Hitch 4, July 11- July 20

Veterans Trail Crew- Arapaho Ranch

Sponsored by: Northern Arapaho Tribe

For Hitch 4, the Veterans Trail Crew headed up to the Arapaho Ranch where they began clean up on the old Duncan Homestead site. Work while at the Duncan Homestead site consisted of cleaning up the grounds of fallen trees and hazard trees. Also, while at the Arapaho Ranch the VTC spent a few days cleaning up around the old Mansion and building new wildlife friendly fence.

For their day off, the Veterans Trail Crew floated and fly fished on the Bighorn River before enjoying a meal out in town.

All Said and Done:

• Bucked and Limbed approx. 60 Cottonwood trees
• 200 yds of Wildlife Friendly fence constructed
• Cleared .25 mile of trail

All-Women’s Crew- Grand Teton National Park

Sponsored by: The National Parks Service

For Hitch 4, the Women’s Crew made the long drive back to Grand Teton National Park for the last time this season. The Women’s Crew picked up where they left off on the previous hitch, spraying for invasive species. The Women’s Crew spent a majority of their time spraying along the Moose/Wilson Road. Invasive species that were targeted included Knapweed, Yellow Sweet Clover, Musk Thistle, Canada Thistle, and Hounds Tongue. On their last day, the Women’s Crew spent the day collecting lupine seeds for future use.

On their day off, the Women’s Crew headed up to Yellowstone National Park, where they explored the park for the day.

All Said and Done:

• Approx. 8 miles of corridor cleared or sprayed for invasive species

Crew 1- Muddy Mountain- Casper BLM

Sponsored by: Devon Energy

For Hitch 4, Crew 1 headed up to Muddy Mountain to work alongside the Casper BLM Field Office to build, repair, and replace old fencing. While on Muddy Mountain Crew 1 repaired 2.3 miles of barbed wire fencing by removing 3 of the 6 strands of barbed wire and replaced it with new smooth wire to make the fence Wildlife Friendly.

For their day off, Crew 1 spent the day hanging out in Casper by going bowling, playing mini-golf and enjoying a movie at the theater.

All Said and Done:

• 2.3 miles of barbed wire fence repaired and made Wildlife Friendly
• 700 ft of fence corridor cleared
• 4 H Braces constructed.

Crew 2- Devils Tower National Monument

Sponsored by: The National Parks Service

For Hitch 4, Crew 2 made the drive up to Devils Tower National Monument. While at Devils Tower, Crew 2 spent all of their time constructing split rail fence from the Visitor Center to the top of the Devils Tower Path.

For their day off, Crew 2 headed down to Keyhole State Park to spend the day swimming.

All Said and Done:

• Constructed 1,000 ft of Split-Rail Fencing

Crew 3- Laramie Peak

Sponsored by: The National Forest Service

For Hitch 4, Crew 3 made the short trip over to Laramie Peak to aid the Forest Service in opening up some trails. Crew 3’s priority was to clear the trail corridor along the Roaring Fork Trail and Ashen Felder Trail. Crew 3 spent their time on Laramie Peak, corridor clearing, posting trail signs and markers, and building rock cairns. The corridor clearing included limb lopping, bucking and limbing downed trees, and felling hazard trees.

For their day off, Crew 3 hiked to Duck Creek Falls before heading into town to enjoy a meal out.

All Said and Done:

• Approx. 7 miles of trail corridor cleared
• Approx. 80 trees bucked and limbed
• 3 hazard trees removed from trail corridor