February 12-16, 2004
Davy Crockett National Forest, Texas - by George Boemerman
The weather forecast was not good for the forest area--wet and cold with possible snow. However, a group of stout-hearted Trail Tamers decided to withstand the elements and get some work done. Ray Fore, Rocky Nelson, Terence Donovan, David Justice, Chuck Lundstedt and George Boemerman arrived early Thursday, set up camp and on Friday pre-positioned the materials needed to repair two bridges and build a third from scratch. Forest Service personnel, Merlinda Schory and a new member, Chris Bishop, led us to the work sites at the far north end of the Four C Trail and worked right along with us. That evening Bob Weglarz arrived and, at 2:30 in the morning, in the rain, Kyle Herzog and Jennifer arrived from Austin (real tigers) and set up camp.
Saturday morning was wet so we all congregated at the covered pavilion for breakfast and watched one of the most picturesque snowfalls on Ratcliff Lake. By 10:30am the weather dried up a bit and we went to work. We completed a good day of bridge building and repairing, then returned to the pavilion. The campground hosts, Ralph and Ruth Neilson, were there with extra firewood and had a good fire in the fireplace waiting for us. We enjoyed a great Saturday nite feast. Rocky Nelson fried up a good sized turkey, Merlinda provided a Mississippi Mud cake and sweet potato pie, Ray Fore and Bob Weglarz made big salads, and George Boemerman baked a peach cobbler in a dutch oven. Considering the cold, wet environment, the roaring campfire and rich food were most welcome! Great discussions around the campfire added to our evening.
Sunday was bright and clear. We finished our projects about 4pm and returned to the pavilion to fry up a second turkey and eat the leftovers, and we continued our fireside discussion. As agreed by the Forest Service personnel, that concluded our work project and on Monday we packed up and headed home. It was another fine Trail Tamers expedition to Davy Crockett National Forest. However, it was missing a key element. Pearlie Green is still on active duty with the Army Reserves. We miss her and wish her God Speed!
Saturday, February 28, 2004
Sunday, February 1, 2004
1/31/04 Acacia Preserve Trip Report
January 31, 2004
Acacia Preserve, Texas - by Lynda DeGroot
After postponing this project due to heavy rains, everything was great just one week later! Ten Trail Tamers met at the Side Saddle Cafe in Dripping Springs and convoyed to the preserve where we were met by the owner, Nancy Moore. After a brief discussion about what she wanted us to do, we grabbed our tools and set about clearing as much cedar as we possibly could, but we sure could have used a chain saw or two! At any rate, with nothing more than bow saws, folding handsaws and loppers, we managed to cut, drag and stack cedar limbs in dozens of huge piles. (Nancy is in the process of trying to remove much of the cedar in order to allow native grasses to re-establish themselves. She's helping this along by scattering as much seed by hand as possible.)
After taking a quick lunch break, we finished up, rounded up the tools and at about 2:30 pm we headed out with Nancy in the lead. She took us to a place where we were able to access Dead Man's Hole without having to hike all the way. This new access point brought us to the top of the grotto where the waterfall goes over into the pool below. It was beautiful! If you know what Hamilton Pool looks like, this is almost a twin but much more pristine! What a great treat and wonderful way to end a hard day's work.
Acacia Preserve, Texas - by Lynda DeGroot
After postponing this project due to heavy rains, everything was great just one week later! Ten Trail Tamers met at the Side Saddle Cafe in Dripping Springs and convoyed to the preserve where we were met by the owner, Nancy Moore. After a brief discussion about what she wanted us to do, we grabbed our tools and set about clearing as much cedar as we possibly could, but we sure could have used a chain saw or two! At any rate, with nothing more than bow saws, folding handsaws and loppers, we managed to cut, drag and stack cedar limbs in dozens of huge piles. (Nancy is in the process of trying to remove much of the cedar in order to allow native grasses to re-establish themselves. She's helping this along by scattering as much seed by hand as possible.)
After taking a quick lunch break, we finished up, rounded up the tools and at about 2:30 pm we headed out with Nancy in the lead. She took us to a place where we were able to access Dead Man's Hole without having to hike all the way. This new access point brought us to the top of the grotto where the waterfall goes over into the pool below. It was beautiful! If you know what Hamilton Pool looks like, this is almost a twin but much more pristine! What a great treat and wonderful way to end a hard day's work.
Tuesday, January 20, 2004
1/10-11/04 Bamberger Ranch Preserve Trip Report
January 10 & 11, 2004
Bamberger Ranch Preserve, Texas - by Lynda DeGroot
Some mighty fine weather greeted 22 Trail Tamers who ventured out to this wonderful place near Johnson City. Several members drove a long way just for the privilege of working on the new Turkey Hollow Trail that has been created in a portion of the preserve that we hadn't seen before. One person drove in from Sequin, another drove all the way from Laredo(!), while others came from Cedar Park, Pflugerville, Driftwood, Dripping Springs, Buda and, of course, Austin. We were even paid a visit by a member from Lampasas whom we haven't seen in a while.
When everyone had gathered in front of Hes' old General Store on Saturday morning, our hosts for the weekend (Colleen Gardner and Steven Fulton) told us where we were going and what kind of work we would be doing. Then, after a brief tool safety talk given by our president, Dave DeGroot, we boarded the "Bluebonnet" for our short jaunt to the worksite.
Upon arrival at the site, we grabbed our tools and began the task of carving this new path through thick stands of immature cedar. Chainsaws were wailing as their operators followed the flags marking the route through the heavily wooded area, cutting trees or branches that were in the way. The rest of us followed, trimming back smaller limbs and cutting in the trail tread where necessary. Several members built large rock cairns to help people locate the trail in open areas where it could easily be hidden by the tall grasses. Unfortunately, one of our newest members took a spill and hurt his shoulder but he continued working.
After we finished for the day, Colleen, Steven and his wife prepared a fine feast of tamales, ranch style beans, chips & salsa. Most of the crew headed home afterward, but nine members stayed the night and were planning to finish the rest of the trail the next day. We camped near the old general store since it has a bathroom, and we built a great campfire under a big oak tree. The sky was clear and the stars were awesome!
The next day, we were up early and ready to go after a quick breakfast. This time we drove a couple of vehicles to the other end of the trail to start working on it. When quittin' time rolled around at about noon, I was told that, in all, we completed a little over half of the trail, which is more than a mile long. After saying our goodbyes to Colleen and Steven, we headed home.
Bamberger Ranch Preserve, Texas - by Lynda DeGroot
Some mighty fine weather greeted 22 Trail Tamers who ventured out to this wonderful place near Johnson City. Several members drove a long way just for the privilege of working on the new Turkey Hollow Trail that has been created in a portion of the preserve that we hadn't seen before. One person drove in from Sequin, another drove all the way from Laredo(!), while others came from Cedar Park, Pflugerville, Driftwood, Dripping Springs, Buda and, of course, Austin. We were even paid a visit by a member from Lampasas whom we haven't seen in a while.
When everyone had gathered in front of Hes' old General Store on Saturday morning, our hosts for the weekend (Colleen Gardner and Steven Fulton) told us where we were going and what kind of work we would be doing. Then, after a brief tool safety talk given by our president, Dave DeGroot, we boarded the "Bluebonnet" for our short jaunt to the worksite.
Upon arrival at the site, we grabbed our tools and began the task of carving this new path through thick stands of immature cedar. Chainsaws were wailing as their operators followed the flags marking the route through the heavily wooded area, cutting trees or branches that were in the way. The rest of us followed, trimming back smaller limbs and cutting in the trail tread where necessary. Several members built large rock cairns to help people locate the trail in open areas where it could easily be hidden by the tall grasses. Unfortunately, one of our newest members took a spill and hurt his shoulder but he continued working.
After we finished for the day, Colleen, Steven and his wife prepared a fine feast of tamales, ranch style beans, chips & salsa. Most of the crew headed home afterward, but nine members stayed the night and were planning to finish the rest of the trail the next day. We camped near the old general store since it has a bathroom, and we built a great campfire under a big oak tree. The sky was clear and the stars were awesome!
