Description
Start Date-End Date: 08/21/2021-08/22/2021
Land Manager Office: USFS - Conejos Peak Ranger District
Land Manager Contact: Gerard Sandoval
Funding Partner:
Programmatic Partner:
Summary: Use crosscut saws and chainsaws to clear downed trees on a neglected trail.
Description: 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 pack your own lunches. Please see below for more information on meals.
You must bring a face mask and work gloves. Please click here for our full packing list of required and recommended items.
All volunteers must keep a mask within reach at all times.We will ask you to wear a mask when working closely together (within arm's reach) on a task, such as moving a large rock.
If you are not vaccinated,we encourage you to reconsider your participation at this time due to the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant. People who are unvaccinated are more at risk of serious illness, hospitalization, and death. If you choose to volunteer while unvaccinated, you must wear a mask for the duration of the project.
Cancellation & Waitlists: Due to limited spots on this year's projects, we expect projects to fill quickly with waitlists. If you need to cancel, please email outreach@voc.org as 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. 116 and we can help you find an open project, if available.
Where You'll Be:
The valley of the Rio de Los Pinos is a glacial valley with stunning scenery: the remote area boasts subalpine forests of spruce and fir, wide meadows, colorful wildflowers, and dramatic peaks; the nearby Trujillo Meadows Campground is a popular fishing and recreation spot. The Los Pinos Trail is a great short hike with a waterfall to see and a great taste of all the high country beauty this area has to offer.
What You'll Do:
Volunteers ages 18+ will spend the weekend in this gorgeous area as we work to clear the Los Pinos Trail. Downed beetle kill trees have blocked the trail and made it impossible to find in some areas; we'll use chainsaws and crosscut saws to clear these trees from the trail both in and out of the Wilderness boundary. Other tasks may include restoring the trail and additional corridor clearing with tools other than saws, but the main priority will be sawing.
Camping is available Friday and Saturday night; VOC's volunteer Crew Chefs will provide breakfast on Saturday and Sunday as well as dinner on Saturday night.
Why It Matters:
Despite the downed trees blocking the path, people continue to try to access the waterfall, damaging the natural habitat and putting themselves at risk of getting lost. By helping to clear the trail and restore the corridor, you will help open up access to the waterfall, protecting the natural environment and the safety of visitors.
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 126,000 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: 37.07442, -106.49594
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 pack your own lunches.Please see below for more information on meals.
You must bring work gloves.Pleaseclick herefor our full packing list of required and recommended items.
If you are fully vaccinated,you may work without a mask. If you are not yet fully vaccinated or if you prefer to wear a mask for any reason, please continue to wear a mask on VOC projects. We will have spare masks available if needed.
Camping is available on both Friday and Saturday night. Please note that VOC doesnotprovide any camping equipment (tents, sleeping bags, etc.) but will providebreakfast on Saturday and Sunday as well as dinner on Saturday night. More information about camping will be sent via email approximately two weeks before the project.
Camping Available: Yes
Physical Difficulty: Difficult
High Altitude Project: Yes
Desired Number of Volunteers: 25
Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 52
Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 0
Total Volunteer Days: 52
Total Unique Volunteers: 26
Total Volunteer Hours: 628
Staff Hours: 48
Stipend Hours: 0
Project Summary: VOC Camp Site: Latitude: 37.04100 Longitude: -106.45673 Elevation: 10,338
Project Work Site: Los Pinos Trail # 736 Latitude: 37.08524 Longitude: -106.49857 Elevation: 10,800 - 11,700
# Volunteers:26
Accomplishments: 196 trees cleared, 1.5 miles corridorcleared
The valley of the Rio de Los Pinos is a glacial valley with stunning scenery: the remote area boasts subalpine forests of spruce and fir, wide meadows, colorful wildflowers, and dramatic peaks; the nearby Trujillo Meadows Campground is a popular fishing and recreation spot. The Los Pinos Trail is a great short hike with a waterfall to see and a great taste of all the high country beauty this area has to offer.
Volunteers ages 18+ will spend the weekend in this gorgeous area as we work to clear the Los Pinos Trail. Downed beetle kill trees have blocked the trail and made it impossible to find in some areas; we'll use chainsaws and crosscut saws to clear these trees from the trail both in and out of the Wilderness boundary. Other tasks may include restoring the trail and additional corridor clearing with tools other than saws, but the main priority will be sawing.
Successes and Challenges: Successes:
This was my first project that included chainsaw work. The volunteers who worked in this section really enjoyed it and felt they really improved their skills on the project. Had no equipment issues and was able to give a lesson on sharpening.
The project accomplishments were very rewarding for volunteers. The before and after pics were very impressive!
This was Lindy's first time as a Crew Chef and she did an amazing job!
Challenges:
The Conejos District recreation staff provided very little information or support for the project. The District is very focused on developed recreation (campgrounds) and I got the impression that the staff responsible for trails rarely get out to assess them. This trail for instance hasn't been worked on in over 20 years and is basically non existent. The information provided by the staff was incorrect/ outdated and I had to rely on GPS tracks to try and establish the correct route to cut out.
If we had more B cert sawyers we would have been able to break into smaller groups and get more done.
Lessons Learned: Get an early start on project planning. Communication with the District was very delayed and the project required more scouting and prep due to the state of the trail and the lack of knowledge about the trail from the USFS staff.
Special Notes: Would prefer to try and camp at the Trujillo Meadows campground next time out of convenience. This time of year the campground is dead so will be a good option for next time.
Stewardship Education: Had serval volunteers who had never used a crosscut before and was able to pair them up with Crew Leads who are good at teaching it. Those volunteers felt they learned a lot and were interested in getting certified next season. Those on Chainsaw also had a similar learning experience.
Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: overall, a great project and everything went as planned.
Description of Accidents/Incidents: n/a
Description of Work Completed:
Details
| 18 and older |
