2018-Trail System Construction @ Silverthorne: Mike O'Brien Memorial Project (Salt Lick Trail)

Start Date-End Date: 08/11/2018-08/12/2018 Land Manager Office: USFS - Dillon Ranger District Land Manager Contact: Cindy Ebbert Funding Partner: Programmatic Partner: Friends of the Dillon Ranger District Summary: Create a new multi-use loop outside of the Eagles Nest Wilderness. Description: About the Stewardship Site: The Salt Lick Trail system is a front-country trail with easy access from the popular Summit County town of Silverthorne, and is used by up to 20,000 hikers, bikers and winter recreationists each year! The trail also provides access to the nearby Eagles Nest Wilderness, where mountain bikes are not permitted. Yet, in order to make a loop on the Salt Lick Trail, mountain bikers must enter the and exit the wilderness area. About the Volunteer Experience: Volunteers ages 14+ will work alongside others from the Friends of the Dillon Ranger District (FDRD) and Friends of the Eagles Nest Wilderness (FENW) on this two-day project, which offers stunning views and camping in the town of Silverthorne. Over the course of the weekend, volunteers will establish a new connection between two existing trails in the Salt Lick Trail system, creating a loop option for mountain bikers (and other recreationists) to enjoy the area without having to enter and exit the Wilderness area, where mountain bikes are not permitted. With up to 100 volunteers and tasks ranging from moderate to difficult, this is a great opportunity to meet likeminded people from across the state and play a critical role in expanding recreation opportunities for visitors and residents alike. Volunteers may sign up for one or both days! All volunteers will be treated to meals from our remarkable volunteer Crew Chefs. About the Overall Impact: Along with local partners including the U.S. Forest Service, the town of Silverthorne is prioritizing the development and improvement of trails, which the local economy relies on. With ever-increasing use on this popular trail, volunteers' efforts will support the local community while ensuring that the Salt Lick Trail system can remain sustainable and enjoyable for years to come. Need-to-Know Details: Minors:All youth under 16mustbe accompanied by an adult 21 years or older on single-day projects.Youth under 18mustbe accompanied by an adult 21 years or older on overnight projects. 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: 39.620357, -106.109851 Additional Information: Camping Available: Yes Physical Difficulty: Moderate, Difficult High Altitude Project: Yes Desired Number of Volunteers: 75 Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 91 Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 2 Total Volunteer Days: 93 Total Unique Volunteers: 59 Total Volunteer Hours: 740 Staff Hours: 42 Stipend Hours: 0 Project Summary: Though we did not complete the 16 sections we had hoped to complete, we accomplished a lot of work on this project. Sections 2-13/14 were completed, totaling to about 2,600 feet of trail constructed. We specifically did not work on sections 1 and 18 to give the impression to hikers that the trail is not complete yet. Also, we did not want to start on either end and then have the trail disappear because we only made it half way, then have them veer off somewhere else. Saturday started off pretty rocky. We were all woken up at 2:30 AM and 3:30 AM to the sprinklers on the soccer field. Some folks were lucky and stayed completely dry in their tents; however others were not so lucky. At about 5AM right after I woke up to help the crew chef prep breakfast, I approach a volunteer that is wrapped in towels because he and his wife were soaked from the sprinklers. A sprinkler happened to be settled right under their rain fly and sprayed right in their tent. This gentleman was very upset, and of course that is understandable when woken up by a sprinkler in the middle of the night. I had offered these volunteers hot water, turning on the stove to stand by and get warm, my sleeping bag, and I even offered to take their clothes and belongings to a laundromat to dry. The husband mentioned "This is so typical of VOC, just really a lack of preparation." I could not really get any type of response from the gentleman. Each time I talked to him or tried offering him something he grunted at me would continue to do so until I left. He also made a comment that he expects his clothes to be taken care of or paid for. He talked with Joe Chastain who was trying to calm him down, he told Joe "Why isn't VOC doing anything?" This was after I had made all the previous stated offers to him and his wife. I had made these offers multiple times, but they refused to accept any of my help. Each time that I had tried approaching them, or even walked in the near vicinity of these volunteers they walked away from me. Getting closer to the start of the work day, I let the couple be for awhile while I got folks checked in, and talked with Doozie Martin, who had rented the soccer fields for us, about the sprinkler incident. He was just as surprised. He had thought that with the reservation of the area that the sprinklers would have been shut off. During the morning announcements, Clint Heiple, one of Mike O' Brien's good friends gave some heartwarming words about Mike, his background with VOC, and his passion of the outdoors and mountain biking. We broke into