2018-Cub Creek Trail Cut-out @ Mt. Evans Wilderness

Start Date-End Date: 06/30/2018-07/01/2018 Land Manager Office: USFS - Clear Creek Ranger District Land Manager Contact: Ralph Bradt Funding Partner: Programmatic Partner: Summary: Clear fallen trees from the Cub Creek Trail and learn from one of our most experienced volunteers, Steve West. **BOTH DAYS REQUIRED** Description: About the Stewardship Site: Nestled in Arapaho National Forest and Pike National Forest just 30 miles west of Denver, the Mt. Evans Wilderness spans more than 74,000 acres and is home to bighorn sheep and the highest paved road in North America. The Cub Creek Trail traverses glacial moraines, open meadows and forest and serves as a major connection for loop hikes on the east side. A major winter wind event knocked over 80 trees along the trail in 2012; these trees have not been completely cleared and severely limit access to the trail. About the Volunteer Experience: Volunteers ages 16+ will spend the weekend camping with a small group of 15 or fewer people in the Mt. Evans State Wildlife Area as they use crosscut saws and other hand tools to clear fallen trees from the Cub Creek Trail. Each day, you will hike a moderate two miles to the project site, where you will be led by one of our most-skilled volunteers, Steve West, in sawing, cutting and hauling downed timber. Tasks take place at high-altitude and volunteers will be rewarded with fantastic meals from our volunteer Crew Chefs! Learn more about crosscut saw techniques at our Crosscut Certification Workshop on June 23-24! Not required to volunteer. About the Overall Impact: More than 80 trees fell along the Cub Creek Trail in 2012 and many of these have yet to be cleared, restricting access to this major connection for loop hikes in the Mt. Evans Wilderness. The U.S. Forest Service (USFS), which manages the area, has limited resources for maintaining the trail; by working to remove the fallen trees, volunteers will reduce the burden on USFS staff and complete the critical maintenance tasks needed to keep this trail accessible and sustainable. Need-to-Know Details: Both days are requireddue to the remote location of this project. Minors: Youth under 18mustbe accompanied by an adult 21 years or older on overnight projects. Parking, Food & Facilities:VOC will provide all tools and equipment, including work gloves and hard hats when needed. Volunteers will hike 2-3 miles of moderate terrain each day and use open portable toilets called 'groovers'. VOC will provide campsites and meals on both Saturday and Sunday. Cancellation:As a wilderness area, there is a strict 15-person limit for this project. 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: 39.581343, -105.591772 Additional Information: Camping Available: Yes Physical Difficulty: Difficult High Altitude Project: Yes Desired Number of Volunteers: 27 Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 56 Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 2 Total Volunteer Days: 58 Total Unique Volunteers: 29 Total Volunteer Hours: 493 Staff Hours: 24.5 Stipend Hours: 0 Project Summary: 29 volunteers spent the weekend clearing trails in and around the Mt. Evans Wilderness area. Much of the time was spent hiking. Our volunteers hiked an estimated 15.5 total miles to clear 56 fallen trees from the trail, helping to open up 7 miles of trail for hiking and horseback riding. Our crew also took the time to improve 7 drainage structures and also removed an illegal fire ring. Thanks to this hardy group of VOC volunteers for their tremendous efforts! Successes and Challenges: Overall seemed succesful. Will be interesting to see vol. feedback on the surveys, as this was a unique a new concept for a VOC project (esp. hiking 15 miles in a weekend!) Main challenge was actually some (in the opinion of this author) mis-use of the groover leading to a hazardous situation upon attempting to dump it. Groovers allow us to have projects in remote areas or in areas/with partners where a port-o-let is too expensive. However, they always have to be dumped by a volunteer or staff. We may want to consider drawing a harder line on when we permit their use. Portable toilet delivery was likely not possible for this project, but there are others where we will use groovers where that's not the case. Lessons Learned: Special Notes: Stewardship Education: Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: Description of Accidents/Incidents: Description of Work Completed: