[pct-l] Trees Down in Section L

[Barry Teschlog]

Yes, Mary / Fireweed, many Angels are older and many, both young and old, aren't physically able to do the "dig in the dirt" kind of trail work.  I'm not advocating that they be shut out, on the contrary, I'm asking that all Angels consider expanding their minds to consider other options of how they can help the hikers by helping the trail.  I'd add that by helping the trail (and thereby helping people, instead of helping the people directly) there isn't any tendency to foster the ill side effects that the proliferation in the soda / burger / beer "magic" has (IMO on those ill side effects).  


In case you and other Angels weren't aware, on our trail crew, we have many 70+ year olds, and a few 80+ year olds who are out there digging in the dirt.  You're absolutely right that it's not for everyone at those ages (or even for younger folks), but these older guys and gals on the crew know how to get it on with axe, saw, shovel and lopper.  Many probably are not as quick as the younger folks, but that's OK, since some is better than none and most of the older volunteers are very experienced in the tricks of the trade, know how to do it right and make excellent mentors to the less experienced volunteers.


Even if a person is incapable of the physical aspects of trail crew (chopping, sawing, digging, lopping, etc), that doesn't mean they can't be of incredibly valuable service to their local crew, and therefore by extension to the trail, and by further extension and to ALL the hikers, now and well on into the future.  A trail crew is a team, and needs everyone working together, with all the roles filled, to be fully effective.  A quarterback needs the offensive line, the pitcher needs a catcher, a race car driver is ineffective without a solid pit crew (and engine builder, and body mechanic, and....).  The QB might throw the winning touchdown, but it wouldn't happen without the line or the person making sure his equipment is in order, the pitcher might get credit for a no hitter, but without the catcher and solid play from the fielders, it would never happen.  The engine builder or gas can guy on the pit crew takes the checkered flag on race day as
 much as the person at the wheel does.


Here's a question:  Do you know what other roles we need on our trail crew besides dirt volunteers, none of which requires using any tool more complex than car or consumer electronics, nor is more physical?  


We need camp cooks / hosts for our car camp trail crew trips.  It's a relief to the crew to know that their sleeping bag and tent  & stuff will be there, unpilfered at the dispersed camp site on the side of a Forest Road at the end of a day, guarded by the cook / host, who for most of the day is doing nothing more difficult than reading a pleasant book in the shade.  It's a huge benefit to the crew to come back to big pitchers of cold sports drinks and hors d'ouvers all laid out after a hot day of cutting brush.  To have the solar showers sitting out, all warmed up, after digging dusty tread all day is real "Magic" for the crew, who are out there doing their magic to the trail.  And think of the increased effectiveness and efficiency for the dirt crew, as a cook / host allows the crew to be able to hit the trail earlier in the day, and staying later in the afternoon, since someone else is taking care of breakfast dishes, and doing the early prep for
 dinner.  I'll add to this that the better we take care of our dirt volunteers, the more likely they'll come back in the future (and that's one of the huge leverage points a camp cook / host has).  Effort level - cooking, dishes, food prep, mostly morning and evening, mid part of day is kicking back.  Benefit - crew able to work longer and has a more positive experience, increasing likelihood of coming back for more in the future.


We're doing log out in a bit over a week on 40 miles of trail south of I-90 / Snoqualmie Pass.  We could sure use some nice safe drivers with an SUV willing to shuttle the crew from the exit points to the start points.  That would save a lot of time for the saw teams in having to arrange the shuttle amongst themselves to fetch the cars at the end of the day, time they can spend covering more miles of trail, cutting more logs, fixing more things as they go.  It would also be great if one of these drivers would be willing to just hang out and the end of day meeting point, as the various teams will finish their sections as different times.  They could collect up the tools and sign out the teams as they finish, allowing the crew lead to spend more time in the field since they wouldn't have to insure that they're the first one back.  Effort level - driving, hanging out, and a bit of paperwork.  Benefit - allows crew to spend more time in the field
 working on the trail, less fatigue getting to / from trail, one way trips allow more miles of "new" trail to be covered for the same distance walked.


Can a person still hike?  Can they work a GPS and write?  Are they observant and able to be trained in what trail work needs to be done?  Excellent, you've just qualified as a trail scout.  We need people willing to get out and hike the trail and report back what they find, in detail - no digging or sawing required, just walking.  As a crew lead, I need to know what tools I'll need, how much of a problem there is, where it is, exactly, how many logs are down, how big they are, complicating factors, etc.  In short, actionable information.  Without it, we're flying blind, and far less effective than we could be.  YOU could be this person if you're still able to get out and walk a few miles of trail.  Effort level - walking.  Benefit - saves dirt volunteers from this task, allowing their limited hours to be spent doing actual work on the trail.


Can you run a computer?  Are you organized?  Can you keep track of names?  Can you write a coherent e-mail?  Can you shuffle & file paperwork?  Detail oriented?  Reliable?  Great, you just qualified to be our trail crew's volunteer coordinator and paperwork person.  All of us volunteer crew leads only have so many hours to put into the volunteer efforts.  Relieve me and our other volunteer crew leads of having to do the paperwork and we'll have more time available to be in the field, fixing tread and cutting brush and clearing blow down.  I'd love to show up at the tool cache Friday morning (when I'm taking a brushing team out) to find a packet with all my paperwork there - the sign in sheet with everyone who's said they'll be there, the Trail head Communication Plan all filled out, the correct Job Hazard Analysis all printed out, the volunteers all informed with detailed directions, etc.  But instead, I'll spend an hour or so getting this all
 together on my own (and by extension use up another hour of the "hall passes" I get to go play on the trail, an hour that could be spent in the field instead).  Effort level - clicky, clicky, clicky, print, print, print on a computer plus being organized.  Benefit - takes a load off crew leaders so they can focus their energy and effort on the project, allows crew leaders to spend more time in the field


Are you a good photographer?  Great....we'd love someone to take pictures & video for us on a regular basis, that we could post on the crew Facebook page.  Yep, PR matters and pretty pictures & video help to recruit new volunteers.  I can't count how many times on a crew where I've thought it would be great to get some pictures, but was too busy keeping things organized, or doing a field repair on a balky brush saw, or making sure everyone was being safe, etc to break into the pack to grab the phone / camera to take some pictures. As a saw team leader, I need to focus on keeping the team safe and directing the crew in the cuts, instead of shooting video of the great "release" when that log is finally cut free and bounds down the hill on the carefully placed skids.  Your great photo or video may be the one that catches the eye of some strong, young kid and turns them toward volunteerism.  Effort level - walk out with the crew and take pictures and
 video.  Post work party editing and posting.  Benefit - increases number of volunteers joining trail crews.

Tool maintainer.  It would be nice to have a person dedicated to maintaining our tools.  There's nothing worse than a dull cutting implement.  Properly sharpened tools make the dirt workers more effective.  Replacing broken handles increases our available tool supply.  Effort level - filing, using bench grinder, bench level wood working (handle replacement), painting.  Benefit - well maintained tools make a worker more effective in the field - compare chopping a log with a dull axe versus a sharp one.

Here's one right up the alley for some Angles:  Host your local trail crew.  The Dinsmores just hosted us for a work party we did on June 28-29 at Stevens Pass.  It was a rainy weekend, and having a dry place to go back to, relatively close to the trail, was a welcome respite from the rain.  Our crew effectiveness was increased measurably as we were able to get 17 people to do both days of this work party - without the camping at the Dinsmores, I KNOW for a fact we wouldn't have had all those people for both days, most would have been only single day volunteers.  


Mary / Fireweed (and any other Angels that think they're not physical enough to be part of trail crew), in short, pretty much if a person is up and kicking, they can contribute to your local trail crew in some minimally physical to non-physical way that makes the dirt / saw workers far more productive and efficient.  If a person can drive hikers to town, they can shuttle a saw team to an entry point.  If a person can haul and stock coolers and flip burgers for "magic", they can be the cook / host for a trail crew car camp trip.  If they're handy with a computer, they can coordinate and relieve crew leads of paperwork.  If they're still able to hike a few miles, they can scout conditions or be a photographer.  Each one of these things allows a "dirt" worker to spend that much more time or energy in the dirt and to be more effective.

Mary / Fireweek, I think I've demonstrated multiple ways of how you and anyone else of practically any physical ability level, pretty much CAN be part of your local trail crew and make a huge contribution in this manner even without working "in the dirt". I'll add that from our mid-August and on to September and early October work parties, we get plenty of interaction with the thru hikers here in Washington, so there's that too.  


Oh, and if a person is even only minimally physical, there often times are many things that you CAN do "in the dirt".  For our crew on Friday, we're literally driving to where the trail crosses a road and will start working there.  We'll make it in about 1/2 mile, tops, for a daily mileage of a mile.....on pretty much flat ground.....and if someone on the crew can't do much physically, I have a couple of perfect jobs for them where the work is necessary, but not physically demanding......and we're (like all crews) a work at your own pace bunch, with a motto of "break early, break often" with chit chat being encouraged.....and we don't have a production quota.....but if you want to bust your backside with hard physical work, we won't say no to that either - we have a pick-mattock or grub hoe waiting for those folks, and plenty of slough and berm to take care of..


Respectfully submitted for your consideration.

Barry

PS - On that driver thing....we're looking at some work parties in future years that where we'll need people to drive our volunteers from North Bend to outside of Darrington (128 miles)......and then pick up the crew in Chelan after they take the boat down from Stehekin and return them to North Bend (151 miles) several days later.  We'd like to put in a crew in on the Suiattle River north of Glacier Peak so they can "one way" to Stehekin, performing maintenance as they go.  No digging in the dirt required for the volunteer drivers....just driving.  Without volunteers willing to be drivers, this crew is logistically impractical.  Another such work party that is logistically impractical without dedicated drivers would be a drop off at Hart's Pass, with a pick up at Manning.  Or from Rainy Pass / Highway 20 to Stehekin / Chelan.  There are several other one way trips that only make sense if we can get drivers to haul the crew from the exit point
 (where they'll meet and park their cars) to the entry point at the beginning of a trip, then the crew works back to their cars.  We'd love to have you drive for us Fireweed.







>________________________________
> From: Mary Kwart <mkwart at gci.net>
>To: pct-l at backcountry.net; tokencivilian at yahoo.com 
>Sent: Wednesday, July 9, 2014 11:35 AM
>Subject: Trees Down in Section L
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>Barry talked about trail angels putting more effort into trail work rather than food and drink on the trail. Many trail angels are older people who want to help hikers and cannot do the physical work of trail maintenance. The PCT is evolving as a trail experience, both for those hiking the trail and the larger trail community, which includes people in towns along the way, trail angels who don't hike and those who maintain an interest in reading about the trail. At one time there was no trail tread--then someone had an idea to develop this trail. Now there is trail tread. Some would argue that putting in a trail tread is trail "magic" that is inappropriate to wilderness--you should just go cross country in its most primitive form. And so it goes--water caches, food, rides, etc etc. Each one an escalation of trail magic. I believe it will all self regulate as the trail evolves.I don't reject this evolution because I believe the trail will cease to exist
 if it doesn't evolve along with the interaction of the surrounding trail community--including those who can't do trail work and those who don't hike at all but support the trail. I also use water from caches, believing this is a good part of the trail/community evolution.
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> I hiked my first section of the PCT in 1976. There were trail angels back then, but they didn't call themselves trail angels--they were just good people who wanted to help hikers.I also don't consider evolving forms of trail magic to be somehow violating a kind of trail "purity" that we experienced in the 70's. I say let it evolve--beer,burgers, water, rides. 
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>That being said, I do advocate those who physically can to join trail maintenance projects, but realize that the greater group of people who support the trail cannot physically do that kind of work. I don't want them to be shut out of being part of the trail experience. They will help the PCT survive and thrive.
>--Fireweed
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