So far so good! It’s always interesting how each year shapes up and plays out. We plan ahead to gauge impacts in the backyard by looking to historical data, weather, snow melt, and how trails emerge from the winter season. Every season is full of surprises as they take on a character of their own. So far this season, it’s been pretty mellow with none of the usual indicators showing above normal data returns. Except for the falling trees… that one is skyrocketing. But that doesn’t have much impact on visitation and usage. Smoke, on the other hand….
The Crested Butte Conservation Corps (CBCC) is back for our tenth season, and biggest crews to date. 9 crew members have been in the backyard since the start of May – two weeks earlier than ever. 7 of those crew members are CBCC veterans. Our 2 newbies might as well be veterans, the way they are taking to stewardship and trail work. CBCC crews hit the ground running. Besides a record number of trees down this season, the trash gathered, the TP and waste gathered; the negative impacts are mostly in check… so far. However, we’ve seen a quieter early July turn into ‘thunderdome’ in late July into August. Here’s to hoping our guests and visitors are becoming part of the solution, not the problem, and we’re going to continue on this nice early season trend.
In addition to our CBCC trail care and stewardship crews, we have continued our Backcountry Outreach Crews (BOC) program on the weekends as well. Friday through Sunday, for the busiest nine weekends of the season, we’re back out there at trailheads and hotspots with education and outreach. It’s been a lot of focus on fire bans and the proper fire protocols, and the BOC are reporting excellent compliance out there. This is wonderful to see! Designated campsites have been emptying out each weekend and we’ve not seen the 208 sites totally full. This is something new and unusual for the last few seasons. Perhaps the messaging, the collaborations, and the continued vigilance around proper backcountry etiquette is hitting home. We’re digging this trend, and it’s quite rewarding to see things in a manageable and sustainable state.
It’s a bit scary seeing the smoke and fires so close, and that reality is indeed perhaps the new trend of our beloved American West. We can’t be vigilant enough, and there can’t be enough presence on the forest to make sure we are not the next tinder box to go ablaze. We’re grateful the USFS has a strong law enforcement presence, and they have been writing tickets for illegal fires. Some of those tickets were written as campers were being evacuated near Silverjack Reservoir, with smoke billowing overhead. How anyone can play the ‘I didn’t realize we were in a fire ban’ is hard to believe, but it happens. Of recent, the Stage 2 fire ban has been well posted, well received, and being complied with. It seems visitors are getting the messaging. This is a great trend!
Perhaps it’s been the constant bluebird weather (until this last week), perhaps because trails emerged earlier than ever this year, but the trail stoke has been huge! CBMBA volunteer workdays have returned record numbers of participants, and amazing work has been getting done. CB community volunteers sure show up to give back to the trails and the backyard they so appreciate. The new Lower Cement Creek Trail extension might be our finest example of the true mettle and grit these volunteers show when it comes to hard work. Never have we had such a challenging trail build, only to realize truly herculean efforts to get it done. Partnering with CBMR on a regular Wednesday Workday, we saw 92 volunteers show up to help them keep moving on the new Fangorn Trail. Luckily, CBMR was able to make enough food to satiate the dedicated volunteers.
Last year’s Annual Overnight Work Weekend on the Lake Irwin Parallel Trail is paying dividends. With all the work done on the Dyke Trail, this new access and connection is game changing, as riders are no longer subject to 2 miles of high traffic, dust choked road on the way to Lake Irwin. That is only going to get better, as plans for this year’s Annual Overnight are to continue work on the Wagon Trail, inching ever closer to Horse Ranch Park. Working with the Paonia Ranger District on this one, we’re excited to keep that trail going. It will complete the Dyke Trail loop that will truly see ‘Riders Off the Road’, with full singletrack connectivity. It’s opportunities like this that make us so happy! What game changing experiences.
We’ve recovered 3.5 toilets already this season, those usually being remnants of the previous years’ hunting season. The 0.5 toilet being a poorly made one, thanks for leaving it… s*#th+’d!!! We’re cleaning and re-stocking the West Maroon Bathroom, and so far, it’s been manageable with two-a-week visits. The micro trash and regular designated camping stewardship rounds are consistently below average. The human waste – not so great, this past weekend tipping the scales. HELLO – PACT kit people!!! The camping has been surprisingly manageable. You can still find sites on a Friday night, and they are emptying each Sunday. Normally we see those campsites going full bore, week to week in July, but so far, it’s been more like drive market and weekend users. Perhaps the smoke is keeping the destination visitation away. Perhaps the messaging around good planning during the busy season is making way. Really, we like to think it’s more that folks are paying attention and tuned into the local polemics of backyard etiquette. Things are more sustainable and manageable for now, and we love that trend.
Trail work has been nothing short of top-notch with a full complement of professional CBCC crew members about. Of recent, Waterfall Creek Trail #555 has been getting CBCC attention, but so many have received the magic touch of our amazing trail fairies. The work the CBCC spearheaded to tame those talus fields on Lower Cement is such a highlight for us, and we’re grateful for that prep work that allowed the volunteers to complete such an amazing trail. All that lovely work done gets buried with the finished tread, but it’s the sustainability and the structure to the trail that will really shine over the ages. Crews are ever-busy with trail work, and we always appreciate hearing more comments and observations out there. Look for us on all trails from hike and horse to bike and moto, and let us know what you come across out there that might need some trail lovin’ or some backyard stewardship.
CBCC stats to date:
Mileage of trails worked on/maintained: 41.15 miles
Drainage Structures built: 177
Armoring/Trail Hardening Projects: 40
Armoring feet completed: 456’
Trees down – cut from trails/roads/campgrounds, etc: 428
New trail built: 4,300 ft (Lower Cement Creek Trail)
# Users: 3,149
# People Reached: 1,082
Cars (helped) to park: 267
Campsites Monitored/Cleaned: 1,357
Illegal Campsites decommissioned: 5
Illegal firepits decommissioned: 20
Unattended fires extinguished: 2
Human waste piles removed/disposed: 61 (not good)
Dog waste bags removed/disposed: 40
Weight of trash collected: 1,180.2 lbs
Unique items found in the wild, now in the landfill: toilets, mattresses, grill, car parts, lots of nails and pallets, kitchen sink, 13 tennis balls, 7 dog toys, 52 tent stakes, 97 beer cans, and 130 ciggy butts.
