2016-Ecology Park Trail Construction

Start Date-End Date: 10/22/2016-10/23/2016 Land Manager Office: BLM - Royal Gorge Field Office Land Manager Contact: Kalem Lenard Funding Partner: Programmatic Partner: Summary: Help build a new trail in Colorado's beautiful Royal Gorge region. Description: About the Stewardship Site Ecology Park is a popular trail area located one mile south of Canon City off of Temple Canyon Road. It is jointly managed between the Bureau of Land Management and Fremont County, and offers year-round hiking, horse, and mountain bike trail opportunities as well as access to Grape Creek. Currently, miles and miles of new trails are in the works for the Royal Gorge Park area, as well as official trails that will connect from the Riverwalk to Ecology Park. About the Volunteer Experience Volunteers will assist with the new construction of approximately two miles of natural, sustainable surface trails for non-motorized use. This will entail doing finishing work on the trail, which was initially prepared by machine, along with light- to- heavy hand constructed sections as needed. The work will provide opportunities for volunteers of all skill levels and physical difficulty ranges. Camping and meals will be provided during scheduled work time. About the Overall Impact Whether your game is hiking, road biking, trail running, rock climbing or just gazing at the nearby Arkansas River, Fremont County is second to none in Southern Colorado. The goal of this project is to provide high-quality recreation opportunities for the public to enjoy, as well connect different trails throughout the area. Latitude/Longitude: 38.44509887695312, -105.2177963256836 Additional Information: Camping Available: Yes Physical Difficulty: Moderate High Altitude Project: No Desired Number of Volunteers: 50 Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 99 Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 7 Total Volunteer Days: 106 Total Unique Volunteers: 78 Total Volunteer Hours: 898 Staff Hours: 43 Stipend Hours: 0 Project Summary: A very successful project! We were able to construct a whole lot of trail which despite being machine-made before our arrival still required enough fine-tuning to provide a meaningful experience for volunteers. This is a really great bike trail, and was constructed with that focus in mind with bank turns and other bike-specific designs. Food was great, everyone had plenty to eat and dessert was really fantastic. Turnout was a little bit low, but we were still able to get a lot done. Luckily in the mornings there was enough shade and wind to provide nice working conditions. In the afternoon it did heat up, which caused us to call the project a half hour early on Saturday. Otherwise volunteers were happy and satisfied with their work. Successes and Challenges: Successes - Everything, this project ran very smoothly and everyone had a great time. Challenges - For some reason both Friday and Saturday nights the wind really picked up despite no other weather going on and strong winds continued into the morning. This was tough for the crew chef in preparing breakfast each morning. Apparently down in town there was little to no wind, so the prevailing theory of the weekend was that this area is affected by canyon winds causing regular morning wind. Not great to camp in as tents were loud in this situation and everything was covered in a layer of dirt Lessons Learned: This particular spot is windy in the mornings! Special Notes: None Stewardship Education: None Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: None Description of Accidents/Incidents: None Description of Work Completed: