Hitch 6, Aug. 8-Aug. 16

Veterans Trail Crew- Platte River Wilderness Area, Medicine-Bow National Forest

Project Type: Trail Corridor Clearing

Sponsored by: U.S. National Forest Service, Medicine-Bow NF

For their final Hitch, the Veterans Trail Crew heading back up to the Platte River Wilderness Area where they would finish clearing the trail corridor of fallen and dead timber from Mullen Fire. While working, the VTC cleared over 20 miles of trail and cut out over 200 fallen or hazardous trees from the trail.

For their day off, the Veterans Trail Crew headed over to Curt Gowdy State Park to spend the day kayaking and fishing.

All Said and Done:

• Approx. 8 miles of trail corridor cleared
• Approx. 245 trees cut and cleared from the trail corridor

All-Women’s Crew- Hot Springs State Park

Project Type: Historical Preservation

Sponsored by: Wyoming State Parks, Non-motorized Trails Program

For their last Hitch, the All-Women’s Crew headed to Thermopolis, Wy to work on historical preservation in Hot Springs State Park. During their time at Hot Springs the crew, painted the parks Headquarters Building, stained wooden signs, and the Legend Rock Visitor Center. Also, they took down tents and teepees that were set up for a festival in the park and got to feed the State Parks resident Bison herd.

For their day off, the All-Women’s Crew went kayaking down the Bighorn River before ordering out pizza and watching the demolition derby in town.

All Said and Done:

• Primed and Painted State Park HQ
• Stained Legend Rock Visitor Center

Crew 1- Nash Fork Campground, Medicine-Bow National Forest

Project Type: Campground Restoration

Sponsored by: U.S. National Forest Service, Medicine-Bow National Forest

For Hitch 6, Crew 1 headed up to Nash Fork Campground to finish up work on restoring the campground by building new tent and living pads. Majority of the crews time was spent building tent and living pads of different sizes and filling them in with dirt. Crew 1 also built a small ADA path between campsites.

For their day off, most of the crew headed down into Laramie to hangout for the day while a few went and summited Med-Bow Peak.

All Said and Done:

• 8 campsites in total built
• 13 tent and living pads constructed
• 2 small ADA Paths totaling 4ft wide and 30ft long

Crew 2- Tipple Creek and French Creek Trail, Medicine-Bow National Forest

Project Type: Trail Restoration

Sponsored by: U.S. National Forest Service, Medicine-Bow National Forest

For their final hitch, Crew 2 headed up to the Snowy Range to work on trail restoration on Tipple Creek Trail and French Creek Canyon Trail. Crew 2 spent a majority of their time working on drainage issues along the trail. They cleared culverts of debris, moved gravel to low spots to bring up the trail tread, built drainage ditches along the trail, and cleared trail corridor.

For their day off, Crew 2 spent the day hanging out around camp at Silver Lake.

All Said and Done:

• Approx. 8 miles of trail corridor cleared and restored

Crew 3- Bridle Trail, Casper Mountain

Project Type: Trail Restoration

Sponsored by: Natrona County Parks and Recreation

For their final Hitch, Crew 3 headed to Casper, Wy to work on trail restoration on the Bridle Trail. While working with Natrona County Parks and Rec. Crew 3 fixed cable barrier along the trail, installed water bars and rock retaining walls, and rebuilt wooden stair tread. They also felled and bucked and limbed hazardous trees along the trail.

For their day off, Crew 3 enjoyed some well needed showers before heading over to Hell’s Half Acre. Afterwards they enjoyed a meal out before heading back to camp to play some games.

All Said and Done:

• 6 water bars installed
• Rebuilt 21 wooden steps
• Constructed 15ft long by 4.5 ft wide rock retaining wall
• Approx. 30 hazardous trees felled

Crew 4- Savage Run Wilderness Area, Medicine-Bow National Forest

Project Type: Trail Corridor Clearing

Sponsored by: U.S. Forest Service, Laramie Ranger District, Medicine-Bow National Forest

For their final Hitch, Crew 4 headed back to the Savage Run Wilderness Area to finish clearing trail corridor of fallen and hazardous trees from the Mullen Fire. For this hitch they Crew backpacked in and set up a backcountry camp to maximize their time. They spent a lot of time bucking up fallen timber with hand saws and crosscut saws.

For their day off, Crew 4 headed into Laramie where they enjoyed showers a few games of volleyball before enjoying a meal out.

All Said and Done:

• 6 miles of trail corridor cleared