Summer Crew, Assemble!

The Summer Crew has arrived!

After tying off our loose ends at the various parks we'd worked at, Trail Crew spent two weeks at the Polk City Shop, preparing ourselves and our equipment for the trials/trails of the coming summer. This was mostly manual labor, as we cleaned and sorted our tools, equipment and vehicles. However Trail Crew is much more than a simple labor crew, and there was a great deal of preparation to be made in order to maintain this standard. Educational presentations were prepared by all of us in order to introduce the new crew to our bio-diesel program, ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) trail construction, environmental ethics and even healthy and sustainable eating.

Troy, Ty and Tim enjoy a campfire on our first morning.

On the morning of May 17th, the entire crew assembled for the first time. After setting up camp at Massey Marina and making introductions, we brought everyone to the Mines of Spain Interpretive Center for our favorite (yeah right) job ever: paper work. This took up most of the morning, and after lunch we made our first presentations. These were about the program's history and basic trail techniques. This then lead into our first hike, lead by myself, Adam and a veteran of last year's Trail Crew: Troy Heeren. As we hiked the various trails at the Mines of Spain, we pointed out the various problems and the implemented solutions.

This was not only a learning experience for the new Summer Crew members, but also for those of us leading the hike. Teaching is often the best way to learn, particularly when teaching those who are entirely inexperienced because they often have a fresh and novel perspective of the material. Their questions often challenge you to not take anything for granted, and can also cause you to question aspects of your work you had never even fully considered. This made Monday a very enriching experience for everyone.

Tuesday was spent with more presentations, followed by our first real project (and VGP): the completion and maintenance of the trail to Ice Cave at Pictured Rocks Park in Jones County. This was the site of work for several generations of Trail Crew, including us. The limestone terrace we built last fall has held up quite well (with the help of the Jones County Conservation Office) and Pictured Rocks Park itself has gone through a major overhaul. It was good to return to the site of our earlier work, and to assess it with the new perspectives we've developed after months of experience working on various other projects. Overall we were proud of our work, and glad to return to provide some finishing touches.

The Crew assembles on the stone terrace we built last fall.

Our primary project was extending our trail to the newly completed picnic shelter. We also provided some minor maintenance to the trail where it needed it (mostly filling in eroded portions), closed off a section of the old trail that is no longer in service, and transplanted a number of local plants onto a section of heavily disturbed soil that needed to be restored. This was a hefty load for the new Summer Crew, but they took everything in eager stride and performed admirably. We also had the assistance of two volunteers. A special thanks goes out to Professor Charles Frohman and his son for joining us on the trail!

Crew members and a volunteer work to extend the trail to the picnic shelter.

Delilah and Molly haul rock out to a section of trail that needs attention.

Adam, Elizabeth and Shirley transplant various species of plants to the section of bare soil.

The whole crew assembles after a job well done!

Wednesday and Thursday consisted of a mix of presentations and various projects. Our primary work was on a damaged stairway at the Horseshoe Bluff at the Mines of Spain. It is a harsh reality that a construction project that takes days, weeks or months can be deconstructed in moments. This is a reality that Trail Crew has to face on a frequent basis. While it is most often nature that inflicts the damage and wear on our projects, careless and malicious people are often the source of our most significant problems. In the case of this stairway, various welds and boards were broken by persons who found entertainment in dropping large stones off the bluff. Frustrating as such activity is, we can't allow ourselves to be demoralized by such carelessness. Instead we press on, doing our best to repair the damage and prevent such problems from occurring in the future.

Overall it was a busy, tough and taxing week. But it was also fun, enriching and exciting. The next few months promise more of all of the above, and Trail Crew is eager for it!