2013-Continental Divide Trail Construction, Clear Creek Reservoir...Sep.6th-8th

Start Date-End Date: 09/06/2013-09/08/2013 Land Manager Office: USFS - Leadville Ranger District Land Manager Contact: Adam Brown Funding Partner: Programmatic Partner: Summary: Join us on this Colorado backcountry adventure! Help build a new trail in a wilderness area, between Leadville and Buena Vista, near the historic townsite of Winfield. Description: STEWARDSHIP SITE The Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, or the Continental Divide Trail for short, runs 3,100 miles between Canada and Mexico. It follows the Continental Divide along the Rocky Mountains and crosses five states in the U.S.: Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. This stewardship project takes place on the Colorado section of the trail located betweenLeadville and Buena Vista, near the historic townsite of Winfield. VOLUNTEER PROJECT - WHAT & WHY Volunteers will help construct a new trail in a wilderness area, which will include clearing the trail corridor, working with rocks,clearing roots and trees, and building bridges on certain sections of trail, ultimately connecting to the famous Lake Ann trail. This new trail will help move this section of the Continental Divide Trail away from the road,making ita safer and more scenic route. We will be working at this site over nine different dates over the summer. Join us on this challenging backcountry adventure to help maintain one of Colorado's treasures! The worksite will be in a wilderness area, a short hike away from base camp (not in a wilderness area), located at an elevation of over 10,000 feet with spectacular views.Due to the remote project location,it is recommended that volunteers arrive at base camp on the evening before the project and sign up for at least 2 days. SPONSORS USFS -- Leadville Ranger District National Forest Foundation Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Foundation GSI Outdoors, Inc Latitude/Longitude: 38.9620, -106.4627 Additional Information: Camping Available: Yes Physical Difficulty: Difficult High Altitude Project: Yes Desired Number of Volunteers: 25 Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 41 Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 0 Total Volunteer Days: 41 Total Unique Volunteers: 18 Total Volunteer Hours: 358 Staff Hours: 64 Stipend Hours: 0 Project Summary: Successes and Challenges: Lessons Learned: Special Notes: Stewardship Education: Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: Attendance was moderate, but volunteers worked well and there were enough to complete a good amount of work. A group of 4 from NCCC came out to do an Individual Service Project. Two of them biked all the way from Silverthorne, a distance of 65 miles ascending 11,000 ft Fremont Pass. Al l four had never done trail work or had any past wilderness expereince, but they all expressed how much they enjoyed being on the project. Description of Accidents/Incidents: Description of Work Completed: Volunteers put the finishing touches on some of the the turnpike that was constructed throughout the summer by giving it all a cap of fine soil. Restoration efforts were also undertaken to rehabilitate the old road bed that the trail was built along. Finally, volunteers performed maintenance on stretches of trail built in 2013 and 2012. Volunteers also installed sings marking the way on the new trail. Staff was assisted greatly by Bill Larue, a former CDTA crew leader. Bill took a crew which allowed us to split up and cover more ground. The need for separation of crews has been a contiuing challenge on these projects due to group size restrictions in the Wilderness area, and the lack of crew leaders on some projects.