NYC crew members Nicole Trammel and Ellie Meshnick take a rare pause.
The Ketchum Ranger District (KRD) trail crew has been busy working with three Northwest Youth Corp (NYC) crews on trails impacted by last summer’s Beaver Creek Fire. Doing heavy manual labor during the daylight hours, and camping out along the trails each evening is not everyone’s cup of tea, but these young people seem to thrive on it. Each crew is here for three weeks of work.
NYC crew members working on a reroute on Greenhorn Tr. #156
Why a reroute of Greenhorn Tr. #156 was needed here. Looking down the trail from a point just below its intersection with Imperial Tr. #315.
So far, the fire impacted trails that the KRD and NYC crews have been teaming up on include Castle Creek Tr. #140, Greenhorn Tr. #156, and Imperial Tr. #315.
Scout troops climb up to their work on Imperial.
60 Boy Scouts jump to it on Imperial. Leadership by KRD, NYC, WRVTC.
The KRD trail crew also hosted 60 boy scouts and a half dozen scout leaders a couple of weeks ago. The scouts worked on a short reroute of Imperial Trail. One of the NYC crews was there to help lead the effort, which was nice considering all of the hands that needed to be kept busy. I was there too. At the time it all seemed a little overwhelming, trying to keep 20 scouts productively busy, but it really turned out to be a lot of fun. The scouts were real receptive to instruction and were willing and eager to dig right in.
NYC crew members Brittany Cochran and Jon Booth enjoy some dirt slingin’ with the KRD’s Andy Martone.
The first three NYC crews have departed the forest, but another crew is on its way here and scheduled to start work very soon. You’ll know them if you run into them out on the trail by their hardhats, dirty faces, and easy smiles. Give a greeting as you approach to let them know that you are there, and ask them to give you instructions on how and when to pass.