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STANISLAUS
BACKCOUNTRY TRAIL CREW
JULY 2005 MONTHLY OVERVIEW
TESSA D’USSEAU, BACKCOUNTRY TRAILS SUPERVISOR
OVERVIEW:
July has flown by with the Stanislaus crew never missing a beat. We began the month with a camp move from Strawberry to the Pine Valley Horse Camp. We spent 2 weeks here doing maintenance on the Bell Meadows, Aspen Meadows, and Crabtree trails, finally working our way to the Emigrant Wilderness and our final destination for the season at Grouse Lake. It has been a long wait for our move to the backcountry and the crew is excited to be embarking on the final leg of our journey. After 2 more weeks of maintenance on the Mud Lake, Box Springs, and Chain Lakes Trails, we have put our maintenance tools aside and picked up rock working tools. The crew spent the last week of July learning techniques and skills of rock work taught by our ever-patient USFS Foreman, John Goodwin. John has been an awesome teacher to the crew and the crew is catching on quickly with their confidence building daily.
Besides moving into the backcountry and starting new projects, the crew has been out backpacking every weekend. They’ve been to Emigrant, Buck Wood, Rosasco, Hyatt, and Blackbird Lakes as well as some strenuous cross-country hikes into Yosemite National Park. The weather is great, the fishing is good, the Lakes are refreshing, and the work is hard. LIFE IS GOOD!
CURRICULUM:
We’ve continued to pack our week nights with Americorps classes. Mehmood Nawaz (CCC--Tahoe), taught the crew the basics of the Encho Language and spoke about his Pakistani culture and heritage. Shawn Tillman (CCC--Fortuna), took the crew out to Grouse Lake and taught the fine art of fishing the Emigrant. Sean Bacom (WEB-- New Jersey) and John Ziegler (WEB--Colorado), joined forces to teach everything you’d ever want to know about baseball. Mark Spencer (1995 Kings Canyon Backcountry Supervisor), hiked in and taught a two day class on Environmental Ethics and Natural Resources. Mark supplied the crew with a lot of information on the environment and what’s ahead for us. It was a challenging class that stimulated a lot of discussion. Our T-Shirt committee came up with the final T-shirt design for the crew and sent it off to Sas sports. We’re anxious to see the final result (and have a clean shirt to wear!)
PERSONNEL CHANGES:
None.
INJURIES:
One member of our crew sprained her ankle while backpacking on July 4th weekend. Dale, one of the packers from the Aspen Meadow pack station, rode in with an extra horse to help her back to camp. We found plenty for her to do around camp while she recovered.
Two of our USFS sponsors missed 1 ½ weeks of work due to injury and illness. Both have recovered and are back to work.
ODDS AND ENDS:
Philip Godoy’s (CCC-Watsonville) mom and dad stopped by for a quick visit. Jeremiah Scharton’s (CCC-Fresno) dad, two sisters, and his sister’s boyfriend spent the weekend visiting. Dominique Knecht (WEB-Ohio) went home for a week to attend her grandmother’s funeral. We are glad to have her back with the crew.
Congrats to Brian Lussier on your return to the backcountry as Supervisor for the Kings Canyon Crew!
PRODUCTION:
Trail Maintenance:
Seven Pines Trail -- 2.0 miles
Wheats Meadow Trail -- 2.0 miles
County Line Trail -- 2.0 miles
Pine Valley to Aspen Meadow -- 3.0 miles
Pine Valley to Bell Meadow -- 1.5 miles
Crabtree Trail to Camp Lake -- 2.6 miles
Pine Valley to Grouse Lake -- 5.1 miles
Bell Meadow to Box Springs -- 6.3 miles
Box Springs Junction to Chaiin Lakes -- 1.5 miles
TOTAL: --26.0 miles
WORDS:
"Thousand of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wilderness is a necessity; that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life."
-- John Muir
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