KINGS BACKCOUNTRY TRAIL CREW
AUGUST 2007 MONTHLY OVERVIEW
Kiva Vigil, BACKCOUNTRY TRAILS SUPERVISOR

Overview:

Now don’t put these pages into the bills you must sort,
This here’s the Kings Canyon August Monthly report.
The crewmembers say Gosh! Augusts’ over already?
They point to the work, all big, strong and steady.
Look what we’ve accomplished in this dry thin air,
Turning this pass into a magical stair.
With so little oxygen, we’re understandably heady,
Roaring like lions across the Serengeti.
But it has not been no play and all work,
It’s not like we’re serving under Fleet Captain Kirk.
His name is Pete Lewis and he brought lots of friends,
Just in time for our Olympics to begin.
We had the Mexicans, the Nerds, the Pirates and Transylvanians,
With no wrestling matches, we didn’t worry about weigh-ins.
We had games of skill and targets to hit,
The Pirates scored big and threw a huge fit.
But the following night, playing capture the flag,
With a win, the Mexicans had it in the bag.
Although there were grumblings, and discussions overheard,
Saying Josh had made it happen, and he was a nerd.
Never-the-less, Thursday was the finale,
Eyes on first place, all the teams they did rally.
The contest was a race, an interesting relay.
The course was designed that very same day.
When the dust settled and there was no more mania,
The winners were undead Team Transylvania.
Fun times for us all, nobody did pout,
Now we can talk about our re-route.
The old trail was steep, too steep for the mules.
The hikers going up it felt like some old fools.
So we lined it all out and added some switchbacks,
Rolled down some big rocks and crushed all the cracks.
We raked down the dirt and sometimes it’d slide,
But we kept on digging. This trail needs to be wide.
In the middle of the month, around the 15th or so,
Some of our crew, over Glen Pass did go.
This was called spike, it was quite an excursion.
They set up a camp but a much smaller version.
And who could have lead them thru all of this madness,
A fearless trail worker whom we all call Agnes.
After two weeks, our crew re-united
And the very clouds became quite excited.
The rain and the hail, to the ground it came pouring,
It rattled our tents and came up through the flooring.
It was cold, it was gloomy, the wind made us shiver.
Our camp, it was caught in the path of a river.
With mold on our skin, our clothes starting to rot,
If we could purchase some sun, we’d gladly have bought.
The clouds kept on forming and we were starting to wonder,
Would we ever bid farewell to the lightening and thunder?
But finally the rumbling of the skies, they did cease,
And the smiles around camp did greatly increase.
Now if you’re getting tired of this poem you are reading,
May we suggest some more comfortable seating.
We just have a few more relatable events,
For you to read in this report we have sent.
We wrapped up the design of the crews new t-shirt,
With lively discussions but no one got hurt.
We’re pleased with the results of all of our toils,
Especially the drawings by Rebecca Ann Broyles.
Julia taught us, with lots of rubber bands,
How we could make stars with only our hands.
Our newspaper’s done, trust us it’s great,
And apologies to Pete, cause it’s a bit late.
With action and pictures and comedy galore,
To read our newspaper will not be a chore.
On the last night of August, we were visited by a bear,
Who decided to give our kitchen tent a small tear.
Kiva and Paul and Henry gave chase,
But the bear easily won that evening footrace.
It came back a second time, and we woke to the voice,
Of  a very unhappy KP, his name is Tim Joyce.
We chased it again in our long underwear,
And we guess that showed the bear a good scare.
So to all of our loved ones, please don’t be concerned.
It’s been several nights now and the bear’s not returned.
We guess that’s about it, what’s said has been said,
We only have a few weeks of our season ahead.
With the cold setting in, we’ll soon be out of time,
So please don’t expect our next report to all rhyme.