What can 5 Sawyers and 2 Llamas Accomplish in 3 Days?

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!