The California Conservation Corps visits the MCC - Domenic Santangelo, The CCC

PREPERATION:
On the evening of September3rd, the 2009 Montana exchange crew assembled. Seven Corpsmembers were selected: Slo cm’s, Aaron Smith, Aaron Harvey, and Alejandra Orozco. San Jose cm, Joe Moya, Salinas cm, Noemi Larios, and Santa Maria’s Kyle Robb.

We were scheduled to leave on Saturday September 5th and I was given two valuable days to prepare for our trip. Most of that time was spent packing a small spike camp, food from the kitchen, thorough vehicle inspections, and route planning. I also spent time going through each corpsmembers’ gear in order to assure they were properly geared up for backpacking in foul weather.

I managed to make it over to AAA where extremely patient women shared maps, miles, campground information, and combined info into an organized binder called a trip ticket. I will leave this on file with Mike Anderson to assist with future exchanges.

Phil Lafollette lent out his stash of sleeping bags, light weight tents, mess kits, and individual first aid kits. JT procured equipment such as mole skin and water filters. Robert Mendoza scheduled necessary vehicle services including routine maintenance and new tires for Mike’s Durango.

THE TRIP TO MONTANA:

After a detailed safety meeting and map review with the drivers, we departed from San Luis at 0730. We planned a stop in Las Vegas at REI for last minute purchases and then drove into the Red Rock National Monument for overnight camping.

Labor Day provided an extra travel day. We took advantage of the time and spurred a trip into Zion and Bryce Canyon. The crew spent the day in awe of the dynamic landscape. Zion and the views into the canyons were unforgettable. We camped that night on Forest Service land in Big Rock Candy Mountain, Utah.

THE SPIKE

We started our motors early on the morning of the 7th, anxious to connect with the MCC crew in Moose Wyoming. We drove the windy roads through Utah into Idaho and met with the MCC project coordinator Tim Dwyer in Ashton, Idaho. From there, we followed him through a maze of dusty and dark roads into Coyote Meadow. The MCC crew of five was already there, fire built, waiting for our arrival.

We woke up at 0530. Frost on the meadow, we realized we were no longer on the Central Coast of California. “Wydaho” was chilly and we were all pleased to have packed our hats and mittens. Forest Service Trail Manager, Jarrod Hansen from the Targhee National Forest joined our safety circle and prepared us with all the important details of our temporary home in the Jedediah Smith Wilderness. Imperative detail number one: What to do if approached by a Grizzly. This would prove to behoove us to know since we were hiking into one of the largest Grizzly reservations in Wyoming. We were all issued a hefty, new can of bear spray and taught the proper etiquette of what to do if we were unfortunate enough to disturb a bear on our trip. Needless to say, we quickly fashioned our cans to our hip and never went too far without our spray- can armory or each other.

We spent Wednesday on the West side of the Tetons working just a few miles up the Bitch Creek Trail. We kept our base camp at the trail head; we were all grateful to have another day to acclimate to the thinner air of 6500 feet before marching into our spike camp at 9000 feet. Our first work day consisted of repairing what they called a bog bridge. I know these structures as puncheons. None the less, we replaced a few rotten boards and crowned material over the 75ft long structure.

We then returned back to camp to make mule loads of tools and food for our trip into the backcountry. Tim’s assistant Angela Welfley, purchased all of our food for the spike and the plan was to share the MCC kitchen. This worked out perfectly and allowed us to travel light. The food was plentiful and delicious for backpacking meals. We mimicked the MCC crew menu and followed their meal protocol: each person on the crew rotates, picks, plans, and prepares a meal for the crew.

On Thursday morning after stretching with the crew, we said our good byes to Tim, Angela, and Jeff. Forest Service Wilderness Manager, Chad Rosenburg joined our group and we all began our seven mile hike up hill into Conant Basin, aka…. Big Griz Country. Upon arrival into our camp, Chad led us into an explicit conversation of Leave No Trace Ethics, and bear education. I was impressed to learn that the MCC follows Leave No Trace to the T and were all extremely dedicated to not leaving an environmental impact.

