Description
Start Date-End Date: 08/13/2016-08/14/2016
Land Manager Office: NPS - Rocky Mountain National Park
Land Manager Contact: Kevin Soviak
Funding Partner:
Programmatic Partner:
Summary: NOTE: Registration for this opportunity is FULL. If you register, you will be placed on the wait list. As space becomes available, we will move individuals off the wait list.
Description: About the Stewardship Site
For more than 100 years, Colorado natives as well as visitors have enjoyed the diversity, grandeur, and beauty of Rocky Mountain National Park. The park is home to bountiful wildlife and 350 miles of hiking trails on 415 square miles. Its untamed beauty which includes dramatic mountain views, forest-rimmed meadows, aspen groves alive with color and sweeping vistas, make it a scene from a landscape painter's dream!
About the Volunteer Experience
Rocky Mountain National Park's Lawn Lake Trail has long been a local favorite for hikers and equestrian users. Unfortunately, the trail has been closed since sustaining significant damage during the September 2013 floods. Over the course of a weekend, volunteers will work to reopen the trail by rerouting approximately 500 feet of the trail and undertaking maintenance on another 1,000 feet. Tasks will include trail tread restoration, drainage improvements, corridor clearing, and rock step and wall repair. It's not all sweat and toil, though: in addition to being fed hearty meals and snacks each day, registered volunteers will get to camp inside the park on Friday and Saturday night while enjoying a free entrance pass to explore and hike all of its plentiful treasures!
Note: Volunteers are required to register for both days of the project. Volunteers not registered for the entirety of the project will be removed from the registration list.
About the Overall Impact:
The reopening of the beloved Lawn Lake Trail will allow for more superb recreation opportunities in Rocky Mountain National Park. The new improvements will provide an enjoyable experience and sustainable trail for years to come.
THIS OPPORTUNITY IS MADE POSSIBLE BY GENEROUS SUPPORT FROM REI!
Latitude/Longitude: 40.436622, -105.630692
Additional Information:
Camping Available: Yes
Physical Difficulty: Moderate
High Altitude Project: No
Desired Number of Volunteers: 50
Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 110
Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 2
Total Volunteer Days: 112
Total Unique Volunteers: 56
Total Volunteer Hours: 1118
Staff Hours: 40
Stipend Hours: 0
Project Summary: Rocky Mountain National Park graciously opened its arms and welcomed almost 60 volunteers over the weekend to attend to the restoration work along the flood damaged Lawn Lake Trail. Home base was the Moraine Park Campground, chock full of fancy amenities and exceptional views of majestic Longs Peak. There was much talk and anticipation of the Perseides Meteor shower that was set to peak over the weekend.
Early Saturday morning volunteers shuffled in for breakfast, registration, and lunch packing. Rocky Mountain National Park staff arrived around 7:40 with several vehicles in preparation for shuttling everyone to the Lawn Lake Trailhead. The tool truck (full of tools) travelled over to the trailhead at 7:15 in order to have everything staged and ready for arriving volunteers to grab tools and prepare for the day.
Once everyone arrived at the parking lot a few safety details were discussed as well as a summary of the work site, the project details, and the division of individuals into crews.
The hike up began with a steep ascent for about 3/4 of mile and once we reached the banks of the Roaring River the trail levelled out. The first work area was about 1 mile in and the farthest out was almost 2 miles. The hike provided expansive views of the alluvial fan, the valley below, and of Longs Peak.
We separated into 4 different crews with the majority of volunteers going up to the highest work site where the larger portion of work was to be completed. Each Crew had at least 2 Rocky Mountain National Park staff with them to act as Technical Advisors for the project site.
The work was challenging as everyone began digging up and removing stumps by hand and occasionally with the aid of the grip hoist. Large rocks were uncovered in the new trail corridor and needed to be removed either by digging them out, crushing them with sledge hammers, or detonating them with a small machine aptly named the "Micro Blaster". Everyone worked at an enthusiastic pace and made time to go and pose for a picture with the Llama that was used by the Park Service to bring in equipment. The work proved to be quite tedious and rightfully so seemed to wear the volunteers out towards the early afternoon. Around 3:30 we began to cache tools away and begin our descent of the project site. A quick wrap up of the day and we were all headed back to camp for happy hour.
The weather was perfect, the food was great, the beers quickly dissappeared, and spirits were high as everyone finished off their dinner and vied for the chance to win a raffle item. At 7pm on Saturday night we attended a historical talk that was generously given by Brianna Anthony at the Moraine Park Ampitheater. A lively discussion ensued only to be interrupted by a couple of curious baby fawns. The VOC tent city was silent by 10pm that night.
Sunday morning occurred in much the same capacity as Saturday only that we had a few departures and a few new arrivals including Paige Claussen (VOC board member) and Tommy Caldwell (world famous rock climber). We piled into the RMNP staff rigs and headed out around 8AM.
Everyone returned to their respective project sites with the hopes of finishing the reroute or making a significant impact in the job that they were tasked with. The difficult nature of the work definitely took its toll on everyone as the day drew to an end, many sore hands, shoulders, and backs were mentioned along with talks of drinks, massages, and comfortable beds became more common.
The 60 person parade of weary trail workers descened the Lawn Lake Trail around 2pm on Sunday passing many hikers on their way up to use the newly constructed reroutes. There were many "thank you's" and comments of appreciation as well as questions of who we were and what we were doing. When the parade passed and the dust settled the sun glistened off of the snow on some of the high peaks, and the Lawn Lake Trail returned to its state of tranquil peace and beauty, a slightly restored version of itself.
Successes and Challenges: Success: Working alongside the RMNP staff. The VOC volunteers were able to learn some great new techniques and use some interesting new trail tools. Camping in Rocky Mountain National Park. Completing more work than RMNP staff anticipated despite the strenuous physical nature of the work. Happy, satisfied, volunteers.
Challenges: Crew Leaders and staff having to take a step back and allow RMNP staff to take over the project. Working at RMNP is a great volunteer experience but not a great experience from a volunteer leader persepective. Shuttling of volunteers consumed about 1.5 hours of each day. The early arrival of the RMNP staff on both mornings created an urgency among volunteers, many who were still eating breakfast.
Lessons Learned: In the future, projects that require a shuttle should be coordinated beforehand to make it easier to keep track of who and how many volunteers are present, and to get the volunteers ready to leave at a specific time.
Special Notes: RMNP is a great place to see and hear wildlife. Coyotes, owls, elk, deer, & a bobcat were seen or heard. Everyone at RMNP was very accomodating from the Trails Director Kevin Soviak to the older gentlemen selling bundles of wood at the campground.
Stewardship Education: On Saturday night about 30 volunteers attended a historical talk given by Brianna Anthony from the RMNP Environmental Center. The talk took place at the Moraine Park Campground Amphitheater which also treated guests to an astounding view of the glacial valley and Longs Peak at sundown. Brianna discussed the flood of 1982 and the damage associated with it, then she compared the 2013 flood and its devastation. This talk gave everyone a clear perspective on the work that we were doing and why we were doing it. Brianna engaged the audience with some fun and games then initiated a debate over water rights and flood plain residency which was very popular and led to a passionate discussion.
Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: A hand washing station was not present. According to the Crew Chef the water disposal was too far away to have a station at the campground. There was running water at the restrooms so volunteers were able to wash hands a short walk from camp.
A few times people asked about t-shirts. On a project with this high of a profile an effort should made to acquire some type of memorabilia.
Description of Accidents/Incidents: There were no accidents or incidents to report.
Description of Work Completed:
Details
| 16 and older |
