Hello World! Crew leader Travis Bosler, leader of crew Juliet, checking in via text! Our crew just wrapped up the first work hitch and now we're taking it easy on our rec weekend. If one's definition of taking it easy is climbing rocks of legendary Vedauwoo! These past fourteen days have been an extravagant whirlwind of awesome experiences, to say the least. All ten members on crew Juliet are coming from all different places in the country and is the first time any of them have met each other. They should make a reality TV show about that, It'd be like Keeping up with the Kardashians, Only with more conversations about poop!
After just one week of orientation these, mostly college kids from all walks of life, people have come together and worked four ten hour days in the mountains, carrying tools, maintaining trails, and coalescing like lost friends. That tends to happen when ten people live outdoors 24/7 together, overcoming adversary, and experiencing the great outdoors with very little filters.
This past week we've been stationed southeast of Walden, CO in the National Forest there. Our project partner Jon and his daughter Alyssa worked with us throughout the week, educating not only about the region they maintain and the practices they use to maintain their trails, but also educating about the local ecosystem and functions of the Forest Service that go beyond physically maintaining our public lands. The specific area we were working in was a multi-use area, which means horses, OHVs, trailwalkers, and logging companies, all make use of the area we were working in. Our job was to clear debris left behind by last winter's logging expedition to make the trail unusable to all users. Given that it was an OHV trail, there were quite a few bumps in the trail that needed fixing. All in all, it was a beautiful thing to watch young strangers come together as a group to accomplish amazing things... It gives one a lot of hope for society!
Anyway, thanks for reading about our adventures, I've gotta be getting back to our weekend adventures which includes climbing a pile of rocks! Till next time this is Travis signing off for crew Juliet and Brianna Jones of Connecticut, Gabe Eaton of Alabama, Emma Swanson of Illinois, Jenna Sheppard of California, Hamilton Peacock of Utah, Helen Threlkeld of Colorado, Nomar Leiva of Boston, Kaylee Reynolds of North Carolina, and Sonia Ramirez of Ohio.
Peace!