With the exceptional leadership provided by the crew leaders, Jess McGuiness, and Eli Schiedermayer, the work couldn’t have gone smoother. Divided into three cross cut teams and one treading group, we hiked North, South and East up to Jackass Pass for maintenance runs. The trail hadn’t been maintained for years and the blow down was excessive. Each team managed to remove an average of twenty trees per day and we were all pleased with our progress. Near the end of the spike, we managed ten mile maintenance days and the California Crew kept up well considering the altitude gap from sea level.

The MCC group was extremely accommodating with training and patience. They were all entering their 5th month hiking and living in the woods. Our evenings were filled with laughter around the fire. We thoroughly enjoyed each other’s company and new friendships were made. I took every opportunity possible to recruit Jess into the CCC and possibly the backcountry program. I believe her experience leading crews for the MCC would greatly serve our program as well.

During that week we had the opportunity to explore some of the most beautiful backcountry Wyoming could offer. Summer was giving up her fight; Meadows were turning from a riot of bloomed out foliage to withering colors of orange and gold. Aspens would shake in the cool breeze and the grand Tetons peeked out from the back drop. Extremely different from the Sierra, the Jed. Smith is one continuous meadow, dotted with towering Engelmann Spruce and Aspen groves, roaming rivers and creeks. Remarkable, big country. Every afternoon, clouds formed and it wasn’t until our last evening that the sky opened up into a thunder storm. The next morning, Tuesday, September 15th, we stuffed our soggy gear into our packs, said farewell to our new friends and began our hike back to our vehicles.

TRAVEL HOME:

After our hike out we drove back into Ashton, Idaho to retrieve our food and coolers stored by Jeff at the Ranger Station. We continued on down the road to Driggs, Idaho where we rented a room in a hostile type called the Pine Inn. For less than twenty dollars a person we had access to hot showers, clean sheets, television, and an enormous close line to drape out our wet gear.

On Wednesday we were anxious to return to the road to enter back into Wyoming for our much awaited visit into Yellowstone National Park. We made it to the visitor center just in time to watch Old Faithful blow. While in the park we mingled and photographed giant bison, bull elk, and a teen Grizzly grazing on the side of the road. This somehow satisfied our trip since we managed to make it through the spike without seeing a bear.

We camped that night an hour north of the park in Livingston, Montana. After visiting the MCC office in Bozeman, we headed down the 15 through Idaho and into Lock love Nevada for our last night on the road.

"Hug-A-Tree" in the Beartooths @ Mystic Lake

Instructions: The crew members partner up with one another. One is blind-folded and the other leading. The blind-folded crew member is lead out to a random tree after being spun around 10 times. Their goal is to get to know that tree using all senses but their sight. Once the crew member has spent some quality time with their tree they are lead back to the neutral spot where the pair first set out. The blind-fold is removed, and the crew member is expected to find the exact tree they just got up close and personal with.

Breanna Truelove

Eastern Wildlands

Measure of Success

The success of a hitch can be measured by the miles of trail cleared, the number of water bars installed, or the acres of weeds sprayed. This hitch, however, was measured by the amount of dirt brought home. Cutting new trail is dirty work as it is, but cutting new trail in a section of the Beartooths that burned in the 2008 Cascade fire is dirtier than that.

On the Senia trail in the Beartooth-Absaroka wilderness, we began an almost overwhelming task: build a new trail on a steep hillside with nothing but a few red flags marking the way. We had never done anything like that before but jumped in and started digging. Swing after swing of our pick-mattocks and we slowly found ourselves moving further and further away from the trailhead. We also found ourselves being covered in more and more soot and ash left over from the fire. In the hot June sun, layers of sweat and sunscreen further cemented the dirt into our pores and a cold snowmelt river near camp was less than inviting for washing up. After ten days the entire crew looked as if they had been mining coal for a month without a shower.

Once back in Billings the work wasn’t over. Now it was time to remove the dirt caked onto our skin so thick that it even covered those awesome farmer tans we have from our MCC work shirts. When the first shower after a ten day hitch has dirt running down your legs, you know it was pretty bad, but when dirt is being found two days later in knee and elbow creases, you know it was really bad.

A second hitch in the same burn area last week revealed an unusual tolerance for a level of filth that would otherwise be unacceptable. When Ryan, EW Program Coordinator, noted the dirtiness of the hands we were eating with and the response was this isn’t nearly as bad as last time, we knew it was our dirtiest hitch. Don’t mistake this for complaining. That was one of our best hitches, and from how dirty we were when we arrived back in the office, it was the most successful.

