Description
Start Date-End Date: 08/19/2017-08/20/2017
Land Manager Office: Continental Divide Trail Coalition
Land Manager Contact: Chad Angell
Funding Partner:
Programmatic Partner:
Summary: Restore a scenic high-country site on the iconic Continental Divide Trail.
Description: About the Stewardship Site:
Located on the Continental Divide at 12,545 feet, Jones Pass embodies the Colorado high country experience. With views of St. Mary's Glacier, alpine meadows and dense forest, Jones Pass is an ideal location to explore, and to set foot on the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) that spans the Rocky Mountains from Canada to Mexico.
About the Volunteer Experience:
Volunteers will arive in the morning and enjoy coffee and breakfast before setting out for the project site. Although this is moderately sized project or around 50 people, volunteers will be split into groups of 8 to 10 people before going to work. During the day volunteers will tend to the much-needed restoration tasks along Jones Pass on the CDT, including constructing rock features, reinforcing switchbacks, installing drainage features and maintaining trail tread. This project is perfect for lovers of the alpine environment who want to get their hands dirty and their blood flowing while doing restoration work.
About the Overall Impact:
Volunteer efforts will improve the trail user experience, as well as protect habitat by reducing the amount of erosive degradation. The surrounding ecosystem will benefit from the construction of a well-defined trail that will encourage users to stay on the designated path, reducing foot traffic around the fragile plants that grow at these high elevations.
Latitude/Longitude: 39.773722, -105.889299
Additional Information:
Camping Available: Yes
Physical Difficulty: Difficult
High Altitude Project: Yes
Desired Number of Volunteers: 40
Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 43
Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 0
Total Volunteer Days: 43
Total Unique Volunteers: 24
Total Volunteer Hours: 333
Staff Hours: 39
Stipend Hours: 0
Project Summary: The Scenic Continental Divide Trail that runs over Jones Pass is a very beautiful place with deep valleys and tall pines, this also makes it a very popular place. Working in collaboration with the Continental Divide Trail Coalition, VOC volunteers who arrived Friday afternoon were greeted to a great suprise - the Colorado Native Brew Crew Truck greeted us with a full load of CO Native Beer and locally produced bratwurst! Needless to say volunteers were extremely happy to be enjoying life high in the mountains basking in the shadow of Jones Pass.
Saturday morning greeted us with a crisp breeze that failed to subside for the entire day. Working at an elevation around 13,000' with a stiff cold wind made the going a bit difficult for the day. Volunteers were not daunted and made great progress installing stone check steps, stone ramps, and completing minor trail maintenance. The views were breathtaking from the top and we were given many thanks by hikers using the CDT throughout the day.
As the afternoon approached volunteers scaled the snow wall back down to the waiting vehicles to be shuttled back to camp. Eagerly anticipating our arrival was more CO Native beer andexceptional food prepared by our very own VOC Crew Chefs! A subtle alpenglow basked weary volunteers as they accepted t-shirts and gift bags from the Continental Divide Trail Coalition.
Sunday morning the temperature was a balmy 35 degrees and hot coffee and cocao was a welcome site for all! The day on the mountain however was much milder with a very slight breeze that made working conditions picture perfect for the day. Volunteers worked diligently to install more check steps, complete stone ramps, and tidy up a few sections of trail that needed some minor maintenance.
Successes and Challenges:
Lessons Learned:
Special Notes:
Stewardship Education:
Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers:
Description of Accidents/Incidents:
Description of Work Completed:
Details
| 18 and older |
