/02. Those crews will focus on logging out the remainder of the loop.
Heather-Maple: Part of MVTC’s scope is education, both in local trail conditions and nurturing the skills to make trail work sustainable, and we were fortunate enough to team up with the Sustainability Corps, which facilitates a group of local high school students to help out on a few projects. One of our summer projects has been re-establishing and reinforcing a few hundred feet of tread at the beginning of the Heather-Maple trail. MVTC feels fortunate to be able to pass on the skills that our organization has gained from years of experience in an effort to enrich local youth with relevant work experience for their future endeavors. Plus, it’s a win for our beloved trails.
Loup Loup North Summit Trails: With collaboration from the Forest Service and the Sustainability Corps, a small section of trail was re-aligned 20 feet up hill to prevent potential issues with equestrian traffic right next to barbed wire fencing. The new tread includes log and rock retaining features and ties in with the bridge MVTC staff and volunteers put in over Frazier Creek in 2024.