Hitch 2, 2018 (June 11- June 20)

Crew 1- Fort Bridger State Historic Site- Historic Preservation & Building Maintenance 

Sponsored by: Wyoming State Parks 

This crew spent their time restoring 10 buildings at Fort Bridger. It was a messy and tedious task white washing and painting the trim on all the buildings to achieve a clean and amazing outcome!

The crews education day was jam packed full of fun and learning; they started out by going to a seminar by John Washakie (Great Grandson of Chief Washakie); then they went on a tour of the Fort and satellite sites around the area; the crew then had the opportunity to shoot black powder rifles and pistols; and they finished off the day with a BBQ and game of Cricket.

On the crews off day they bounced over to Utah to explore Park City and go for a hike in the Unitas!

All said and done:

-10 buildings white washed

-100 sqft of weeds pulled

Crew 2- Sinks Canyon State Park- Invasive Species Mitigation & Building Maintenance 

Sponsored by: Wyoming State Parks 

Crew 2 went to work spraying about 300 acres for the mitigation of leafy spurge (an invasive plant in the area). They then went on to do some historic preservation in the park, where they painted various buildings and decks. To wrap up the hitch the crew fell trees, bucked and limbed, and then split into firewood for use by visitors!

For the crews educational component they got an exclusive tour of Sinks Canyon. During which they got to see and learn all about the rise and sink of the river, the plants and wildlife present in the area, the geology, and the history of the area!

On the crews day off they visited Lander for a stroll through downtown, some showers at the local pool, a stop at Ken and Betty’s for Ice Cream, and then a movie (The Incredibles II) before stopping in Gannet Grill for a nice meal out.

All said and done:

~300 Acres of leafy spurge sprayed as a mitigation effort

-Split and Wrapped 40 firewood bundles

-6 buildings painted and one deck

Crew 3- Guernsey State Park- Historic Preservation & Building Maintenance 

Sponsored by: Wyoming State Parks 

During this crews time out working they preserved a variety of buildings at Guernsey including a headquarters building and an old house and garage from when the dam was originally constructed. The crew also spent some time maintaining the longbeach play area and helping out with a community involvement event where the crew helped to inform the public about natural resources within the state!

For the crews educational component they had the opportunity to visit the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Museum and discuss the importance of the CCC. The crew also got to take a tour of Guernsey’s power plant, dam, and service gates.

On the crews day off they floated a portion of the North Platte, hiked at glendo and had a great time in spite of the heavy rainfall!

All said and done:

-3 large buildings painted

Crew 4- Pole Mountain, Medicine Bow National Forest- Trail Building & Maintenance 

Sponsored by: Wyoming Pathways 

Crew 4 spent their time hard at work rerouting a portion of the Headquarters trail up at Pole Mountain, in Happy Jack National Recreation Area. The reroute involved a numerous amount of rock work including armoring, retaining walls, and some french drains. The crew concluded their work at Pole Mountain with some restoration of old trails including the old portion of Headquarters as wells as Browns Landing!

For the Crews educational component they had the opportunity to mountain bike the trail they were working on, as well as some other nearby trails!

During their day off they mountain biked in the morning and then came back for a relaxing afternoon in Laramie, where they saw a movie before grabbing a bite to eat.

All said and done:

-6 trees felled

-0.25 miles of new trail constructed (with lots of rock work!!)

Veterans Trail Crew- Glendo State Park- Trail Building & Maintenance 

Sponsored by: Wyoming State Parks 

During the Veterans time at Glendo they created and armored 8 knicks, removed and rebuilt one rock ramp for mountain bikes (~30 feet in length), removed and replaced existing rotted Skinnies with pressure treated 6x8x20 lumber and created an additional section of Skinnies for beginner riders. Lastly the crew cut 0.25 miles of new trail on the existing Whiskey Trail as well as providing trail maintenance and snag removal of more than 10 trees.

For the crews educational portion they traveled to Guernsey State Park to learn all about Hydrology!

On the crews day off they traveled to the capitol city of Cheyenne where they did some shopping before hanging out in the park and grabbing a bite to eat.

All said and done:

-22 trees felled

-5 miles of trail maintained