KINGS BACKCOUNTRY TRAIL CREW
MAY 2007 MONTHLY OVERVIEW
KIVA VIGIL, BACKCOUNTRY TRAILS SUPERVISOR

Well, hello out there! How have you all been? We have been doing great, thanks for asking. You want more details? O.K., since you’ve asked…
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The beginning of May found us at our Cottonwood Camp along the Sisquoc River in the San Rafael Wilderness on the Los Padres National Forest, continuing to adapt to our wilderness lifestyles. The weather was very pleasant, our snowy move day from the previous month was just a fading memory. Many of the crew were taking advantage of the excellent bathing holes just below our camp and we still had a few holdouts that were lugging the solar showers around. Everybody did an awesome job keeping food smell down so we never once saw a bear although there was lots of bear sign all over. (Yes, yes. We have seen a bear but that’s later on in the month. Don’t rush us.)

Our wildlife encounters were many and varied. We had Tom the Toad on our path to the latrine. We encountered seven rattlesnakes that all thankfully let us know their locations by rattling mightily. There was an unidentified snake that liked to share our swimming hole. Conversely, there was also a mouse that sat on the same rock and watched us bathe two days later. But then we never saw the mouse again. We saw lots of deer, squirrels, lizards and ticks. Henry Bonifas drew our attention to the birds overhead, identifying Black Phoebe’s, Warblers, a Logger Headed Shrike and possibly one Bald Eagle. Sadly, no California Condors were spotted despite repeated visits to the Condor Sanctuary near our camp. There was also an elusive creature that was emitting a sound that can only be described as a dying monkey. It woke us up several nights and even went to work with us one day, as we were brushing the trail near the South Fork Ranger Station. Despite fierce debate and theorizing, the origin of the dying monkey sound has not been satisfactorily explained. Yet another backcountry X-file.

So if you have been paying attention, you’ll note that we mentioned brushing near South Fork. We’ll now use that reference as a smooth segway on to another topic. Nice!

One of our goals was to get the trail opened up to the cabin at South Fork. The trail was very overgrown with brush, needing serious repair in several places, and had 25 fairly treacherous river crossing, all in a six mile span. We cleared all the brush, and did a quick repair job where the trail disappeared into the river, building a causeway with the river rock and re-benching the shale cliffside. All too soon our time was coming to a close so we turned our attention to the Jodell Trail, making sure the passage was save for the packers and mules to get us out of there by May 17th. We rebuilt some sections of outside retaining wall to hold up the trail, widened the bench and dug tread corridor where we could. Thankfully, all the mules were able to pack out our camp without mishap. We rehabbed our camp, dug a new latrine and then had to say goodbye to our Cottonwood Camp, as we set our sights on Kings Canyon.

Sadly, our cook Tom Harrington would not be coming with us to Kings. And despite several dog-napping attempts, neither would his pet Ginger, our camp alarm system and all around entertainer. Tom did a stupendous job cooking and was a key component to our success on the Los Padres National Forest. Thanks, Tom, we’ll see you at Debriefing.

Arriving at the top of the Jodell Trail, we were greeted by USFS Trail Manager Joe Doran and his assistant Dave Weaver, all recovered from their stay with us the week before. After we tore into the lunches Joe provided, and with many thanks, we left for the San Luis Obispo CCC Center for a nights sleep before finishing the drive to Kings.

We arrived at Cedar Grove in Kings Canyon National Park on Friday, May 18th and met our new sponsors Adam Zamastil (BC member Kings Canyon Crew 2003), Agnes Vianzon (Kings 2002), Dan DeVoe (Kings 2006), and Edlyn Clevenger (Kings 2006). We also met our new cook Kim. We settled in for the weekend and class on Sunday with Mike Eliot and Earth Wisdom. Also, early the following week, we had our First-Aid/CPR classes as well as a visit from George Hawley and his class which we had on Muir Rock. It was on the 10 minute drive back from Muir Rock that it happened, an event anxiously awaited by many and feared by few. Pierced by the headlight beams of a 15-passenger Ford CCC van was THE BEAR!!!

It was coming up from the Kings River and crossing the road. Being nighttime, it was difficult to make out its exact dimensions. As one of the crew said “It was bigger than a bread box, but smaller than a horse.” Kiva executed a perfectly legal U-turn and brought the van back around for a second look. The sounds of frantic rummaging and tearing upholstery filled the van as crewmembers scurried for their cameras. The howls of dismay showed which of our team had neglected bring their cameras. That was okay though because mostly what we saw was the bear’s rear end as it ran from the headlights. It was at this time that Kiva noted that since we were very near our camp, we just helped herd the bear toward camp and Hey, isn’t that Carrick’s tent? Performing another law abiding U-turn, Kiva and the crew raced back to camp, got their headlamps and proceeded to search for the bear, making sure it did not decide that our camp was to become its camp. However, we did not encounter the bear again.

And that’s really about it. Oh, don’t roll your eyes or look at your watch. You asked and we told. We’re getting ready to move up the trail ten miles to Junction Meadow on June 5th. There are lots of trails up there and we’re a lot of trail workers, so it all kind of makes sense. Toodles until next time!

Personnel Changes:

Ronald Graves decided to pursue other interests. Donald Haywood headed back to San Diego. We wish them all the best.

We have many people to thank for their contributions to our education and well being:

Thanks to Tom Harrington for all the great food We miss you already.
Thanks to Joe Doran and Dave Weaver for all the support while we were in the Los Padres.
Thanks to San Luis Obispo CCC for all the logistical support with food, mail, supplies, and a fine place to shower for the evening.
Thanks to Mike Eliot and Earth Wisdom for all the survival skills and fun and games.
Thanks to George Hawley for some life lessons and bodywork.
Thanks to Kris Thornberry for a very pertinent and practical class on First-Aid/CPR.

Quotes of the Month:

“I always think of pirates as being the rock stars of the 18th century.”
– Johnny Depp