The Partly McCloudy crew, finished two nine day spikes this July. Our first adventure took us to Trout Ck. in the Cabinet mountains. We began our days at eight A.M with a stretch circle and a question followed by a hike to the work site on the trail where we did a variety of tasks. While on this hot hitch we ran a chain saw, lopped some trees limbs, did a little brush work, and did a ton of retread. On our breaks during the afternoon Kai, Aaron, and I would go cool off in the creek that ran nearby the trail.
Work was a joy and challenge. The weather was beautiful and the view was spectacular from the work site. As we walked the trail going to and from camp we came across traces of elk, deer, mountain lion and bear, but no sightings of them. One day on spike we heard a tree make a sound when it came crashing down by itself to the forest floor. That was really neat to experience.
After work around 6 P.M we start dinner. Everyone takes a turn to cook dinner for the crew each night. Evan made dank smokies, made from a deer he shot, which is a crew favorite. We eat real well when we work. Aaron especially likes to cook. While dinner is cooking we might play some frisbee. Kai is the ultimate frisbee guy. We went through 12 cubies while we were up there. The extra water and good eats definitely attributed to our steady work and the completion of the trail.
On our last nine day hitch we worked on trail number 56 on Caribou mountain. A quarter mile away from our campsite on our first day drive there we spotted grey wolf pups playing in the road. The very next night we heard more wolves howl. After the first two days we heard and saw no more of the wolves.
Trail 56 is about four to five miles and at a steep gradient for the first three and a half miles before hikers or horseback riders hit the meadows. We did a lot of work on the trail that ran through the meadows, because there was barely any trail due to all the Bear Grass overgrowth. While we were up there we mostly did retread making sure the trail was 24 inches or wider so we swung our pulaskis for eight days like champs and for the last day we took care of some blow downs, and did some rocking and rooting. One day we were up there it began to hail. The hail was nearly a 1/4 inch round and smaller. Boy does it sting when you get hit, but the helmets did a pretty good job deflecting these little balls of fury. The storm did not get us down and Jack, our crew leader, had an idea. What better way to spend the time then have a hail ball fight. Once it started Aaron disappeared and took cover in the trees while we played but we still got him a good shot. He was not down with that game but he sure got us later. He scared the jeepers out of Evan and me on our way down the trail the next day. Aaron got ahead on the trail, hid in the bushes waiting patiently and then surprise!... you're screaming your head off. It was all done in good fun but lucky for him no one was carrying bear spray. We were in heavy Grizzly territory, but the only bear sight was a black bear seen by Kai on one of the morning drives up to the work sight, and a pile of bear crap on the trail up in the meadows getting closer towards the peak of the mountain.
The sponsors told us it was a privilege to be up there since most of the time the trail is closed for the purpose of habitat security. This trail leads into Canada where a numbered obelisk was left as a reference to place and history on the Swath which runs between the U.S and Canada. The Swath is an amazing sight. It is a long clearing and a visual indication of the border between the two countries. The Swath runs as far as the eye can literally see with an occasional echo transmitting through the canyons of the airspace border patrol doing their job. Over the nine days we worked on Caribou there were thunderstorms and sunshine but overall the experience was etched in my brain as a good one. Who does not love clean air, fresh water, and the colorful green glow of the forest?
After work was especially fun. We played some new games like whiffle ball and , eucher, a card game. Paul is the master wiffle ball player but I am not so bad myself. We teamed up and annihilated the rest of the crew, but when it came to eucher Jack and Kai were nearly undefeated. I am for sure not betting on that game when I play.
On our way back to the Kalispell office most of us were disturbed by the noise and commotion of the city life for a minute. The solitude and the peaceful atmosphere found in the forest is a treasure that we're glad is there. As a crew we all had a good time and did a prime job on the trail maintenance we completed.
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