Giving Something Back

by D'Arcy Straub

Article from 1998.

THE PROBLEM

When joining the Colorado Mountain Club, very few of us have thoughts of working on a trail construction crew, removing unsightly camp fire rings, or partaking in that glamorous duty of picking up trash. Let's face it: most of us -- if not all of us -- join the CMC for the wide variety of trips to the mountains and its great educational opportunities. Volunteering our time to "give something back" to the public lands which we so frequently use is probably the furthest thing in our minds when joining the CMC.

The CMC is the single largest user group in Colorado, yet our role in maintaining the public lands which we rely upon has to date been under represented. Perhaps one can rationalize that our taxes give the federal land agencies (e.g., the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the National Park Service) all the help they need, but the fact remains that the federal land agencies have a colossal task in managing the lands.

The federal land agencies just don't look after your favorite hiking trail. In the course of managing the lands, the federal land agencies deal with timber sales, mining claims, grazing permits, and other projects which use the federal lands. As such, the federal land agencies just can't always provide the personnel needed to maintain trails. In fact, given the economic importance of the natural resources on federal lands, you can now well imagine the priority given to maintaining trails.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

The CMC has various projects in which you can participate. Choosing the project that is right for you is important. If you choose a project for which you are physically ill-prepared, not only will you have a miserable experience, but you may injure yourself or another. Regardless of your physical conditioning, however, opportunities exist for anybody willing to participate and make a contribution. The following projects will be undertaken this summer. Consult the '98 Summer Activities Schedule for details on how to register.

The Colorado Fourteeners Initiative

With the increasing popularity of climbing Fourteeners, these peaks have fallen victim to severe and often times nearly irreversible environmental impacts. The Colorado Fourteeners Initiative (CFI) is a partnership between the CMC, the American Mountain Foundation, Colorado Outward Bound School, Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC), and Leave No Trace. The fundamental goal of the CFI is to produce high quality, well-defined routes to the summits of Fourteeners.

The trail work that one will perform on a CFI project is demanding but rewarding. The work involves relatively heavy physical labor that must be accomplished at high elevations. The work will range from installing water bars (which divert water off the trail), to creating switchbacks, to constructing new trail, to transplanting tundra for reclamation.

Knowledge of how to perform these tasks is not essential to sign up for a CFI project, but if you wish to hit the ground running on a CFI project (or any trail work project for that matter), the VOC offers excellent weekend seminars on trail construction techniques. The first weekend seminar is in the middle of May and you may call VOC at 715-1010 for details. And a helpful hint: if you mention you are a CMC member, you will receive a discount on the attendance fee.

Projects slated for the summer of '98 include Humboldt Peak and Huron Peak. Currently, plans call for Chip Drumwright to lead a long weekend trip (i.e., leave Friday, return Sunday evening) to Humboldt Peek on June 26-28; for Rolf Asphaug and Steve Goodwin to lead a long weekend trip to Huron Peak on July 10-12; and for Jerry Helmke and D'Arcy Straub to lead a week long trip to Humboldt Peak from August 1-9.

To accomplish these tasks, one should feel comfortable in being able to handle at least a 50 pound rock and handling tools. Now I don't mean to imply that you have to be Superman to participate on these trips. Just know that people who enjoy these trips the most are those who have spent some time at high elevations and have at least some backpacking or camping experience.

Trail Work Hikes

Several Groups within the CMC currently offer some type of opportunity to do a trail work hike, although they may have different names (e.g., Adopt-A-Wilderness, Adopt-A-Trail, etc.). The Fort Collins Group schedules several trail work days on the Greyrock Trail through the Forest Service's Adopt a Trail Program. The Shining Mountains Group routinely has Rocky Mountain National Park Volunteer Days. And the Denver Group has scheduled Adopt-A-Wilderness hikes for nearly every weekend this summer.

Trail work hikes tend to be one day excursions to do either light or heavy trail maintenance projects. Light trail maintenance generally involves picking up trash and removing fire rings, although an occasional water bar may be constructed or repaired. For the most part, you will spend a great deal of your time hiking (with a tool in hand) and doing spot work as needed.

Heavy trail maintenance, on the other hand, involves the type of work you would do on a CFI project. Thus, if you aren't sure whether you should do a CFI project, I would highly recommend you participate on a one day trail work hike first. After all, better to find out your limitations before committing to a bigger project. It's difficult to characterize what you can expect on any given scheduled trail work hike. Consequently, read the description of the trip and if you still have questions, give the leader of the trip a call.

Adopt-A-Highway Program

If heavy rocks and tools aren't your cup of tea, you can always participate on an Adopt-A-Highway trip. The Adopt-A-Highway program, conducted through the Colorado Department of Transportation, allows organizations to pick up trash along designated stretches of highway.

Currently, the San Juan, Weld County, and Denver Groups have adopted stretches of highway. Perhaps you have already seen the Denver Group's adopted highway on the top of Kenosha Pass on U.S. 285 and its second stretch of highway near Herman Gulch on I-70.

Mapping and Surveying Projects

In conjunction with Patagonia (yes, as in the clothing company), the CMC has several mapping and surveying projects scheduled for the national forests in the central Rockies. These projects are scheduled as long weekend trips (Thursday through Sunday). The dates are June 26-29, July 10-13, July 24-27, and August 8-11. Meals will be provided for free, but donations will be greatly appreciated to help cover costs.

The mapping and surveying is done solely through mountain biking. Hence, if you are a mountain biker, here's an opportunity for you to make a real contribution and still have some fun. The purpose of the mapping and surveying projects is to take an inventory of the roads on the national forest lands.

During the project, participants will survey an area by identifying roads not previously mapped by the Forest Service. Information about the road, such as erosion, the presence of noxious weeds, stream crossings, and uses of the road, are recorded. At the end of the mapping and surveying projects, this information will be used to make recommendations to the Forest Service.

Restoration of the Notch Mountain Shelter

Notch Mountain is best known for providing a splendid vantage point of Mt. of the Holy Cross. During the 1920's and 1930's, Notch Mountain was the destination of the pilgrimages of up to 2000 people. Today, Notch Mountain is still a destination for hikers, but to be certain, more people currently climb Mt. of the Holy Cross than view Mt. of the Holy Cross (not too many people keep a list of "peaks I have viewed").

This project is being run in conjunction with the Holy Cross Ranger District of the Forest Service. The Forest Service has two goals: to restore the shelter on the summit and to do trail work on the trail that leads to the summit. If you happen to posses some carpentry skills, this is a great project for you to help out on. If you can only help out with the trail work, that will be greatly appreciated as well. Dave Callais and Tom Urban will lead this trip on the weekend of Aug. 8 and 9.

CONCLUSION

More and more, I hear the CMC being mentioned in the same sentence with the word "stewardship." While we all lead busy lives, I hope you'll be able to find the time to contribute to a project this summer, and if not this summer, perhaps next summer. If everybody in this club donates but one day or weekend of their time each year or two, there's no telling how much the CMC can accomplish "by giving something back."