- 12 Trail Crews, 9 week-longs and 3 weekends
- 219 volunteers (including crew leaders, cooks, trail workers, Operations Manager…)
- 58,206 feet of trail improved (over 11 miles: rebuilt tread, rehabbed, widened, boggy sections raised, overgrowth removed…)
- 403 water drains built and rebuilt (rolling dips, check steps, knicks…)
- 19 switchbacks improved (smoothed, widened, drainage rebuilt…)
- 14 creek crossings improved (brush & debris removed, horse crossings built & refurbished…)
- 29 trees removed (including some really big ones)
- 2,795 feet newly constructed trail (new singletrack off roads, replacing unsustainable sections…)
Weeklong Crew 0114 –Cameron Park near Sargents Mesa
June 21-28, 2014
Crew Leader: Betsy & John Sylvester
Total Hours Worked: 903
Crew Members Included: Debbie “Sunshine” Abbott-Brown, Clint H. Britt, Kevan Brown, Susan Chadwick, Bob Fetterman, Dana Fetterman, Harold “Yo Yo” E. Harmon, Bob Hunter, Diana Kline, Jim Lipsey, Paul Martin, Jim McIntosh, Scott Oetting, Matt Oetting, Richard Tucker
Work Accomplished: Improved boggy area by upgrading 6,600′ of tread by building 27 water diversions and clearing 4 downed trees.
Comments from the crew…
“My first trail crew experience turned out to be a rewarding week. We improved over a mile of trail under the expert (and fun) leadership of Betsy and John. I’m looking forward to a complete thru-hike this year and then volunteering for trail crew in future years.” Kevan
“Very interesting experience. Wonderful to meet and talk to the trail hikers. Appreciated the work The Colorado Trail Foundation has done over the years. A very dedicated group of people.” Diana
“Great sense of humor in times of challenge! Laughter kept us going. Bring on the rocks!” Dana
“This was the first crew for me and was definitely a good experience. It felt good to contribute to The Colorado Trail Foundation as having the ability to hike the whole thing is an immense privilege. Enjoyed the company of the other crew members, the crew leaders, and the great outdoors. Thank you for doing this.” Scott
Weeklong Crew 0214 – Tincup Pass Rd.
July 12-19, 2014
Crew Leader: Bill “Two Bears” Carpenter
Total Hours Worked: 955
Crew Members Included: Joel Barker, Lyn “B. Lyndon” Berry, Stephanie Bingham, Tom “Doc” Brucia, James C. Condit, Mary Coombs, Thomas M. Couts, Richard Crabb, Lauren Deutser, John C. Eagerton, IV, Joanne Florian, Donald French, Ann E Horner, Christie Lee, Colleen McCampbell, Maura McCampbell, Steve McCampbell, Andy Smith, Brooks Taylor, Gary Weeks, Randal Whorton
Work Accomplished: Hardened 8,553′ of trail from just below Wood Chopper Saddle to Tincup Pass Rd. Cleaned out & improved 13 switchbacks. Installed 50 water diversions.
Comments from the crew…
Rain falls on community tent.
Andy: Darn, I need to go fill my water bottle…
Joel: I’ll go fill it for you…
Andy’s face lights up… “Really?”
Joel: You don’t care if it’s a little yellow do you?
Tom cook insists presentation is everything. Steve tried with the cheese cake, but a paper towel draped over his arm did not impress Tom.
Joel is reading a book – an autobiography – Steve forgot to issue the spoiler alert before he announced Garfield is assassinated. And here Joel was waiting for the cat and cartoons.
As Lauren tastes Bill’s spicy Tuesday night dinner, she comments, “This is one way to keep us all hydrated.”
Maura travels with a ceramic cat… all well and good, but we haven’t seen much trail work out of him.
Jim has had so many life experiences. Tom maintains he has had at least 10 near death experiences. Tom maintains Jim must be a very slow learner.
Doc: When cutting onions, use a snorkeling mask.
