2017-Lake Agnes Trail Restoration (@ State Forest State Park)

Start Date-End Date: 08/19/2017-08/20/2017 Land Manager Office: CPW - State Forest State Park Land Manager Contact: Louis Moeller Funding Partner: Programmatic Partner: Summary: Restore a trail in the moose-watching capital of Colorado. Description: About the Stewardship Site: The Lake Agnes Trail is a 2.3-mile heavily trafficked trail in the State Forest State Park near Walden, Colorado. The trail begins at the site of the abandoned Agnes Cabin in the shadows of Nokhu Crags, a peak reaching nearly 13,000 feet. The trail leads hikers through open meadows filled with wildflowers and wildlife, into dense spruce forests, along rocky outcroppings, and eventually to the shore of Lake Agnes. About the Volunteer Experience: The project will entail approximately 1/2 mile of trail restoration. Volunteers will arrive in the morning and enjoy coffee and breakfast, before setting out for the project site. Throughout the project, volunteers will use hand tools and lumber to replace and construct 4-6 boardwalk sections in a wetland area, as well as maintain existing trail with rock walls and steps, among other tasks. This project is at high altitude, and moderate physical fitness is recommended. Lake Agnes is known as the moose-watching capital of Colorado, so keep your eyes peeled for their antlers and silhouettes along the trail! About the Overall Impact: Lake Agnes Trail is becoming increasingly popular. During the busy summer and winter months, the parking lot is often overflowing with cars and people who utilize the trail for a range of outdoor adventures - hiking, snowshoeing, fishing and more. This project will help protect the Lake Agnes Trail against further damage from wear and tear. NOTE: MINORS ON VOC PROJECTS All youth under 18 must be accompanied by an adult 21 years or older on overnight projects. Latitude/Longitude: 40.353351, -106.595239 Additional Information: Camping Available: Yes Physical Difficulty: Moderate, Difficult High Altitude Project: Yes Desired Number of Volunteers: 40 Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 88 Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 0 Total Volunteer Days: 88 Total Unique Volunteers: 48 Total Volunteer Hours: 777 Staff Hours: 44 Stipend Hours: 0 Project Summary: The trip up to State Forest State Park for the Lake Agnes project was one of my favorite of the season, but did not come without some logistical challenges. In preparing for the project I was not able to make a trip up for the site visit due to my project schedule and Terry was very helpful in completing the site visit for me. Prior to sending out my final 1 week info email she contacted me with some issues regarding the dirt road to get to the project site. She was concerned some cars wouldn't be able to make it, which of course caused concern about the tool truck getting up there. When we arrive on Friday we drove up to assess the large rut in the road, and decided to give it a go. The tool truck almost made it but bottomed out on a shallow part on the road. We spent a good amount of time dealing with that issue and getting equipment up to the site (more detail in the challenges section). Once we were up to the campsite and got the kitchen all set up (in the host site) we decided to shuttle all the tools up to the trailhead as well. This was helpful to do the night before as it would have been a timely inconvenience project morning along with shuttling volunteers to the trailhead. We set them beside the cabin and had no issue leaving them there all weekend. As volunteers started arriving I was able to communicate which half of the campground was reserved for us and any other logistical info. The campsite was pretty secluded so it was nice to be stationed at the host campspot, which is directly in front of the entrance, in order to catch volunteers coming in. As it got later it was much harder to communicate to volunteers coming in, and there was some confusion about where they should camp etc. Having a better understanding of these small logistical details would have allowed me to communicate a lot of this info prior to their arrival, so I would do that better next time around. But all in all most volunteers figured it out, and those that arrived pretty late found a spot until morning when they could chat with me. Some who came in late were a bit surprised by the rut in the road, though I did communicate the issue prior it was hard to make out In the dark. Saturday morning everything went smoothly, and we ended up with a pretty good turnout. I coordinated crew assignments directly with Terry as there were many sections with rock work, and we needed to make sure we had a CL with rock skills on most sections. We were lucky to have an abundance of CLs and some were happy to step down as volunteers and learn rock skills. After we broke into groups we had to shuttle volunteers to the trail head (about 1 miles up a steep, loose dirt road) and I found the best way to do so was have each group facilitate their transportation. I ended up helping drive 1 group up but everyone else had an SUV or truck in their group to get up there. Between shuttling and the hike to the Lake (about 1 mile) the work got off to a late start but there wasn't a whole lot we could do about that. Parking at the trailhead is limited, which wasn't an issue in the morning but I took a few different trips to grab materials etc and found it tough to find a spot. After a while I started putting buckets and a few tools to save my spot and people were respectful about not moving them. The work went really well, and the groups were all relatively close due to the nature of the work. Saturday night we had a great time with the raffles, campfires and a delicious dinner. I had asked the rangers if they would facilitate an educational presentation, which they agreed to but then did not show up to do so. No one really seemed to mind, but it would be nice to include in the future. The set up was a little unique in that there wasn't a central campfire to gather around so we all ate together and spent time hanging after dinner but then groups would break off to have fires at their campsite. Everyone seemed to have a great time and not be bothered by it though. I helped first time volunteers or those who didn't seem like they had a "group" link up with other people who had fire so everyone felt included in the fun. That seemed to be helpful for new or shy volunteers J When Sunday rolled around I found it most helpful to stick behind with the tool manager so we could get everything broken down and then shuttle it all to the tool truck, between the kitchen equipment and the extra tool it took me most of the morning to get it done. I finished just in time to make one last hike up to the work site to record accomplishments and help carry down tools. Successes and Challenges: Successes: Having Terry G. on the project was very helpful, and saved me a trip up for the site visit as she was willing to take care of it. Volunteer turnout was great, and we had a very enthusiastic group! The camp and work site were among the most beautiful of the season Challenges: The road up to the campground/trail head was impassable for the tool truck. The city attempted to install drainage dip this year and took a very large chunk out of the road, right on a steep uphill section. Most passenger cars were able to make it but the tool truck got stuck and we had to dig it out and do a SUPER tight turn around on the narrow road. Trailers and RVs were also not able to make it up. There is a large pull off at the bottom of the road before the bridge so the truck parked there, but we spent a lot more time shuttling tools and equipment. If the city does not do something to repair the road it will mostly likely be worse by next year's project as many vehicles spin out at the section, increasing the size of the rut. The campground was great, but we could have used a few more spots. Campers were double and tripled up which was ok for the most park but some were tight. Volunteers coming in Friday night felt uncomfortable squeezing in next to another volunteer after dark, and were not quite sure where to do. VOC reservation signs were very small white tickets in the post, hard to see at night. Had I done a site visit and realized this all prior, I would have emphasized that point in the email to make sure everyone knew it was ok to join a campsite, and indicated which were reserved for VOC. So I would suggest that next time. Lessons Learned: Even with assistance, managing a project without doing a site visit has its challenges. Special Notes: Watch out for the road! Stewardship Education: Rangers planned on doing one but didnt come through day of. The park was very short staffed this season, so that may be why. Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: Description of Accidents/Incidents: N/A Description of Work Completed: