Buckhorn Springs Campsite
Full team camping at the summit...waiting for the sunrise.
Close to the edge...nice Scarpas.
Lunch time on the freshly cut tread.
Bear Grass meadow.
Drew and I finishing up our check steps. We rolled that 2x3x2 boulder about 30 yards down the hill. Maybe 150 lbs?
Hey!
So, Tom's Mom says to him before he leaves, "You're Thoreauing your degree away!" Americorps is far from throwing away a degree but to some outsiders that aren't too sure of the type of work and life experience we are getting out here it may be an initial notion of what I am doing with this job. I also thought I would share that quote because it made me laugh for a good three minutes.
Anyways, this is our first back country hitch of the season. When I say back country I mean limited resources and away from civilization. We were packed in by mules that are owned half by the government and half by the great man known as Cowboy Bill. Cowboy Bill has been around these parts for most of his life and has a heart of gold. He is known for his cowboy poetry and his love for his mules. The beauty of a mule is that, first off it's a mix between a horse and an ass, it has the smarts of an ass and incredible balance compared to a horse.
Cowboy Bill. A true gentleman and a true cowboy.
We set up camp and spent a good 7 days based out of this location and busted our ass each day. We built check steps, runaway drains, aprons for rock walls, and the best part was I finally got some cross-cut saw experience. I was dying to get my hands on that saw and when the day came it was fantastic. No pictures to show it but Drew, Tom, and I were able to go at a couple of trees which was great. I took the part of a tree that we divided and put it in one of our check steps.
Two nights out of our trip we climbed up to the top of these giant rocks to watch the sunset. The 1st time it was just LT and myself and once we got up it was a spectacular 360 degree view of the mountains surrounding us. The great thing was that it seemed we were the only people in the entire valley. Our 2nd to last night all seven of us climbed to the summit and brought our sleeping gear with us. We found a spot to set up our pads and all of us watched the sunset and sunrise together. The mountain lions were close but they didn't get all the way up to the summit :)
The area that we were working in was hit with wildfires just last year so we were doing a lot of rehabilitation work on the PCT tread that ran through this four mile stretch we were working on. We had three forest members working along side us for a couple of days then two left and Gaelan stayed to guide us the rest of the hitch.
Our team is getting closer and improving our communication each and everyday. Each day three of us has to cook breakfast, set out lunch, and cook dinner with the others cleaning up. So, within our work we are also putting forth a lot of effort off the trail to meet each person's dietary needs and to do everything neatly and healthy. The work done in the back country kitchen has been so rewarding because each person is improving their cooking skills and after a long day on the trail it is a great test to go into the kitchen to continue the hard work.
I hope everyone is having a wonderful 4th of July and not reading this post, you should be outside and that's where I'm going right now. Who's cheering for Federer and who's cheering for Roddick? I can't choose. I love Federer but Roddick needs a Wimbledon for his sanity...I'm rambling.
God bless,
Luker duker
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