2012-Mt. of the Holy Cross Trail Restoration

Start Date-End Date: 08/09/2012-08/12/2012 Land Manager Office: Colorado Fourteeners Initiative Land Manager Contact: Coby Gierke Funding Partner: Programmatic Partner: Summary: Join this backcountry experience restoring the trail on Mt. of the Holy Cross, a Colorado 14er. Description: STEWARDSHIP SITE The incredible natural beauty of Mt. of the Holy Cross, one of Colorado's famed "14ers,"provides for a fantastic backcountry experience. The mountain, only 14 miles from the Vail ski area, is famous for the east facing cross couloir, which fills with snow and forms a well defined cross. Our project site, situated on the Holy Cross ridgeline, offers stunning views of the "Bowl of Tears" cirque as well as the Gore and Sawatch Ranges. The hike to the project campsite over Halfmoon Pass presents a spectacular view of Holy Cross, dramatic alpine basins, and a waterfall. VOLUNTEER PROJECT - WHAT & WHY This project offers a unique, small group, backcountry experience for volunteers wanting to give back to Colorado's highly used Fourteeners in a meaningful way. In recent years, Mt. of the Holy Cross has experienced significant issues resulting from poor route delineation. Not only has the alpine tundra vegetation been damaged, numerous hikers have required Search-and-Rescue after losing the trail. We'll be working to establish a well-delineated, sustainable trail. This is a terrific opportunity to learn trail construction techniques and technical rock work to create walls, steps, and staircases. The majority of the project work will occur at high elevation and will require a significant backpacking hike (approximately 2.5 miles - 2.5 hrs) over Halfmoon Pass with your tent and personal belongings to the backcountry basecamp and worksite. PARTNERS Colorado Fourteeners Initiative (CFI) National Forest Foundation OTHER FUN STUFF Meals: Thursday evening dinner through Sunday lunch Camping: Thursday night through Sunday afternoon. Thursday will be an arrival day to help set up camp. Latitude/Longitude: 39.46106719970703, -106.45030975341797 Additional Information: Camping Available: Yes Physical Difficulty: Difficult High Altitude Project: Yes Desired Number of Volunteers: 13 Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 9 Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 1 Total Volunteer Days: 10 Total Unique Volunteers: 10 Total Volunteer Hours: 397 Staff Hours: 140 Stipend Hours: 0 Project Summary: Successes and Challenges: Lessons Learned: Special Notes: Stewardship Education: Learned about the personal safetyhazards and ecological impacts of: going off trail, creating social trails, and campgrounds in high density and too close to the river. Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: Physically challenging project for volunteers given the long hikes on all days. We also had fewer than the 15desired wilderness staff plusvolunteers with cancellations on the early part of the project week and on project day. This didn't give us any opportunities to recruit additional volunteers. This project had a long waitlist at one point but allwaitlisted-volunteers contactedhad madeother plans by the time they were invited to the project. However,volunteers did agreat joband completed the scopeof work set out by CFI. We "exceeded the expectations" of the CFI partner for the amount of work we did. Description of Accidents/Incidents: None Description of Work Completed: On August 9-12, volunteers backpacked 3 miles over Half Moon Pass to set-up "home" at a Colorado Fourteener Initiative (CFI) Base Camp. Each morning the motivated and dedicated volunteers hiked 2 miles up Mount of the Holy Cross to the project work site. The numerous social trails that have developed on the mountain over the last several years is confusing to hikers on the decent and in some cases, has led to search and rescue efforts. At an elevation of approximately 12,500 ft, volunteers better defined the proper trail and built eight rock steps, one 8ft-long retaining wall, one large 5ft cairn, two check dams, and closed 1,150 sq. ft of social trail. Volunteers also assisted with the closure of unauthorized campsites. They closed 288 ft of social trail, 600 sq ft of unauthorized camp sites, dispersed 3 fire rings, transplanted 63 young pine trees, and installed 4 authorized campsite posts and signs. Crew Chef Adrian Tucker worked hard behind the scenes to shop and pre-cook many of the meals we packed in. Crew Chef Helpers Marta Gulezian, Brandon Diaz, Cecily Mui, and project volunteers worked together to put the finishing touches to serve up delicious meals onsite. Thanks to Kaladi Bros. Coffee, Einstein Bros. Bagels, Celestial Seasonings, Nest Fresh Eggs, Colorado Native beers, and Raquelita Tortillas for sponsoring the food and beverages. Funding support for the project came from the National Forest Foundation. Volunteers also enjoyed donated raffle items from CFI as a small token of appreciation for the volunteers' hard work. See completed project evaluation form in the project folder.