Nobleman John – a gentleman thru and thru gave up his spot warming the blaster to the young ladies.
Weeklong Crew 0314 – Clear Creek
July 19-26, 2014
Crew Leader: Steve Stadler
Total Hours Worked: 747.5
Crew Members Included: Madison Boone, Diana Bristol, Tom “Doc” Brucia, Ron Dudek, Bill G. Ernst, Bobbi Ernst, Susan Hopkinson, Elaine Karns, John W. Lipe, John “Old Farts” Marksbury, Gary Osburn, Amber Paige, Kathy Phelan, Leesa Scudder, Valerie Vickarelli
Work Accomplished: Along ¾ miles we built 14 drains, 16 nicks, and 56 rolling dips, 2 water diversion check steps and lopped encroaching vegetation. Relocated 600′ of tread in areas where water diversion was not possible with the existing tread. Dug 2 borrow pits to provide mineral soil for the relocated tread where necessary and then covered them.
Comments from the crew…
Originally slated to convene to work on the Windy Peak part of the CT in Segment 16, challenges in getting the crew into the original site resulted in a June decision to move the crew to Clear Creek at the start of Segment 12. The trail at the start of Segment 12 was built in by the CTF in 2007 to reroute around private property. The trail built that year, over time, had deteriorated through erosion. Crew 0314 took on the challenge to fix the deteriorating tread. A small crew of 16, with many new trail maintainers, turned in spectacular results. Trail stalwarts like John Lipe, Kathy Phelan, Diane Bristol, Ron Dudek,, “Doc” Brucia, John Marksbury, and Gary Osburn led the way as the experienced crew taught the new trail crew members the ropes. Susan Hopkinson, Amber Paige, Madison Boone, as well as Bill and Bobbie Ernst quickly caught on and became experts at dips, nicks and drains. Val Vickarelli and Elaine Karns kept the great food coming out of the kitchen to keep us going. A great crew with great people!!
Weeklong Crew 0414 – Tunnel Gulch
July 19-26, 2014
Crew Leader: Loren Woods
Total Hours Worked: 333
Crew Members Included: Chet Anderson, Sharon Areen-Smith, Vyvyan Brunst, Jennifer Burgstahler, Sandra Butler, Kevin Cassidy, Kye Larsen, Colin McKenna, Erik Van Hegewald, Dean Waits
Work Accomplished: Rehabbed 1.7 miles of tread, installed 40 check steps, built 39 rolling dips, improved 9 creek crossings, 2,086 ft. of trail widening, 3 downed trees removed.
Weeklong Crew 0514 – Clear Creek
July 26 – August 2, 2014
Crew Leaders: Bill Carpenter
Total Hours Worked: 718
Crew Members Included: Fred Balmos, Madison Boone, Thomas Brown, Tom “Doc” Brucia, Anne Craddock, Alex Dolabi, Chris Headrick, Seth Headrick, Anthony Howell, Philip A. Jackson, Philip Jackson, Samantha Newhouse, Todd Newhouse, Brooks Taylor, Tim A. Tilton, Molly Wallace
Work Accomplished: 4,800′ of trail improved, 23 rolling dips and 3 knicks installed, 9 downed trees removed.
Comments from the crew…
Phil: You’ve got helmet hair granddad. You messed up your comb over.
On Tuesday the boys Seth, Chris, Phil, Todd and Sam almost made it to the worry zone. They rambled up the mountain and went deep into the woods to spend hours cutting trees with a pocket blade. They ate lunch at three and came back smelly and with sore feet, but we all felt glad for their hard work.
Bill: At 8 I was going to call search and rescue.
Brooks: 8 the next day!
Sam: I could kill a chicken if I were hungry…
Todd: I could kill a cow – they don’t move too fast.
On Tuesday Annie worked gracefully on the trail alongside Fred. She cooked chalupas and braided Sam’s hair! Sadly, she reluctantly had to go share her food genius in Chicago. We had a going away meeting for here by the fire. I’ll miss her kind soul.