The next day, we were up early and ready to go after a quick breakfast. This time we drove a couple of vehicles to the other end of the trail to start working on it. When quittin' time rolled around at about noon, I was told that, in all, we completed a little over half of the trail, which is more than a mile long. After saying our goodbyes to Colleen and Steven, we headed home.
Sunday, November 30, 2003
11/03 Copper Breaks State Park Trip Report
November 6, 2003
Copper Breaks State Park, QUANAH, Texas - by Galen Stewart
The second Copper Breaks S.P. work trip was made in early November. We all arrived at the park by Thursday afternoon and set up the camp. On Thursday evening, the sky opened up and we had over an inch of rain. As a result of the rain and muddy trail conditions, we had to alter our initial plans to work on the trail in the northwest end of the park. Instead, Fred Winkler and Chuck Lundstedt worked with Rick Morrison (a.k.a. Ranger Rick) in clearing the Rocky Ledges trail while Mary Zeitler, Ray Fore and Galen Stewart began to make several new directional and informational signs.
On Sunday afternoon, we walked the Bull Canyon Trail with Rick. He showed us the area of the park where future trail work is needed. On Sunday evening, the park staff prepared hamburgers, etc., as a thank-you for our weekend's work. Both the park manager, Dave Turner and Rick again expressed their appreciation for our work and said they would contact Lynda to request additional Trail Tamer help in 2004.
On Monday morning, we headed back to our homes with the feeling that we had again made a positive contribution to the maintenance of one of our State Parks and also had a very positive work experience with the staff.
Copper Breaks State Park, QUANAH, Texas - by Galen Stewart
The second Copper Breaks S.P. work trip was made in early November. We all arrived at the park by Thursday afternoon and set up the camp. On Thursday evening, the sky opened up and we had over an inch of rain. As a result of the rain and muddy trail conditions, we had to alter our initial plans to work on the trail in the northwest end of the park. Instead, Fred Winkler and Chuck Lundstedt worked with Rick Morrison (a.k.a. Ranger Rick) in clearing the Rocky Ledges trail while Mary Zeitler, Ray Fore and Galen Stewart began to make several new directional and informational signs.
On Sunday afternoon, we walked the Bull Canyon Trail with Rick. He showed us the area of the park where future trail work is needed. On Sunday evening, the park staff prepared hamburgers, etc., as a thank-you for our weekend's work. Both the park manager, Dave Turner and Rick again expressed their appreciation for our work and said they would contact Lynda to request additional Trail Tamer help in 2004.
On Monday morning, we headed back to our homes with the feeling that we had again made a positive contribution to the maintenance of one of our State Parks and also had a very positive work experience with the staff.
Thursday, October 30, 2003
10/18-25/03 Guadalupe Mountains National Park Trip Report
October 18-25, 2003
Guadalupe Mountains National Park, TX - by Bill Kemp and Derly Rivera
On October 18, Trail Tamers returned to Guadalupe Mountains National Park for the ninth year. We met at the Ship on the Desert (a former Exxon executive’s vacation home) late in the afternoon and settled in while Derly prepared his specialty stew. Sunday morning we got up early so that the backcountry crew would have plenty of time to drive to Dog Canyon and then hike up to the Mescalaro campground, which needed significant maintenance. The members of the backcountry crew were Derly Rivera (leader), Jack Graham, Del Grosenheider, Bob Saegert, Louise Stahl, and Chris Zielinski.
Although the crew at the Ship had intended to make Sunday a day of leisure, Tony Armijo, the Park’s trail supervisor, asked us to work that day because of the damage done to the trails by a 5 inch rain the week before we arrived. The Park personnel assisting us were Jack Kincaid and Javier Godinez. The Ship crew (Bill Kemp - leader, Randall Bosarge, Margaret Hill, Marianna Hobbs, Jim Reed, Jim Robinson, Jack Smith, and Mary Zeitler) spent the first part of the week rebuilding the Frijole trail through numerous washes. We moved monster rocks into position on both sides of the former trail and then filled the middle with rocks and soil. Unfortunately, we did not have our rock carrying chains with us. Carrying large rocks is dangerous work, but we only had one minor injury. During the latter part of the week we replaced the soil that the storm had washed from the trail tread. This involved finding soil away from the trail and carrying it in buckets to the trail. Finding large quantities of soil was a challenge. We also installed water bars using cedar that the Park had purchased. We commented that in the Hill Country we don’t BUY cedar.
We saw lots of wildlife during the week, including mule deer, coyotes, javalina, jack rabbits and quail. After taking a nap, Bill looked up into the tree above him and saw a strange object, which turned out to be a large porcupine. Several birders in our crew reported seeing many different species.
Bill handled the meals at the Ship while Derly organized meals in the backcountry. The Ship crew enjoyed shrimp scampi, beef brisket, grilled chicken, lasagna and Texas chili. Allan Weber, you should have been on this trip!
The traditional Friday evening party was moved to Thursday evening after we learned that Friday was a day off for the Park employees. Tony Armijo, Jack Kincaid and Javier Godinez represented the Park. The Park personnel presented a cake honoring CTTT for nine years at Guadalupe Mountains. We also received t-shirts and patches. We stayed up rather late trying to outdo each other telling stories.
On Friday, our day off, Tony arranged for Ranger Frostie Bennett and Carol, a volunteer with 30 years caving experience, to take us on a guided tour of Slaughter Canyon Cave. We used flashlights to wander through the cave, which has many delightful formations. Two strips of plastic tape on the bat guano floor marked the trail. We saw large stalactites “growing” on a bat guano floor. Bats have been in the cave for 10’s of thousands of years
During the week some of us met the biologist and the geologist for the Park. We showed some rock samples to geologist Gordon Bell, who told us what they were and explained in broader terms the geology of the Guadalupe Mountains. He offered to make a presentation to our whole crew on our next trip.
After leaving the Ship on Saturday morning, we had breakfast at the Nickel Creek Café, owned by Jack and Jo Kincaid. Earlier in the week, we had met Jack’s wife, Jo, when we stopped by for a couple beers at the café. Also having breakfast were several members of the Sierra Club crew that would be working the next week. In fact, one of our members, Jack Graham, was also going to be taking part in the Sierra Club service week. We kidded him about the fact that he would have two weeks of trail work, good food, and great company except that the first week would cost $90 while the second week would cost $395.
Mescalero Campground Report - By Derly Rivera
On Sunday, October 19, after a five-mile hike from the Dog Canyon trailhead, the CTTT six- member crew pitched camp at the Mescalero Campground in preparation for the week’s work. Water and a camp stove were brought in by Jack Kincaid and his mule train. Roger Muniz, the campground ranger, was assigned to work with us for the week. A central kitchen served two hot meals daily, with hot desserts being a special treat at the end of the day!
Adjusting quickly to the 6400 foot elevation, we began clearing trails to the campground and removing rocks from the designated tent sites. At one site, a rock estimated at close to 1000 pounds was unearthed and removed. This task alone took about four hours to complete. The major work was finished Wednesday afternoon with minor cleanup done on Thursday morning.
The crew hiked out Thursday afternoon, with five people taking the McKittrick Trail out. The crew welcomed Jack’s offer to take our backpacks out on his mules.
At the “Ship”, hot showers and bunk beds ended the day for a tired crew. Thank you, Chris, Jack, Bob, Louise, Del, Roger, and Jack.
Guadalupe Mountains National Park, TX - by Bill Kemp and Derly Rivera
On October 18, Trail Tamers returned to Guadalupe Mountains National Park for the ninth year. We met at the Ship on the Desert (a former Exxon executive’s vacation home) late in the afternoon and settled in while Derly prepared his specialty stew. Sunday morning we got up early so that the backcountry crew would have plenty of time to drive to Dog Canyon and then hike up to the Mescalaro campground, which needed significant maintenance. The members of the backcountry crew were Derly Rivera (leader), Jack Graham, Del Grosenheider, Bob Saegert, Louise Stahl, and Chris Zielinski.
Although the crew at the Ship had intended to make Sunday a day of leisure, Tony Armijo, the Park’s trail supervisor, asked us to work that day because of the damage done to the trails by a 5 inch rain the week before we arrived. The Park personnel assisting us were Jack Kincaid and Javier Godinez. The Ship crew (Bill Kemp - leader, Randall Bosarge, Margaret Hill, Marianna Hobbs, Jim Reed, Jim Robinson, Jack Smith, and Mary Zeitler) spent the first part of the week rebuilding the Frijole trail through numerous washes. We moved monster rocks into position on both sides of the former trail and then filled the middle with rocks and soil. Unfortunately, we did not have our rock carrying chains with us. Carrying large rocks is dangerous work, but we only had one minor injury. During the latter part of the week we replaced the soil that the storm had washed from the trail tread. This involved finding soil away from the trail and carrying it in buckets to the trail. Finding large quantities of soil was a challenge. We also installed water bars using cedar that the Park had purchased. We commented that in the Hill Country we don’t BUY cedar.
We saw lots of wildlife during the week, including mule deer, coyotes, javalina, jack rabbits and quail. After taking a nap, Bill looked up into the tree above him and saw a strange object, which turned out to be a large porcupine. Several birders in our crew reported seeing many different species.
Bill handled the meals at the Ship while Derly organized meals in the backcountry. The Ship crew enjoyed shrimp scampi, beef brisket, grilled chicken, lasagna and Texas chili. Allan Weber, you should have been on this trip!
The traditional Friday evening party was moved to Thursday evening after we learned that Friday was a day off for the Park employees. Tony Armijo, Jack Kincaid and Javier Godinez represented the Park. The Park personnel presented a cake honoring CTTT for nine years at Guadalupe Mountains. We also received t-shirts and patches. We stayed up rather late trying to outdo each other telling stories.
On Friday, our day off, Tony arranged for Ranger Frostie Bennett and Carol, a volunteer with 30 years caving experience, to take us on a guided tour of Slaughter Canyon Cave. We used flashlights to wander through the cave, which has many delightful formations. Two strips of plastic tape on the bat guano floor marked the trail. We saw large stalactites “growing” on a bat guano floor. Bats have been in the cave for 10’s of thousands of years
During the week some of us met the biologist and the geologist for the Park. We showed some rock samples to geologist Gordon Bell, who told us what they were and explained in broader terms the geology of the Guadalupe Mountains. He offered to make a presentation to our whole crew on our next trip.
After leaving the Ship on Saturday morning, we had breakfast at the Nickel Creek Café, owned by Jack and Jo Kincaid. Earlier in the week, we had met Jack’s wife, Jo, when we stopped by for a couple beers at the café. Also having breakfast were several members of the Sierra Club crew that would be working the next week. In fact, one of our members, Jack Graham, was also going to be taking part in the Sierra Club service week. We kidded him about the fact that he would have two weeks of trail work, good food, and great company except that the first week would cost $90 while the second week would cost $395.
Mescalero Campground Report - By Derly Rivera
On Sunday, October 19, after a five-mile hike from the Dog Canyon trailhead, the CTTT six- member crew pitched camp at the Mescalero Campground in preparation for the week’s work. Water and a camp stove were brought in by Jack Kincaid and his mule train. Roger Muniz, the campground ranger, was assigned to work with us for the week. A central kitchen served two hot meals daily, with hot desserts being a special treat at the end of the day!
Adjusting quickly to the 6400 foot elevation, we began clearing trails to the campground and removing rocks from the designated tent sites. At one site, a rock estimated at close to 1000 pounds was unearthed and removed. This task alone took about four hours to complete. The major work was finished Wednesday afternoon with minor cleanup done on Thursday morning.
The crew hiked out Thursday afternoon, with five people taking the McKittrick Trail out. The crew welcomed Jack’s offer to take our backpacks out on his mules.
At the “Ship”, hot showers and bunk beds ended the day for a tired crew. Thank you, Chris, Jack, Bob, Louise, Del, Roger, and Jack.
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