Rocky Mountain National Park, Co - by Philip Russell
Thirty log checks, two log drains, 88 square feet of rock wall trail foundation and 107 linear feet of trail four feet wide completed in 226 work hours. Not bad for a small group of Trail Tamers working on the Ypsilon Lake trail in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP).
Steve Baker was chief executive officer and logistics sergeant before, during and after the trip. He attended to all details and was a highly effective ramrod for the operation. Jerome Collins distinguished himself by recruiting John Shanks, a retired chef, restaurateur and caterer, as a camp cook. Bo Bosarge was the only veteran of previous Central Texas Trail Tamers (CTTT) trips to RMNP, having gone twice before. Martha Davies, rock wall expert; June Griffith, attorney and Texas Outdoors Woman Network (TOWN) member from McKinney; Jane Moss, digital photographer from Wimberley and also a TOWN member, and John Yarber of Austin made up the crew.
We left promptly at 7am on Saturday and drove to Raton, NM the first day. Steve and John Shanks left early the next morning for RMNP to set up the camp ahead of the van crew who did some sightseeing, including black bear, big horn sheep and Garden of the Gods. We arrived mid afternoon to a spaghetti supper and met Jane Moss who had arrived earlier. Shawn Wigley, RMNP trail crew chief, met us with a load of firewood and laid out plans for the Ypsilon Trail project.
Monday morning, Steve, Bo, Jerome, Martha, and John Yarber met the trail crew at the Lawn Lake trailhead and toted tools up to the worksite. Our cook stayed behind to buy groceries and organize the cook tent and bear boxes. June and Jane used the day to acclimate to the 8500 ft. altitude. The Trail Tamers huffed and puffed behind four RMNP trail crew (Shawn, Kevin, Tate, and Aggie) going up the switchbacks to the Roaring River gorge where the temperature dropped and the trail grade became gentler. We crossed the river on a wood footbridge and arrived at the base of the trail project. The hardest part of the day was over. We were at about 9,300 ft. on the west side of Roaring River at the foot of the Ypsilon Lake Trail.
The first day was used to talk safety and gather materials. “Gathering materials” meant Rocky Mountain bowling...rolling boulders down a 45 degree slope toward a log barrier just uphill from the trail. Prying large rocks out of deep duff and powdery dirt, yelling “Rock!” and rolling them downhill was fun. We posted lookouts to warn us when hikers came along. We tore out the old rotten check logs, measured and calculated runs and rises in four sections starting from the bottom, designing for both hikers and horses. Two lunch breaks and a nap later, we were headed back down the trail to a supper of grilled chicken, green beans, salad and garlic bread. The day was colored by a lost hiker up the way from us.
Tuesday, we had a full crew of Trail Tamers, but the four park service crew members left us for search and rescue duty. We listened to helicopters overhead all day as they flew up and down the Roaring River. We built rock foundations for the downhill side of the trail, measured and placed treated 4x8 log risers. We secured the logs with large rocks locked into place with some gravity.
Wednesday, Shawn and his trail crew were back. With more hands, the work went faster despite some re-design setbacks. That afternoon, we heard on the rangers’ radio that the lost hiker was found, safe and sound.
Thursday, work went well with all hands on board, until a smashed finger pulled Jerome and Steve off the project in the afternoon. By Friday, we had completed all but 10 feet of trail, crushing rock into the pads and filling with saved dirt (No borrow pits!). The park crew and their families came for dinner of leftovers and brought brownies, ice cream, children and dogs. Dave Larsen, Trail Maintenance Supervisor for RMNP gave us a certificate of appreciation.
Saturday was a free day, with most of us letting Steve and John Shanks break the camp while we went up over the continental divide in the van, took pictures of marmots, ate lunch by a beautiful alpine lake, and hiked. That evening we all enjoyed a sumptuous Szechuan and Mandarin style dinner in Estes Park. We filled the van with $3.199 gasoline.
We left Sunday morning at 7:40 a.m. and arrived about 7:40 p.m. in Lubbock. Eager to get back to Austin, we left about 6 a.m. Monday, Labor Day, to arrive in Austin about 1:30 p.m.
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