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.