balzaccom
Trail Wise!
Waiting for spring...
Posts: 4,515 
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Post by balzaccom on Jul 2, 2023 14:50:49 GMT -8
I'm just back from a week working on a volunteer trail crew in the Mokelumne Wilderness. The trip into Moraine Lake was organized by the American Hiking Society, and led by staff from the US Forest Service. And it was full of fun, adventure, and damn hard work. We had a mighty hailstorm (and a corresponding tent failure) health issues, lost hikers, buck saws, axes, Pulaskis and McLeods. We did rock work, lopping, sawyering, hoeing, tamping and scraping. We got bug bites, sun burns, tummy cramps, and sore, sore muscles. Looking foward to the next one. Here's the whole story: www.backpackthesierra.com/post/high-ho-high-ho |
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rebeccad
Trail Wise!
Writing like a maniac
Posts: 12,684 
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Post by rebeccad on Jul 3, 2023 6:42:47 GMT -8
balzaccom, you have inspired me. I was all signed up and ready to head out on a work crew in May, then had to cancel when I broke my foot.
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balzaccom
Trail Wise!
Waiting for spring...
Posts: 4,515
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Post by balzaccom on Jul 3, 2023 7:05:59 GMT -8
balzaccom, you have inspired me. I was all signed up and ready to head out on a work crew in May, then had to cancel when I broke my foot. Hope you get better, and can get back out there! Let me know if you need help getting connected to an opportunity... |
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walkswithblackflies
Trail Wise!
Resident terrorist-supporting eco-freak bootlicker
Posts: 6,933
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Post by walkswithblackflies on Jul 3, 2023 9:30:31 GMT -8
Nice. I was on a trail crew for a day two weekends ago. First time in awhile.
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balzaccom
Trail Wise!
Waiting for spring...
Posts: 4,515
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Post by balzaccom on Jul 3, 2023 10:18:41 GMT -8
Excellent! Keep that ball rolling!
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rebeccad
Trail Wise!
Writing like a maniac
Posts: 12,684
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Post by rebeccad on Jul 4, 2023 11:26:21 GMT -8
balzaccom, you have inspired me. I was all signed up and ready to head out on a work crew in May, then had to cancel when I broke my foot. Hope you get better, and can get back out there! Let me know if you need help getting connected to an opportunity... Thanks. I joined the Washington Trails Assoc., which seems to partner with about everyone and has work crews for everything from county parks on up, soI should be able to jump back in when I’m healed and not otherwise on the trail. |
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balzaccom
Trail Wise!
Waiting for spring...
Posts: 4,515
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Post by balzaccom on Jul 15, 2023 13:55:33 GMT -8
Just did another four days in the mountains as a wilderness volunteer--this time in Desolation Wilderness. What fun! Met lots of good people, answered a few questions, did a little hiking, and got to know the hikers and neighbors in a really lovely part of the Sierra. The full blog post about it, with a few photos, is here: www.backpackthesierra.com/post/meet-and-greet-at-the-trailhead |
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balzaccom
Trail Wise!
Waiting for spring...
Posts: 4,515
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Post by balzaccom on Dec 17, 2023 6:12:06 GMT -8
Yesterday was the last day to do trail work this year. I did a total of seventeen days. This last section was "armoring" a trail in a new park in Napa, not yet open to the public. We're focusing on the sections that are going to be wet after a rain, and deeply setting large rocks---because the trail will be used for MTBs as well as hikers and horsemen. And those MTBs really chew up a muddy trail. Note the size of some of the rocks in these photos, and how we wedge them all in together tightly. Demanding work, but we were a great crew, and got the job done! There were two different sections like this--plus another section where we actually built it a small ramp/jump for MTBs who wanted to "get a little air." It's all part of a large vision for these parks and their use.     |
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reuben
Trail Wise!
Gonna need more Camels at the next refugio...
Posts: 11,160
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Post by reuben on Dec 17, 2023 7:39:04 GMT -8
Huh. On at least some of my local trails MTBs are prohibited in muddy conditions. Some trails prohibit hiking as well. That doesn't stop everyone, of course, but it at least raises awareness, and helps to some extent.
Good job!
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balzaccom
Trail Wise!
Waiting for spring...
Posts: 4,515
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Post by balzaccom on Dec 17, 2023 8:41:49 GMT -8
Huh. On at least some of my local trails MTBs are prohibited in muddy conditions. Some trails prohibit hiking as well. That doesn't stop everyone, of course, but it at least raises awareness, and helps to some extent. Good job! I think the plan is that this trail will serve those MTBs in the rainy season, and perhaps spare some of the other trails in the area. |
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Westy
Trail Wise!
Diagnosed w/Post-Trail Transition Syndrome
Posts: 1,960
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Post by Westy on Dec 18, 2023 4:18:15 GMT -8
Thank You! Inspirational!
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