Liz Dodson, EWCL

A Poem - NRock

well, well, well here we are again friends, set up in the backcountry of the state,
two hours from the office? someone must have made a mistake,
the rain has stopped or so it seems for the week,
until we get back outside mother nature heard me, to soon i speak,
a colored sunrise to urge us out of that warm, cozy bag,
too much coffee yet my feet sometimes still drag,
a check here, a check there, a bit of brushing then add some drains,
gotta love those great days and try to love ones with the rain,
the break is over only a few months until we are done,
its been so long but the days merge into one memory of fun,
Glacier, Hungry Horse, Swan Lake, and the Missions,
the crew to the family to the times when we'll miss them,
a tool to take from the morning to the dusk,
remember the smiles and jokes you discussed,
an unwanted hitch, undaunted crew conquering the scary,
trail pizzas, taco mix and a stinky talk about chuck berry,
tired at the end of the day or snoring in the dirty tent,
i'm limping my way through without a single regret,
so at the beginning, we live the experience and not for the wealth,
as the end nears remember, just be safe and always enjoy yourselves...

Congratulations!

What happens when AmeriCorps hosts a photo contest that hundreds of people across the nation enter? I’ll tell you…MCCers drop a few submissions and take 2nd and 3rd place overall! Check it out: http://www.americorpscontest.org/PublicContent/Photo/Contestants.aspx

My Experience in the MCC - Kelly Manos CDCM

In the summer of 2003, I had my first experience with the MCC as a Helena youth crew member in the Youth Engaged in Service program. The five weeks of service would forever change my life and view of my natural surroundings. I have since become a field crew member and and excited that I have the opportunity to work not only with MCC "freshmen," but youth crew members from around Montana as well.

Working with the youth crews as a field crew member is like looking in a mirror six years ago. I see the excitement, thrill and eagerness to learn that must have been in my eyes as a youth crew member. I love the feeling of being able to give back while encouraging youth to continue with what they learn here. I learned outdoor and life skills in the youth program. I now get to apply and improve upon those skills as a field crew member in the wilderness, with community involvement and life experiences.

The Bitterroot...?

TINCUP, Friday July 24th. This is Carly reporting for Andrea and AJ's crew in the western wildlands- the Bitterroot...? (We have yet to decide our team name.) At the present moment I am watching four of our seven members debark logs for waterbars while two members are out on personal business and I am sitting on a log with a swollen, mosquito-bitten eye. I'd like to report at this point that Jena, Schuyler, Vince, and our leader Andrea are doing an awesome job working with three people down.

And now, please enjoy some highlights of our second hitch in Tincup:

HIGHLIGHT #1: Makeshift tent adventures. Schuyler lent his tent to a friend over the break who returned it without the poles. This meant, first, that Schuyler spent a night in the open air- or air infested with mosquitoes and was thus forced to stuff his head in his sleeping bag. Suffocating was apparently preferable to being eaten alive. Having no poles, next, lead Schuyler to use other means to erect his tent being: hemp, knots, and trees. Although his tent looked more like a crumpled sack, it did succeed in keeping the mosquitoes out.

Have I mentioned mosquitoes yet? HIGHLIGHT (or low-light) #2: MOSQUITOES SUCK. Besides my swollen eyelid and Schy's open-night air of terror, mosquitoes have taken over our world. When once only a few mosquito bites decorated our arms, now angry red spots have shown up on our faces, butts, EYELIDS!, anywhere the monsters can get at the blood. But, really! How much blood can be coursing through an eyelid?! My second favorite mosquito wound after mine, of course, came from our MCC staff visitor and fellow worker Joe who sported a streak of blood running from above his left eye-brow to below his left eye. I would like to dub this past version of Joe SCAR after the evil lion brother in The LION KING. Let's suffice it to say that mosquitoes were on a death campaign. Lucky for AJ and Greg that they missed the carnage.

CARNAGE- like CARNE meaning meat, which brings me to HIGHLIGHT #3: Eating steak in the wilderness. How nice it is to have mules to pack in our food and how nice of crew members to pack in delicious stuff like Greg's thin beef steaks, marinated overnight in soy sauce, honey, jerk steak sauce, and who knows what other wonderful items. And how nice it is when a day's work intensifies our hunger and shuts our speech as our teeth sink into medium-well done morsels, releasing the bloody, sweet juices. So good.

And so good for HIGHLIGHT #4: was Joe's presence bringing with it help at work, an awesome home-sewn sweater made from an old army blanket, and homemade crumble bread filled with fruit pulp and topped with brown sugar and butter that tingled the tongue. Thank you, Joe!

And thank you for reading through these Tincup highlights. Clearly I care mostly about food when I'm on hitch, but it's not to say that the work wasn't great! We made us some beautiful waterbars and check-steps that week- including Jena's waterbar that our sponsor Steve Bull called "textbook worthy." Good work, everyone!

Boom goes the dynamite

BOOM! That was the noise that the Earth Crew had to constantly hear for the past nine days. The sound of intense explosion of large boulders and hard to get out stumps. The explosions could be heard throughout the valley, the shockwave penetrating our shoes while making our ears ring. the past nine days were intense, almost everyday we climbed as a crew up some very steep trails, for some of us it was a painful wake up call every morning, but each time we got to the top we bettered ourselves individually and as a crew. Most of the days we spent clearing the trail of rocks and stumps but on the occaional morning when the forest service decided to show up, we would have to carry explosives in our day packs all the way to the top which made the already diffcult trek to the top even harder, but we still made it and performed our jobs equally well. Some days would be sweltering hot while other days it would be cool with the occasional rain shower. At the end of everyday when we had time to ourselves, we would all take the time to enjoy the beauty of the surrounding area that we called home for nine days. Some of us went fly fishing, others went for a hike, or just marveled at the beauty that mother nature provided before our eyes. The vast skyrising rising mountains, the creek filled with lots of fish, and the forest with its cast diversity of wildlife. Two mornings in the row while we were doing stretch circle, a large female moose decided to occupy our camp, its grace and beauty captured our attention as we watched it stroll through camp eating bit by bit. The Beartooth mountains clearly have some of the most enjoyable sights we as a crew have ever seen and we are extremely happy to be making such a difference at this beautiful place.

Matt Gorman, CD CM

What can I do?

This week's PLACE lesson really got me thinking. More than most this time, mostly about earth, environment, everything surrounding me, society, everything in general. The question I ask myself is "What can I do?" to save this place I so dearly love. I try to promote peace, tolerance, and save the environment by being non-confrontational for the most part, accepting others, and most things the "societal green revolution" promotes (ride shares, energy saving light bulbs, bricks in the toilet, not letting the faucet drip, turning lights off, eating organic vegetarian) but that's all shit compared to what I really want to do and also see happen, which brings me back to my question of what else can I do? I am constantly searching for answers and I have yet to find most of them, but I'm still quite young at the old age of 23. Do I start a revolution? Join Greenpeace? Earth First? Monkey-Wrenchers? All seems too radical to me, but maybe that's what needs to happen to conquer all this apathy I see happening. Sometimes I feel like maybe I care too much and everybody doesn't care enough, with words like, "you're such a hippie" and "hippies died in the 60s." I don't think it's a hippie thing. I think it's a human thing.

-Clayton Meyers, Wind Crew, Central Divide

Hitch Number Six - Robert Setters, WWCM

Team Adventure Recon’s third hitch in the West Pioneers vacillated with danger and mediocrity. Recon experienced burning hot weather. Loss of trail, again, and long steep inclines and declines were the usual for Recon. Among the many arduous adventures that befell the members of this brave team were microburst aftermath, rampaging elk and good, weighty dinners. This courageous team of surveyors not only pushed the limit in miles surveyed, but also defied political irresponsibility. Team R. has made the decision to push the limits where ever they are, and have decided to travel even faster for the rest of the season with a new revolutionary four three system. Recon is undoubtedly great.

Community Projects - Jessie Flowers, Green Crew GY

Im just getting back from being with my crew and today wasn’t really something I was used too doing. Today we helped out a woman who was an owner of a thrift store, she needed help cleaning it. That’s where we came in. She was planning to open in a month. The beginning of the afternoon we started building steps for this guy named Gary. We are building these steps because people and their dogs are having a hard time getting to the creek, and their messing up the grass. Hopefully these steps will be a big help to these people when we are done.