2018-14er: Mt. Elbert Trail Restoration #2

Start Date-End Date: 07/14/2018-07/15/2018 Land Manager Office: USFS - Leadville Ranger District Land Manager Contact: Ben Hanus Funding Partner: National Forest Foundation, USFS - Leadville Ranger District Programmatic Partner: Colorado Fourteeners Initiative, Wildlands Restoration Volunteers, Colorado Mountain Club Summary: Protect the delicate habitat of Colorado's tallest mountain on this overnight alpine experience. **BOTH DAYS REQUIRED** Description: Starting in 2017, VOC is partnering other Colorado outdoor stewardship groups and the U.S. Forest Service through the National Forest FoundationFind Your Fourteenercampaign so that together we can do more on our majestic Fourteeners. We are working collaborativelyto increase the pace and scale of trail improvements and ecological restoration. Our vision is to work together, with you, to build and maintain a sustainable trails network, ensuring these peaks remain healthy and inviting for decades to come.With help from skilled, passionate volunteers like you, we can complete even more on-the-ground work on Colorado's Fourteeners. Every volunteer in the Fourteener community is important in this long-term effort, and we are grateful for your help! About the Stewardship Site: Located near Leadville, Mt. Elbert stands at 14,433 feet and is the tallest peak in Colorado and in the entire Rocky Mountain Range. The South Mount Elbert Trail is one of the most popular routes to the summit as it climbs through the San Isabel National Forest and acrossalpinetundra, providing the mountain's many visitors with stunning views and the occasional marmot, pika or mountain goat sighting. About the Volunteer Experience: This is VOC's second year in a row at Mt. Elbert and the second of two projects there this season. Volunteers ages 18+ are invited to spend the weekend with VOC and other stewardship organizations abovetreeline, where we will restore the extremely popular South Mount Elbert Trail. As we wrap up the final stages of the restoration process, volunteers will practice various alpine restoration techniques and install erosion control structures to rehabilitate the old, eroded trail. Tasks are physically difficult and take place at high-altitude, and volunteers are required to participate in the entire duration of the project due to the remote location. All will be rewarded with magnificent views and meals from our friends with Wildlands Restoration Volunteers! If you sign up for this project, you can expect to get your hands dirty with staff and volunteers from the following organizations: Colorado Fourteeners Initiative Wildlands Restoration Volunteers Colorado Mountain Club Get Outdoors Leadville Rocky Mountain Youth Corps U.S. Forest Service National Forest Foundation Join us for Mt. Elbert Trail Restoration #1 on June 23-24 and stay tuned for details about our Alpine Stewards training (not required to volunteer). About the Overall Impact: Colorado's "14ers" pay a price for their popularity, and Mt. Elbert easily sees tens of thousands of hikers in a single summer. On this project, volunteers will help address the harmful issues that result from increased visitation and reduce erosion to protect the delicate alpine habitat. On behalf of all of the organizations involved in the Find Your Fourteener campaign, thanks again for your interest in this project! Need-to-Know Details: Both days are requireddue to the remote location of this project. Cancellation:Our land manager partners rely on VOC volunteers to accomplish critical stewardship needs, and our projects often have wait lists. If you need to cancel, pleasecontact Jamie Burkeat 303-715-1010 ext. 116 as soon as possible so we can free your spot for another volunteer and have a full workforce. Latitude/Longitude: 39.105672, -106.395373 Additional Information: Camping Available: Yes Physical Difficulty: Difficult High Altitude Project: Yes Desired Number of Volunteers: 30 Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 48 Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 2 Total Volunteer Days: 50 Total Unique Volunteers: 25 Total Volunteer Hours: 550 Staff Hours: 54.5 Stipend Hours: 0 Project Summary: On Friday, a culmination of VOC, Colorado Fourteeners Initiative (CFI), Wildlands Restoration Volunteers (WRV), Colorado Mountain Club (CMC), and National Forest Foundation (NFF) staff and volunteers met on Colorado's highest peak, Mt. Elbert, to kick off a collaborative restoration event. To help alleviate registration confusion and frustrations experienced in the past, the different organizations had come up with a master roster and centralized location for waivers that was used as volunteers arrived at the shuttle. This was extremely effective and highly suggested for future collab projects. One last shuttle was driven on Saturday morning, carrying a load of eager (albeit sleepy) volunteers. On Saturday, registration in the morning was easy, as it had mostly been taken care of the night before. A Crew Leader meeting was held between all the organization's leaders. CFI staff Ben and Miriam took the lead as both Technical Advisers and Crew Leader Managers. They established a clear line of communication and work plan. The work day itself, as it usually does, started a bit slowly. With so many organizations, there were a lot of talking points to hit in the morning. However, a car full of free 14er t-shirts brought by NFF kept volunteers interested. Volunteers were split between four main groups: tread quality control, stair repair, stair construction, and timber carrying. Each group was able to maintain a good volunteer to leader ratio, creating a high level of quality work. The tread team worked to repair the outslope and critical edge on the South Mt Elbert trail. Although the trail is new (built by VOC in 2017), it has seen heavy foot and mule traffic. Poorly skilled mules contributed to a destroyed edge in many area, while severe outslopes started to lead to tread creep. Volunteers were able to conduct these small improvements over a span of nearly 2 miles. The stair repair team did exactly that: repaired a set of stairs that needed fill and gargoyles around it. The stair construction team was able to build a new staircase nearly 3 miles into the trail. Last, but certainly not least, the timber crew made several hikes ranging from 2 to 4 miles in order to haul in timber to be used for buck and rail fencing. Volunteers enjoyed a lovely dinner provided by WRV and all gathered for various social activities. Fortunately, volunteers mingled with each other regardless of organization. Sunday was much like Saturday, only with an earlier end time. Volunteers helped to clean and load tools before taking advantage of the departing shuttles. Successes and Challenges: Successes: -Great collaborative effort. All the organizations were able to work effectively together. Volunteers were afforded the opportunity to learn about many new organizations that all work towards better stewardship for Colorado. The presence of multiple organizations also split the work and resource load. -Supportive work environment. Crews ended up being extremely small, creating an approachable atmosphere for new volunteers. -Due to the high number of leaders with multiple organizations, a high level of quality was achieved. -Good social atmosphere. Even without a fire to join around, a large circle of volunteers formed from all organizations. -NFF was present to share t-shirts with all the volunteers. -This project is a perfect example of why we should be encouraging and reading our post-project survey feedback. Due to the constructive criticism received about disorganization with CFI during the Mt. Elbert I project, we were able to make equally constructive changes. The top complaint boiled down to, "too many cooks in the kitchen". This problem was alleviated through through communication during the Crew Leader meeting (CFI, VOC, WRV) on Saturday morning. Roles and responsibilities were clearly delegated to each leader, and a more comprehensive work plan was provided. Challenges: -A lot of organizations together created a long welcome speech at the beginning of the day. -No opportunity for membership ask or raffle, with so many organizations it did not feel appropriate. Lessons Learned: -Clear communication about leadership roles and responsibilities is crucial when working with CFI. CFI staff should be working directly with Crew Leaders and not volunteers to avoid "too many cooks in the kitchen" and prevent volunteer frustrations. -Work with other organizations to compile a master roster and centralized location for waivers. This worked extremely well to prevent volunteer frustration and disorganization. Special Notes: Stewardship Education: Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: Description of Accidents/Incidents: Description of Work Completed: