They can clear 218 trees and open up a long-blocked trail deep into the Holy Cross
Wilderness! Four ESWA Sawyers and their USFS colleague spent July 22-24 clearing
the East Lake Creek trail up to mile 8+, revealing a spectacular riparian meadow and
unimpaired views onto a yet-unnamed peak. This allowed them to also locate the
connecting – but spotty - trail to beautiful, remote Upper Camp Lake.
Clearing our Wilderness trails helps keep visitors on trail, limiting their broader impact
and helping to keep Wilderness “untrammeled,” as envisioned under the 1964
Wilderness Act.
WHY LLAMAS?
Not only do llamas carry up to 75 pounds each – quite useful when hauling heavy
tools for our backcountry work trips – they have low impact on the Wilderness. But did
you know that they are also good guard animals? In fact, llamas are often used to
protect livestock. And as volunteers on our recent llama-supported work trips can attest,
our newest llama Archie is especially protective. Check out this video of Archie
defending our camp at Lake Constantine from a large male mountain goat that
appeared across the lake – listen to the end to hear some crazy vocalizations!
We close this post with a remembrance of our good friend Ken Harper who loved this trail and spent many years helping to keep it clear. Below are a couple of photos of Ken.
Thanks to our dedicated Sawyers who helped clear this trail!
Comments