KLAMATH/TRINITY BACKCOUNTRY TRAIL CREW
JULY 2005 MONTHLY OVERVIEW
TIM WARNER, BACKCOUNTRY TRAILS SUPERVISOR

OVERVIEW:

It was a quiet night in Red Rock Valley. The summer sun had set long ago. As the moon rose up to endure the dark embrace, a sharp breeze as crisp as a chocolate bar’s snap pilfered through the swaying grass of the solemn meadow. The hummingbirds flitting around in the nectarous folds of earth looked up, sensing something. And then it happened….

A mushroom cloud of orange fire leapt up from the earth, spewing flame and greasy vapor into the starry abyss, the brilliant blaze singeing in the night vision of the crew who had just lit off a very large, but safe, grease bomb. There was a wondrous silence…and then it was immediately shattered as everyone started to scream and yell and light off their smuggled-in sparklers. It was the Fourth of July and we were not letting it go to waste. Yes, July most certainly started with a bang, of sorts, and the good times rarely stopped.

Trail work began to take on a new form; we learned more about rock structures as we masterfully built causeways and check steps, thanks to the knowledge of our soft-spoken sponsor, Matt Gearhart. As the days passed, we got to the point where hiking up a dozen switchbacks to throw in some rock project wasn’t even difficult anymore. It’s all part of our life out here.

There were truly too many places to go on our weekends, even though we stayed for five weeks at Red Rock. We went to Shadow Lake and nearly got rained on; we took more trips to the legendary Marble Rim; some of us visited the ABCD Lakes or the mysterious Wolverine Lake and almost got eaten alive by mosquitoes; a few of us made it down to Campbell and Cliff Lakes to visit with some neighborhood artists and appreciate their craftsmanship; a solid group went to Bear Lake to visit with the Happy Camp Five Crew who didn’t show up, and so they made a detour to Black Marble Mountain, in which one of our crew, who shall remain anonymous, tore his shorts nearly in two, and Tim Warner had to hike back past a few hikers with raised eyebrows. As a final farewell to the Marble Mountain Wilderness, five of us on the last weekend hiked 30 miles south on the PCT to Etna Summit, where en route we met a few….interesting….characters. All in all, time flew by too fast yet again, and by the end of July we were headed towards our last camp in the Trinity Alps Wilderness.

The trailhead that we would use to get to our next camp along the Caribou Lakes trail starts at this bloodsucking, vortex of terror, also known as Big Flat Public Campground. Yep, there were people and RV’s and little dogs too. In a way, as we worked a few days in this place, doing logging runs and brushwork, we became acclimated to being in semi-civilization again, thus realizing that this journey would end and we would have to return to our drudgery shortly. It more than underlined that we should make the most of the time we have left. So, when we did finally leave Big Flat and headed up trail towards our new home at Brown’s Meadow, we left not with the sense of reading the last chapter of a book we’ve already read, but with the feeling that we were starting yet another adventure that would cement our crew’s relationship even more and propel us to discover the undiscovered. - Mike Leighnor -

Of course, what would a hard day’s work be like without those awesome nights of class and community? Ron Escandon’s (CCC—Pomona), tae-kwan-do class kicked butt. Our cook, Nena, taught us how to make authentic tamales. Tim Brogan (CCC—Santa Maria), showed us mediation techniques so when we did want to throttle each other, we’d do it in the nicest, most passive way possible. Oh, we sure got all excited when Mike and Janet came in to teach us primitive skills or when Max Creasey arrived to take us on a learned day-hike to Shadow Lake. And what is backcountry knowledge without a little more festivity on the side? The Frozen Milk Jug Jam Band flew in to perform Beatle’s songs on guitar, harmonica, drums, beat-rake and twang-thingee. Peter Lewis and his son, Gabe, arrived just in time for our 100-day celebration. Crew Supervisor Tim Warner (Kings Canyon, 2000), was visited by his girlfriend Mindy who stayed a week to help work; and thus we rewarded her with an impromptu Potato Festival. And it sure was a party every time Bill Roberts, infamous packer-poet, came in to sing songs and recite poems with our favorite mule, Mr. Helmsley, nodding his long brown head in understanding as he grazed in the meadow nearby. Finally, trying to come up with a worthy T-shirt and crew newspaper was like pulling teeth but our mission was accomplished.

Everybody holding solid and strong.

Only the usual aches and pain.

Jen Quick (WEB—Selma, CA) got a visit from her step-father and friend (Dwight and Steve). Ken Sayre (Yosemite I, 2003) popped in at 11 p.m. at night and left the next morning at 8 a.m. on a spontaneous whim. The crew appreciated his M&Ms and his PT routine. Mindy Folkmier visited the Klamath and volunteered for 10 days to the delight of the C-1.

PRODUCTION:  

Trail Maintenance:  Red Rock Valley    — 5 miles  

Retainer bars:        — 22 each

Waterbars:         — 24 each

Causeway & Single-tier Wall:    — 22 linear yards  ( 66 lin. ft.)

Multi-tier Retaining Wall:      — 12 square feet