Description
Start Date-End Date: 08/14/2020-08/16/2020
Land Manager Office: CPW - Golden Gate Canyon State Park
Land Manager Contact: Joe Burkins
Funding Partner:
Programmatic Partner:
Summary: Reroute an unsustainable trail to create some sweet singletrack at Golden Gate Canyon State Park!
Description: Project photo copyrighted by Cosima Reichenbach (2019).
Read Before You Register! Need-to-Know Details:
We greatly appreciate you volunteering your time and energy to care for Colorado's outdoor places during COVID-19. To help provide a fun and safe experience for all, there are a few temporary changes to be prepared for:
You may sign up for one or all days of this project,though we encourage multi-day registration to limit the number of interactions and potential exposure.
You may only register yourself.Every volunteer must sign our digital COVID-specific forms ahead of time to be able to attend.
You must provide your own food and, if desired, overnight accommodations.VOC will not be providing campsites or meals at this time.Campsites will only be offered as needed to VOC Crew Leaders and Project Team members.
You must bring a face mask and work gloves.Pleaseclick herefor our full packing list of required and recommended items.
Please come prepared to use the bathroom outdoors.VOC is not providing portalets at this time and public restrooms may be unavailable. Pleaseclick herefor more information on how to "go" outside.
Cancellation & Waitlists:Due to this year's limited number of projects and volunteer spots, we expect projects to fill quickly with waitlists. If you need to cancel, please emailoutreach@voc.orgas soon as possible so we can free your spot for another volunteer and have a full workforce. If you are waitlisted for multiple projects, please call us at 303-715-1010 ext. 130 and we can help you find an open project, if available.
Where You'll Be:
Only a short drive from Denver, Golden Gate Canyon State Park boasts over 12,000 acres of dense forest, rocky peaks, and aspen-rimmed meadows laced with miles of trails. With options for hikers, mountain bikers, backpackers, equestrians, anglers, campers, rock climbers, and winter sports enthusiasts, it's not surprising an estimated 850,000 visitors recreate here annually. The park also provides a home for a great number and variety of wildlife, providing the perfect place for wildlife watching and photography.
What You'll Do:
This project offers the opportunity to get out and give back in a popular state park close to Denver and Golden. Join us for one or multiple days as you work to re-route a few sections of the multi-use Raccoon Trail to make it more sustainable; tasks will be moderate to difficult in nature, including trail construction and the chance to build rock walls and switchbacks for volunteers who enjoy a technical challenge.
Why it Matters:
Golden Gate Canyon State Park sees an estimated 1 million visitors per year. The Raccoon Trail is one of the most heavily utilized trails at the park due to it's proximity to Reverend's Ridge Campground and Panorama Point. This section of fall-line trail is unsustainable, requires regular maintenance throughout the spring, summer, and fall months by staff and volunteer groups, and currently provides users with an extremely difficult and potentially dangerous trail experience. Volunteers' efforts will help provide users with a safer and more enjoyable trail experience.
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 125,000 people in more than 1,000 volunteer projects for a donated labor value of $25 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: 39.876301, -105.441176
Additional Information: We greatly appreciate you volunteering your time and energy to care for Colorado's outdoor places during COVID-19. To help provide a fun and safe experience for all, there are a few temporary changes to be prepared for:
You must provide your own food and, if desired, overnight accommodations.VOC will not be providing campsites or meals at this time.
You must bring a face mask and work gloves.Pleaseclick herefor our full packing list of required and recommended items.
Please come prepared to use the bathroom outdoors.VOC is not providing portalets at this time and public restrooms may be unavailable. Pleaseclick herefor more information on how to "go" outside.
Camping Available: No
Physical Difficulty: Moderate, Difficult
High Altitude Project: Yes
Desired Number of Volunteers: 18
Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 45
Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 0
Total Volunteer Days: 45
Total Unique Volunteers: 31
Total Volunteer Hours: 460.5
Staff Hours: 43
Stipend Hours: 0
Project Summary: all days were very productive. we had good crews each day that worked their booties off. Friday we had a the smallest crew but got a good amount of trail done. Saturday we had the biggest group and got a good start on the toughest sections. Saunday we finished off what we started Saturday and then some. With the workdays in October, we will be able to connect up with the existing trail, open up this 800ish foot section, and continue on the other side. The reroute is about a mile total.
Crews did good with distancing and mask wearing even in the hot hot weather. the cold drinks were much appreciated at the end of the day!
Volunteers parked at the water treatment facility then hiked down to the "trailhead" where i was set up for registration. the coordinates for the water treatment facility are: 39.878555, -105.452187. The coordinates for the "trailhead" are: 39.880669, -105.444842. The park staff shuttled people down if they wanted it and shuttled them back up at the end of the day as the hike back to the cars was all up hill. All shuttling was done in the bed of the CPW trucks.
Terry was hoping to get all 800+ feet of the first section where if crosses the existing trail the first time done but the parts we got done was tough stuff and Terry was very pleased with the quality. Even if we finished, the park wanted to wait to open until they were able to get some reroute ahead signs up for bikers and do a couple other things so that it was really ready for opening. We will cross the existing trail with our project in October.
Successes and Challenges: Challenges:Three full days close to Denver is tough. Once this project was changed to three single days, Joe cancelled our camping reservation. With an hour commute each way each day, working along side the crews, it is tough on staff.
Successes: completed 700 feet of hard earned trail. Terry was very happy and the park staff was ecstatic. their seasonals dont have the chance to do much trail work, mostly park maintenance. so if they had to do this project on their own, they would not get much done and the work would not be great quality since they dont know what they are doing.
Lessons Learned: The digging was a little slow going with all the deep duff and roots. there were sections where we had to dig and dig to find mineral soil then fill the section up again with mineral soil from a borrow pit. Tons of roots big and small to get through slowed things down as well. Took special care to be sure we didnt have any soft, duffy edges.
Special Notes:
Stewardship Education:
Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers:
Description of Accidents/Incidents: Rosa overdid it a little on Satrurday but she took a rest the rest of the day and took it easy on Sunday. She was working with us since tool needs are rare and we were so close to the trailhead.
Description of Work Completed:
Details
| 18 and older |
