Heather Pendleton

Wilderness Ranger Fellow

Camptender Trail (map) | Salmon-Challis National Forest

6/21- 6/28/2023

I like to think of hitches (and life, for that matter) as a real-life version of “Choose Your Own Adventure.” You know, the books where you get to a certain point and it has a prompt along the lines of, “You just encountered a roaring river with only a slippery log to cross on, do you: a) try crossing and risk falling in (turn to page 9) or b) attempt to find a different spot further upstream and lose the trail (turn to page 12).” You get the idea.

So there we were, after six days off, we found ourselves back at the Camptender trailhead. The previous hitch was our initial meeting of this rugged and fascinating trail, where we cleared 195 dead, complex trees in just a ¼ mile stretch. It was hard work! But we knew what we were in for - or so we thought.

The first day, we got there and hiked to where we had previously cleared and cached our tools. On the way down we hear the loud roar of a jet. Craning our necks in the direction of the sound, we see an F-15 jet careening around the mountain so close to us it felt like we could touch it. This would have been neat no matter where you were, but the fact that we were out there in the wilderness, in what we thought was solitude, was a complete shock to the system. We were left reeling, as the fighter jet continued on its merry little way.

That same night was Alex’s birthday (SBFC’s Lead Wilderness Steward on the Salmon-Challis National Forest) so we of course had to have a backcountry celebration, complete with gifts, treats, candles, and a very out-of-tune rendition of “Happy Birthday”. The next day followed our expectations of down trees, gorgeous views, and the ever-present chirps on the pikas. Oh, and a RAINBOW CLOUD. One thing I need to disclose is that I have been shouting to the heavens for a rainbow ever since day one on the Camptender trail, so this was definitely a treat.

At the end of the day, we head down to camp and have some visitors waiting for us. Sylvia and Rick are volunteers staying out at the Bear Valley Work Station that is a few miles down the road from us, and apparently they’ve been trying to run into us since last hitch. Among snacks and running water, they offer to have us stay at one of the cabins on the compound that has not only beds, but a shower. Yes. A real life shower with warm water. Quite unbelievably sweet music to our stinky little ears. We knew that a storm was coming in the next day so we gave them a literal rain check and decided to see what the weather ended up doing.

Alright. Day 3. This is when things started getting saucy. We found ourselves in a predicament. We knew a thunderstorm was coming in; we were working on the ridge where lightning just loved to make its presence known with a ferocious BANG! every now and then, the wind enjoyed a lively roar, and the hail could be vicious enough to warrant a few bruises through your rain jacket. We also knew that the North Elk Creek trail (a back-up trail in case of bad weather) just so happened to be a mile from Sylvia and Rick’s haven. Here it is folks, I hope you are prepared. Do you a) hike up the Camptender trail, risking the thunderstorm to get some work done or b) head over to North Elk Creek trail and see what's up at Sylvia and Rick’s?

You chose A, didn’t you! Well we did. We hiked up Camptender. As we neared the ridge and gained a better view over the valley below, the dark, stormy, foreboding clouds became even more dark and foreboding. We crested the ridge, saw the storm rumbling in, and made a decision to descend. We gave it a good go, but swinging around metal tools in the middle of a lightning storm seemed like a questionable activity. Down we go.

*Sign at N. Elk Creek, showing Porter Creek (where the packers went), Camptender (8 miles), and Sulphur Creek (where another SBFC crew was working at the time).*

We pack up camp and scoot on over to Sylvia and Rick’s where we are met with a warm cup of cocoa and a small dog named Snuggles. After a quick chat with Sylvia and some borrowed tools, we set out for North Elk Creek trail, where we ran into a group of horse packers who were going out to work on a section of the trail about 3 miles out. The trail they were working on eventually meets up with Camptender, which we thought was pretty neat. The North Elk Creek Trail was incredibly beautiful and buggy, wandering up, around, and through meadows with sweeping views of the Frank Church Wilderness.

I could go into so much detail on just the third day of our hitch, but I’ll spare you the details. The moral of this part of the story is that we made some wonderful new friends (both human and animal), got to experience a different trail and section of the Frank that eventually connected with a trail we were putting our blood, sweat, and tears into trying to clear, and the most mind-blowing part - got hot showers and didn't have to filter any water.

From here do you a) ask Rick and Sylvia to adopt you, live at Bear Valley Work Station for the rest of summer, and travel around the most beautiful parts of the United States in their horse trailer with them, or b) Head back to Camptender Trail to pull some saw and swing some axe?

After a long debate, we went with B. We set up camp on the moody ridge that we had grown to love and respect for its wild nature, so excited to finally get to wrap ourselves in the stars of the night and the fog of the morning.

Day six, night two living on the ridge, do you; a) wake up when your alarm goes off at 6:00 am or b) sleep in for just 10 more minutes?

*Alex crossing Boundary Creek on Camptender Trail*

A! And good thing you did because you are rewarded with none other than a SUNRISE RAINBOW. I repeat, a rainbow in companionship with the rising of the sun. Unbelievable. It was fleeting, like all the most beautiful things this life has to offer. It was nearly gone by the time my phone had turned on to snap a picture (still caught it though). And that’s sort of how the rest of the hitch went. It was sunrise rainbows, trees falling unannounced right before our eyes, birds nearly slamming into your head, pikas or marmots or some other sneaky woodland creature stealing your work gloves and gnawing little holes in them, misty mornings cocooning you from the rest of the world, and clearing a total of 400 trees from a trail that was formerly impassable. This entire hitch felt like a fever dream. Every day Jersey, Alex, and I had to be like… “y’all are experiencing this too, right?”

And that’s the magic of the wilderness. Incredibly preposterous, harshly magnificent.

So there you have it. I encourage you to get out there and Choose Your Own Adventure. You never know where the next page turn will take you.

*Jersey, Alex, and Heather- the SBFC Salmon-Challis Crew, on the Camptender Trail.*

HEATHER PENDLETON

Salmon-Challis National Forest | Frank Church-RONR Wilderness

California State University, Chico

Major: Environmental Science

Heather grew up in Truckee, California. Throughout her adolescence, Heather had many opportunities to participate in community-led land stewardship work, which fueled her drive to make a positive impact on the place she called home. Her love for the outdoors compelled her to pursue a bachelor’s degree in environmental science at California State University, Chico where her focus was ecology and fire. Heather’s big life goals are to spend as much time as possible outside, to try lots of different things, and to relish the feeling of being alive. She hopes to continue her formal education after gaining more hands-on experience and is excited to see what else a life connected to nature has to teach her.