Molly: I got my feet tucked into the suitcase. (meaning sleeping bag)
Bill: Yeah they have backpack-in crews, jeep-in crews, weekend crews, all-women crews… I tried to lead that one but they wouldn’t have me!
Weeklong Crew 0614 – Middle Fork
August 2-9, 2014
Crew Leader: Tom Brooksher
Crew Leaders in Training: Laura Brieser-Smith, Scott Smith
Total Hours Worked: 1003
Crew Members Included: Chet Anderson, Brian Bastian, Michelle Brooksher, Thomas Brown, Tom “Doc” Brucia, Sachin DeYoung, Barb Grauel, Ned “Keeper” Grauel, Grant Harmacek, Bob James, IV, Cindy Jeffery, Mick Jeffery, Cindy Johnson, Erick Johnson, Sarah Johnson, Dave Landers, Carolyn McShea, Jim Paulson, Marissa Paulson, Dallas Peterson, Bharat Ratra, Greg Speights, Jeffrey Steele, Rick Trojanovich
Work Accomplished: Built 775’of new trail including 11 mono walls, 1 turnpike and 2 grade dips. Rough cut and additional 360′ of new trail.
Weeklong Crew 0714 – South Texas Creek
August 2-9, 2014
Crew Leader: Paul Smith
Total Hours Worked: 714
Crew Members Included: Mehkyiah Brandt, Karsten Creech, Nathan Hamilton, Troy McDaniel, Colin McKenna, Zachary Miller, Jonathan Newton, Brice Reynolds, Stephanie Sheldon, William Sowle, Elijah Turner, Stephen Wolfe, Tim Zvada
Work Accomplished: Armored 55′ of trail in two boggy areas. Cleared 2 miles of corridor, cleaned out 40 water bars and added 7 more, removed 1 downed tree.
Weeklong Crew 0814 – Middle Fork
August 9-16, 2014
Crew Leader: Glenn Kepler
Total Hours Worked: 920
Crew Members Included: Sharon Areen-Smith, Hayden Baker, Jackson Wade Baker, Wade Baker, Debra Kay Beasley, Andrew Been, Bill R. Brown, Bowie Duncan, Earl Garn, Ameen Ghavam, Jon Greeneisen, Marylin Greeneisen, Dawn Harris-Rice, Herb Hulls, Herbert “Bert” Hulls, Denice Kepler, Roy Kepler, William “Bill” Lange, A.L. “Leroy” Manz, Kristen McInerney, Steven Parker, Dave Peters, Jodie Petersen, Alex Samide, Spencer Ward
Work Accomplished: Built 900′ of new trail along Collegiate West near Boss Lake.
Comments from the crew…
“SEVEN” spotted by Earl. Most of the crew has not seen the bear yet. Having fun getting to know one another. A lot of the crew played “99” on Sunday night and Monday night.
We’ve made good progress with the trail both today and yesterday. There have been water challenges with small streams going through the area where the trail is.
“I enjoy the hard work out on the trail. It is rewarding to see the progress made every day. The soreness felt in my muscles is worth it. What I’ve enjoyed most is spending time with my family, my sons Jackson and Hayden, my uncles Roy and Glenn and cousins Kristin and Spencer.” AW Baker
Cold night. Elevation of camp 11,200. Frost in the morning.
“This has been a meaningful trail crew event. I believe it is good for our souls. A lot of sharing and caring for fellow trail crew members. To have my daughter, Kristen, and her son, my grandson Spencer Roy Ward on the crew has been great. It has been good to spend time with Wade Baker, my sister’s son and Wade’s two boys, Jackson and Hayden. The rest of the crew has been fun also. My labors have been mostly around camp where there seems always things to do. Firewood preparation and site improvements top my things to do. Throw a little trail work in with that and you have a good week in a location that will take your breath away with natural beauty.” Roy
Weeklong Crew 0914NOS – Spanish Creek
June 14-21, 2014
Crew Leader: Kelley Gorham
Total Hours Worked: 591
Crew Members Included: William Binder, Margarethe Blanch, Christina Conca, David Cook, Jules Daley, Courtney Dunn, Sydney Ehmann, Cassidy Gorham, Jordan David Hall, Elijah Livingood, Jack Moorman, Emma Sue O’Connell, Steve Willson, Brian Wood
Work Accomplished: Cleaned trail of overgrowth and downed trees. Built 20 water diversions. 9,074′ of trail improved.
Weekend Crew 114 – Gudy Gaskill Bridge
June 15, 2014
Crew Leader: Loren Woods
Total Hours Worked: 111
Crew Members Included: Matt Adams, Earl W. Beam, James Bedrosian, Jan Campbell, Bill “Two Bears” W. Carpenter, Maegen Fisher, Kendra Gabbert, Eddie Hackstaff, Rick Hunckler, Thomas M. Hurja, Cindy Johnson, Mike Keenan, Evan Kirby, Andrea Magness, Bill Marcato, Colleen Means, Jean “TribbleMom” Mortensen, Joel Murray, Amy Ochello, George Rasmussen, Marie Thoming, Dale Tischmak, Rebecca Washenfelder
Work Accomplished: Cut in drains above and below 6 switchbacks. Put in 5 drainage features at various other locations. Installed obstructions on 3 short-cuts. Installed 1 trail marker post. Repaired 70′ of tread through a slide area.
Weekend Crew 214 – Winfield
June 20-23, 2014
Crew Leader: Cindy Johnson
Total Hours Worked: 392
Crew Members Included: Antonia Banducci, Pattie Bean, Loay Boggess, Rachael Bray, Suzy Burger, Margaret Jacot, Martha “GreenTea” Kondo-Pavish, Mary Jo Langstraat, Christie Lee, Vickie Martinez, Jean “TribbleMom” Mortensen, Ginny Passoth, Debbie Robak, Kristin Robak, Vera Rodriguez, Judy Sanclaria, Joy Sherlock, Marcia L. Weaks, Rhonda Weiler
Work Accomplished: Rebuilt failing tread that runs across avalanche gully including adding a culvert for drainage. Upgraded 9 trail signs.
Comments from the crew…
“Hello, I am originally from Mexico living 6 years in Colorado love the outdoors and always like to help. Working, meeting and getting to know the Colorado Trail, it’s a great opportunity, happy to participate and thankful for the acceptance into the crew.” Vera
My 4th crew now at Winfield. What a gorgeous valley! After this many times here, Winfield feels like an old friend.
“Cindy’s menu is always outstanding. After a wonderful turkey dinner with all the fixin’s, I’m about to fall asleep in my chair at the campfire. Of course, carrying rocks all day may have something to do with that too.” Jean
There once were some ladies from Colorado
Who ate salad with tomatoes and avocado
They worked without fail
On the Colorado Trail
After you see it you can only say Bravo!
~Suzy
“Another great Women’s Weekend. I always enjoy the stories and laughter we share.” Margaret Jacot
“It’s an honor and pleasure to once again join my fellow women on Cindy’s trail crew. Each person adds a unique sparkle to the weekend. Many thanks to Cindy and the veterans and rookies who give so much to our beautiful national treasure.” Marcia
Weekend Crew 314 – Avalanche Trailhead
July 11-13, 2014
Crew Leader: Paul Smith
Total Hours Worked: 222
Crew Members Included: Connor Diaz, Dennis Diaz, Jean “TribbleMom” Mortensen, Richard Passoth, David Scarbeary, Jan Waldroop, Karen Zietlow
Work Accomplished: Repaired area where fast flowing stream was clogged uphill and caused water to cross the trail and run down the CT for 20+ft. Closed a social trail. Cleaned out and built over 45 water diversions. Performed corridor cleaning. Debermed 100′ of critical edge. Removed 15 downed trees.