crews at the camp site before shuttling over to the trail head. From the trail head we made the 1.5 mile trek to the work site and that is where our crew leaders performed their tool talks. Summit County was also present on Saturday to help on the trail. Good to note that Tyler from USFS was present on Saturday, along with Doozie and Cam (FDRD Seasonal), and on Sunday, Cindy (USFS), Doozie, and Cam were present. The volunteers maintained a great pace and attitude all day. There is not a lot of shade out on the trail, if any at all. Crews took plenty of water/snack/shade breaks to take care of themselves. I took the VOC truck up to the trail head past the gate with the water buffalo in case of any water refills throughout the work day. Though many were taking breaks, folks were getting pretty tired by the end of the day from the heat. We cached tools on the trail on Saturday to make the hike a little easier on Sunday morning. This worked out just fine, no other trail users bothered with our tools. While out on the trail Doozie called the police station to try and get someone to shut off the sprinklers at the park. The police officers were successful in getting the sprinklers shut off; Renee one of our tool managers stayed the camp site was able to assist them. Thankfully, we all slept well and were dry Saturday night. Saturday's dinner was really something. Lisa cooked pad thai, with fried rice, and chicken skewers. Many volunteers mentioned it was the best VOC meal they have had! Everyone ate dinner together while having beers, and got to know each other a little more. From the raffle, some volunteers won a toy kong for a pet, a couple of hats were given away, along with a couple of VOC patches. One volunteer also became a VOC member that evening, while also receiving a CPW State Park Pass. Stephanie Jarvis received a CO Lottery Osprey backpack. She was our survey winner. And one of our crew leader mentees, Eric Lucas, was certified on Saturday. He was recognized at Saturday dinner. Sunday was just as productive as Saturday; but unfortunately, we did not get quite where we wanted to be by the end of the weekend. A few volunteers left a little early because they were feeling the effects of the heat and the direct sun exposure. We head back down to the tool truck at 1:45, and got folks on their way by 2 PM. Successes and Challenges: Successes: Had a lot of great feedback about how much fun people were having over the course of the weekend. Covering a lot of ground and getting a lot of trail cut Had great crew leaders that were very informative and helpful to their crews Resolving the sprinklers and making sure folks were dry for the second night Challenge: I70 shutdown due to a fatal accident. This left lots of people sitting in traffic for hours Sprinklers going off at 2:30 and 3:30 AM Heat. On the work site, most crews were exposed the whole weekend with not a bit of shade. People were experiencing heat exhaustion and called it early on Sunday because of it. Not meeting our volunteer numbers Lessons Learned: When working with USFS we must bring hard hats for each individual. Long sleeves and long pants At the campsite Friday night, the neighbors across the street were quiet loud. They were blasting music at 9PM. As loud as the music was, it was their neighborhood and it didn't feel right to ask them to turn it down. Letting Cindy and Doozie know this for next year. People are also zooming by in their cars late at night and their tires were making screeching noises all through the night. Local soccer players were a bit confused as to why we were camping there. It may be a good idea to have a sign up next time to let locals what's going on and why the field is being used. Bears are definitely in the area. A man was walking his dog through the park above the soccer field Friday night and he had an encounter with what he described as a 300 pound bear. The Wildernest is right above the campsite. In reality we were cusping the wilderness boundary. We made sure to pack all food items back into the truck before bed. And I made rounds at each tent to make sure folks understood what was going on and to pack smelly items back into their car. Make sure sprinklers are turned off Special Notes: this was a memorial project for Mike O' Brien, a previous VOC member that had passed away. He was an avid outdoorsman that had dedicated funds to VOC to help build hiking and mountain biking trails across the state. Hi good friend Clint, had provided some background on him and his legacy through VOC. Stewardship Education: Clint, one of Mike O' Brien's very close friends was present for the project, and he provided our volunteers with some heart felt words and a bit of a background about Mike on Saturday morning. This helped put the project work into perspective for folks and I think provided them with a lot of motivation. Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: Project Management team has been briefed on the couple that was affected by the middle of the night sprinkler incident on the soccer field (camp site). Two volunteers were soaked from the sprinklers in the middle of the night, and were quite angry from their experience. Dean has also been notified about the situation and has tried reaching out to them to talk things out with them and try to make amends. Description of Accidents/Incidents: No accidents or incidents on this project Description of Work Completed: