2019-14er: Trail Restoration @ Grays & Torreys

Start Date-End Date: 09/07/2019-09/08/2019 Land Manager Office: USFS - Clear Creek Ranger District Land Manager Contact: Ben Hanus Funding Partner: Programmatic Partner: Colorado Fourteeners Initiative Summary: Help restore a pair of popular peaks on the Front Range. Description: Starting in 2017, VOC is partnering with 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 collaboratively to 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! Where You'll Be: Just an hour from Denver, Grays Peak and Torreys Peak are a popular pair of "14ers" whose summits are separated by a mere three-quarters of a mile. Grays Peak is the highest point directly on the Continental Divide and the 10th highest peak in Colorado; with its proximity to Front Range population centers, the route to Grays' summit alone can see as many as 25,000 to 30,000 hikers a year! What You'll Do: Spend a weekend giving some much-needed TLC to Colorado's famous 14ers! You'll work above treeline with about 40-50 VOC volunteers and others from the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative (CFI) to close user-created "social trails" and establish one sustainable route to the summit to prevent further resource damage and loss of plant life. The furthest work site will be as far as a 3 mile (approx. 2 hour) hike, so be prepared to work hard and enjoy the view! Campsites will be provided along with meals from our volunteer Crew Chefs. Click here to learn more about the importance of trail maintenance. Why It Matters: Although the unique plants in a high alpine environment are able to withstand extreme temperatures and climate conditions, a lot of trampling human feet can do a lot of damage! By closing and reseeding unsustainable social trails and restoring the route to resist erosion, you will help hikers access the summit while preserving the natural environment for years to come. Need-to-Know Details: Minors under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult 21 years or olderon overnight projects. Volunteers are responsible for providing their own camping equipment.VOC will provide meals, tools, and work gloves. Cancellation:Our partners rely on VOC volunteers to accomplish critical stewardship needs, and our projects often have wait lists.If you need to cancel, please emailoutreach@voc.orgor call 303-715-1010 ext. 116 as soon as possible so we can free your spot for another volunteer and have a full workforce. About Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC) Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC) is the state's oldest, largest, and leading outdoor stewardship nonprofit organization. Founded in 1984 to motivate and enable people to become active stewards of Colorado's natural resources, VOC has engaged nearly 120,000 people in more than 1,000 volunteer projects for a donated labor value of $24 million. Through award-winning youth and volunteer programs, leadership training, capacity-building programs, and collaborative efforts with nonprofits and land management agencies, VOC is an invaluable resource in Colorado, especially as our outdoor stewardship needs are approaching near-crisis levels. For more information, visit www.voc.org or call 303-715-1010. Latitude/Longitude: 39.6608, -105.7846 Additional Information: Camping Available: Yes Physical Difficulty: Moderate, Difficult High Altitude Project: Yes Desired Number of Volunteers: 40 Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 72 Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 0 Total Volunteer Days: 72 Total Unique Volunteers: 39 Total Volunteer Hours: 741 Staff Hours: 36 Stipend Hours: 0 Project Summary: Thirty-nine dedicated volunteers braved an I-70 rock slide to help restore the lower section of the trail to Grays and Torreys. The slide occurred at 2:30 on Friday afternoon and many volunteers coming from the Denver area got stuck in back ups on I-70 or were re-routed through Central City. The drive took some people nearly 6 hours when it should have been 1. Nevertheless, enthusiasm was high and the skies were mercifully clear for both Saturday and Sunday. CFI staff members led crews in debarking trees and transporting the bucked sections up the trail in order to stage for the installation of check-steps. Another crew hiked about 3 miles (2 hours) to the upper trail junction to construct a rock wall. On day 2, we dedicated almost all volunteers to hauling logs up the trail. It was strenuous work and many volunteers said it was physically the hardest project they'd ever done. A few people had to stop early on both days due to knee pain or exhaustion. Nevertheless, there was a great sense of camaraderie and everyone pulled together to hike a total of 36 logs (all 6-8 ft in length) a full mile up the trail to a staging area. Volunteers also installed 10 log check-steps, constructed 75 ft of rock back-wall, and cleared 133 feet of corridor. Successes and Challenges: Successes - CFI and VOC reps did a great job keeping morale high and making very physically demanding work fun. Many inside jokes and great group dynamics - we brought the propane fire ring from ops which meant we could have a campfire in spite of the stage 1 fire ban - ominous forecast luckily cleared and stayed sunny other than the hail storm/rock slide on Friday Challenges -parking at the trailhead was cramped and crowds--especially on Saturday morning--made registration/breakfast hectic. Weekend hikers were not very respectful--people started arriving at the trailhead around 2 AM with music on, headlights shining in people's tents, and being very loud. - some volunteers were not prepared for how strenuous the project turned out to be. Even the strongest/youngest/fittest members of the group were feeling it by the end of the weekend - the rock slide and highway closures Lessons Learned: Worth communicating to CFI that if they're going to rely on our volunteers to do something as taxing as haul 400-lb logs up a mile of fairly steep trail at high elevation, they should also be prepared to offer people alternative tasks as they burn out. On Saturday, I saw a number of volunteers who were clearly exhausted--the the point that it made me nervous for their safety--but the only other work being done was over an hour's hike up the trail, so they just kept hauling logs. Eventually I ended up making those people go back to camp, because they weren't going to stop on their own. On Sunday we dedicated one crew to corridor clearing for something easier, but it would have been good to have that option available on Day 1. Special Notes: Volunteers are game for strenuous work, and we should continue to offer projects like this because a lot of people found it super rewarding and a great bonding experience! However, we should never list any 14er/high altitude/CFI projects as anything other than "difficult" for physical difficulty on the website (this one was listed as both moderate and difficult). Other than that, expectations were well-communicated. Volunteers who said they were surprised--either by the traffic, limited parking, or physical demands--all said they just hadn't read the project description or the emails and that if they had, they would have been better prepared. Stewardship Education: Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: Description of Accidents/Incidents: Description of Work Completed: