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[pct-l] Re: Maintenance (a little bit long)



>    [pct-l] Fw: Maintenance

>Speaking of trail maintaining...
>
>Has anyone done it? On the PCT? 

	When I was in Americorps in 95 we worked on the PCT just north of
Grouse Gap Shelter in southern Oregon.  We also worked a short section
around Fish Lake,   As well as other non PCT Trail work mostly in the
Applegate area of Southern oregon (just west of Mt Ashland).  I found the
trail maintenance to be the most fun of the "conservation" work that we
were doing.  It can be difficult sometimes depending on what the
immediate task is, but generally speaking when your working with a group
no-one is going to let you get over your head physically.  You do have to
be careful though i.e. in 94 I was working for the California
Conservation Corps in Humboldt county clearing a line for a water pipe
swinging a pulaski and somehow managed to fly over backwards just as I
was starting the arc of swing from over my head.  This got me air borne
backwards pretty good and as my luck was already going poorly I had the
misfortune of landing on a bolt that was protruding from the water pipe,
rolling about 25 feet down the slope and "coming to" ( guess somehow I
lost consciousness) with my crew mates surrounding me with a very
peculiar expression of fear pasted across their faces, and telling me I
probably shouldn't try to move.  Still have a pretty good scar going
right across my spine and plenty of back pain.  Seem a bit strange that
I'm telling you this?  I'm definitely not trying to dissuade anyone from
trail work,  The reason I impart this story is to show that overall I had
so much fun doing this kind of work that I spent another 3 months with
the CCC and then spent  5 more months with Americorps.  
	There's nothing like coming to a boggy meadow where there is 2 or
3 or 4 trails meandering through a foot of mud and then building a bridge
out of downed trees from the neighboring woods.  When your done you can
look back and say to yourself that maybe you really did help to conserve
something worthwhile.   Or coming upon a log jam in a creek left by a
timber company and spending a week or a month pulling huge redwood trees
out, reinforcing the banks and then coming back months later and seeing a
few active reds (Salmon spawning pools) that weren't there before because
the fish just couldn't get there.
	Sometimes It can be difficult emotionally too, like if someone
tells you to kill a small tree growing right next to or on the tread of
the trail.  Or perhaps a large root has to be cut and you just don't feel
comfortable disturbing the peace of your host.  Conservation work can be
really tricky and is definitely a give and take relationship.  Often
times if I get a strong feeling that it is time to give something back to
the creation of which I often forget I am a symbiotic part, I just go out
on my own and do what I feel comfortable with on the local trails and
think that if somebody ends up doing something more or something
different well hey that's alright too.
	The SCA (student conservation association) has programs open to
any age but I don't know if they have shorter commitment stuff.  They
provide a stipend which is just enough to buy food with.  The PCTA I know
does stuff every year and I think they provide food.  Also local hiking
clubs often have trail maintenance days.   That's all that I can think of
right now hopefully some more suggestions will be posted.	

			Namaste,
		                  Tim Fearn



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