Snapshot: Adopters 2012
- 64 Adopter sections
- 63 Adopters (1 has 2 sections)
- 161 Adopter Helpers
- Section lengths vary from 1.6 miles to 16.8 miles
- Over 3,315 hours spent on trail work this year alone
Accomplishments
- Maintained the entire 486 miles of the CT
- Made multiple excursions each summer
- Cleared the Trail, sawing and removing over 1,100 fallen trees
- Cut back foliage
- Repaired rockslides
- Cleaned hundreds of water diversions to preserve the tread and limit Trail erosion
- Repaired, replaced and added signs, including wooden, steel and confidence markers
- Reported Trail conditions to the CTF for planning & USFS coordination
Note from Janet Farrar
With snow looming, we think back to summer and what a summer it was! Our dedicated volunteers continue to prove that we have one of the best stewardship programs anywhere. Adopters have logged over 3,000 hours doing everything necessary to ensure that the Colorado Trail is awesome! They have cleaned water bars, constructed new drainage features, put up posts and signs and cut over 1,100 trees, including hundreds on Segment 12 alone, due to a massive blow down like never seen before. The power of determination and dedication is awe inspiring. And this is our best season yet for communication. More Adopters have turned in work reports than ever before. That is truly the crux of the program. All the work is great, but telling us about it makes it that much greater. Now we can log all those hours and accomplishments better. Thanks to all Adopters for keeping us up to speed on your work!!
As usual, we have changes in Adopters. Ryan Lewthwaite, with Summit County Open Space, stepped in to care for Segment 6.5. James Luidl and his hiking friends from Castle Rock are on the job on Segment 12.1. Phred and Pat Jahner are the new Adopters of Segment 13.3, and they actually live on Bunny Lane, which is part of that Segment and Phred is our phenomenal sign maker!! So that Segment, along with many others this year, has new signs. Thanks Phred!! George Neserke adopted Segment 22.1. Timothy Knight worked on Segment 24.3. We have four segments open for Adoption right now: Wes Ganter is retiring from Segment 11.2. Ann Horner and her family are moving from Segment 17.2 to a section of the newly adopted Collegiate West; Daryll Southwick is retiring from Segment 21.2; and Zea Beaver and her family are retiring from working for over 20 years on Segment 27.1. This coming year will be interesting with the adoption of the Collegiate West; we’ll be looking for new Adopters on that, so stay tuned for upcoming opportunities.
As always, we are so thankful we have such great volunteers! We couldn’t do all this without you!!
Janet Farrar
Adopt-A-Trail Coordinator
Adopter Notes
Section 4.1 Steve Cave
Removed downfall (11 trees total) including two reported by hikers. Cleared waterbars, check signage and trail markers, and installed new post and CT signs at mile 1.0 of this section. Performed trail work up to the bypass off the Hooper Road at about 4.2 miles. Section 4.1 up to this point is dry, seasonal creeks are not running, annual creeks lower than normal and no snow drifts are left. Trail conditions are very good. We encountered 4 hikers; one going the distance on a 35-day trek. All commented on how well we maintain the trail. Second work day scheduled for 6/30/12 from Kenosha Pass side to complete section, although one hiker reported that the rest of section 4.1 is clear.
Section 6.1 Andrew & Sue Riach
We finally got to look at the issue brought up by Antonia Banducci in an email dated 2/19/12, with reference to getting lost in snow & taking FS Road 849 at the rear of Kenosha Pass campground. We added extra triangular signs in both directions where the CT intersects with #849. I also plan to get a small cedar board with directional arrow made to place under the existing FS ‘Colorado Trail’ sign later this year.
Section 8.3 Lee Ashley
The trail sign at Kokomo Pass has fallen over. I attempted to fix it, but pick axe and shovel would be needed, and the sign is in such disrepair that a new one is needed. Some of the trail south of Searle Pass is thin, and should be considered for a trail crew sometime in the future. Overall condition of the trail and cairns is good.
Note: Later, sign maker and volunteer, Phred Jahner and Gang replaced dilapidated, historic sign.
Section 9.3 Ken Swierenga
Removed trees blocking the trail. Trail condition is good!
Section 12.3 Steve Combs
Hi all, we don’t need no professionals. We don’t need to stinking chainsaws. The call to action was answered by a wonderful community of friend of the CT. This noteworthy task was accomplished with haste and panache. A big thank you to all for your efforts; you performed a rather herculean feat. With the intensity of rabid beavers, you totally kicked it. You are very cool and groovy people (and you smell of sap, which is nice).
296 trees cleared, 475 volunteer hours worked, 43 total volunteers. The trail is essentially clear for pack animals. There are only about 7 trees north of Morrison Creek left on the ground and are all easy walk-arounds and are of low priority.
Section 13.2 Jon & Marylin Greeneisen
Cut/removed 61 trees, cleaned 41 water bars, cut back foliage, removed rock and nailed up 2 trail markers. In early May, the Forest Service cut about 40 very large trees that had been blown down during the winter and that were severely blocking the Trail. Kudos to the USFS for their quick response to our call for help.
Section 17.1 Quinn Family
Completed over three days with a two-night stay at Baldy Lake … Beautiful! A crew of nine volunteers made this year the most productive ever. We came; we saw(ed); we conquered! We had planned a detailed report complete with photos, but technology failed us. The automatic GPS tagging of the photos where each was taken didn’t work as planned and so we’re left with photos with no location information. The good news is this … if there was a fallen tree across the Colorado Trail in our 10.8 miles section, it is no longer there! Even one that I (Larry) personally would have called “acceptable” (small 4″ diameter tree fallen flush on the ground and had been there for years), the crew opted to dig a hole beneath the trunk so we could thread the pocket chainsaw underneath and complete the cut. A great, dedicated crew who took the task seriously!
Over the course of the three days we cleared 14 downed trees of varying diameters from 3″ – 24″. Included in this count were 3 trees that have been down for numerous years and walk-arounds had been created. We used the cleared trunk and brush to discourage further use of the walk-around and reestablish travel along the original trail. In addition to the downed trees, the crew re-erected three downed trail marker posts and added/replaced six trail marker signs.
Section 20.1 Steve Stadler & “Far Out!”
We spent half a day working on the trees and the lake. We completely rebuilt the creek crossing with the goal of making it difficult for the crossing to become backed up anytime in the foreseeable future. After tree removal we started on the encroachment. We decided to work on the encroachment after my earlier discussion the USFS about the pack string going into the valley next year to support CFI work. We worked encroachment in general over the 2.1 mile stretch, but focused particularly hard on the second day on the very narrow trail in rock slide areas before and after the gate at mile point 3.7.
Section 25.2 Mark Ritchey
25 deadfall removed. Rockfall removed, overhanging brush cut back, confidence markers replaced, erosion problems corrected and a flagstone bridge repaired.
Section 27.3 Ian Altman; CT Jamboree
We patched water wash out and hole on steep grade ( 40 degrees). We used three, 8′ chunks of Ponderosa and rock from site (sandstone) to suspend it and then back filled with earth from bench cutting above the hole. We did some drainage work to prevent it from happening again just above the hole. Elevation- 11,800′ Aspect-southeast facing.
Section 28.1 Ted La May and Friends
We checked waterbars from 1.3-2.4 and raked rock from trail through talus slope. Graveled trail with material to solve rutting trail. We also repaired waterbars in Waterbar Alley. Overall trail is in pretty good shape – would like to finish graveling in area that is rutting (0.0-0.1).
