And Then There's "THE CRAGS"

Hanna Kirkland

Utah State University

Big Horn Crags

August 7- August 10

Salmon-Challis National Forest

 Pictures do not fully show the beauty and magnitude of the Big Horn Crags. I have personally never explored the Salmon- Challis Forest prior to this internship. The Frank Church Wilderness provides many jaw dropping scenes, but by far I must say the Big Horn Crags ranks #1 in my book. Unlike other hitches, I was only able to stay in the area for a few days. The drive from Challis, ID to the Crags campground felt like a literal rollercoaster. Briana, the other intern I have been working with this summer, and I got car sick from being jostled around because the road was so bad. The first day mostly consisted of getting to the Crag campsite, meeting the volunteer group and setting up camp. The next morning, we packed everything up and took an 8-mile hike to Bird Bill Lake. If you don’t know much about the Crags, the only thing I can describe it is that there is A LOT of walking uphill. Briana and I would joke about dying a little every time we saw that we had to climb ANOTHER mountain. I guess the saying “beauty is pain” is true. Even though my legs were noodles by the end of the hike I was glad I could capture and witness the beautiful scenery. The next day our group went towards Ship Island to work on some trail rerouting. Half of us cleared off rocks and trees while the other half worked with Pulaski’s to create the new tread. Briana and I may have spent an hour removing a huge boulder that was in the middle of the new trail. Was it absolutely necessary? Probably not haha.  The thing that I have come to learn and appreciate in this line of work is the ability to work hard, connect and work with others, and enjoy the tender mercies. Something simple like a slight breeze, fresh water, a piece of chocolate can make your day. I think we forget to recognize those things in our crazy lives and the wilderness helps remind us of those tender mercies. I am grateful for the lessons and skills I have learned through this internship, and hope I can continue to inspire others from it.

Hanna Kirkland

L2R - Hannah, Josh Page (SBFC Frank Church Wilderness Steward), Briana (SBFC WR Intern)

A Fresh Perspecitive on the same Mountains

Justine Bright – Nez Perce-Clearwater Trail Crew Member

Big Sand/Frog Peak/Hidden Lake hitch 

Nez Perce Clearwater National Forest

It’s our third hitch- in some ways I feel like I am getting my hitch systems dialed in, and in other ways I feel like I am constantly working on myself and being worked on out here. And a lot of the time that’s all I want, to feel my limbs getting worked by that climb up to Frog Peak, or my skin worked by the sun at Hidden Peak lookout, or my face frozen into a smile on a cold hike out of camp in the morning, pants already dripping with dew. Other times on this hitch all I wanted was a break from the mosquitos, or to have dry boots for just a day.

This has been a full summer, following fast on the heels of a busy spring. I feel short on words in spite of how satiated I have been, and at times over-full with it all. It’s hard to describe how right it feels to come back to SBFC, the Selway-Bitterroot wilderness, as a staff member. I’ve graduated from the University, and countless things have changed in my personal landscape; people close to us are gone, and others who have been far away have suddenly arrived in our lives. And the wilderness is just as stunning and humbling as ever. This summer I’m on the west side of the Divide, in the moist cedar forests and rolling peaks (and plenty of hot burn areas as well). All the trails and trips I dreamed about last year while I worked on the east side of the Divide are my hitches this summer.

I remember last summer asking Jack Ader, the wilderness ranger out of the West Fork of the Selway-Bitterroot, what his favorite trip in the wilderness was. After some thought, he named the loop we just cleared on this hitch. It has been magical to see a totally different side of the mountains. I’ve always thought the Bitterroots had a sort of nurturing feeling, compared to other mountains. I think it’s something about the lush ecology, and the inviting topography. How you can look at a peak, decide to head towards it, and usually find some way up. But there is a familiarity too, after a couple of seasons of work and lots of exploration in my off-time. I feel so grateful to have that space to think over things in my life. To feel totally physically exhausted, and quiet in my mind.

This hitch we got to cover a lot of unique miles of trail, and climb various hills up to stunning views. Hang out by lakes and look out through burned areas. Still, I would not feel nearly as taken care of and delighted out there without my amazing crew. There have been so many moments in camp and on the trail that I have had to stop and smile, just seeped in appreciation for those guys. Each of them are trail-clearing machines, but their steady friendship is truly and constantly impressive. I feel such relief and happiness when I see Will waiting for me at a stream crossing with a question about the catkins on the alder trees. I feel comforted in camp at night during a storm when the snags are creaking and I hear Trevor blow his nose, making a noise just like a startled deer. And I doubt I have met anyone so ready to help with anything that could come up as James.

Though I come back to town ready to sleep for a day, I feel so energized by the time I spend with such incredible humans in the Selway-Bitterroot.

Return to 421 and Discovering Moose Creek

James Myers – Nez Perce-Clearwater Trail Crew Member

Trail #421

Nez Perce Clearwater National Forest

After my internship was over last year (2018) I was fortunate enough to tag along with the trail crew for one last Wilderness adventure. Trail 421 runs along the beautiful Moose Creek I always hear so much about, but the most fascinating thing about this area are the Cedars! Massive Cedar trees with fern undergrowth and scattered rays of light shinning down, walking through feels as if you’ve been transported to another world. I was very excited to say the least when I got the news that we would be going back to spend more time with the Cedars. It took us a few days working down trail 486, but the wait is always worth it once you arrive in this forest. The Huckleberries, Thimbleberries, Blackberries (even though they aren’t native), and Serviceberries were in full swing so not only were our visual senses occupied our taste buds were enjoying themselves also! We were able to stay tucked away at a really special campsite hidden just off the trail under an amazing canopy right next to Moose Creek. This was one of the same spots we stayed at the year before. The Misquotes must having been enjoying the forest also, because they left us alone for the most part! Eventually our time came to an end once we finished all the work in the area and we continued our journey along 421.This part of 421was new to me and I began to understand how one could fall in love with Moose Creek. Moose Creek is filled with wonderful swimming holes and if one just stops to look they can see plenty of Trout swimming and rising in the water so naturally, it makes you wonder how they’ve gotten things figured out so easily? Being able to work in such amazing spaces is truly a blessing, but being able to share theses areas with an amazing team of friends really makes the Wilderness feel like a home.

Many Hands Make Light Work

Lauren Simms

Lewis & Clark College

Big Sand Lake 

July 20 - July 27

Nez Perce / Clearwater National Forest 

Being in the Wilderness can be a challenging and eye-opening experience for some people, especially when your introduction to it is starting with an eight-mile hike to Big Sand Lake. This is where we found our Sierra Club volunteers on a Sunday morning after an already exhausting journey to the Hoodoo Lake campground the day before; starting with a six hour drive from the Missoula airport (that should have taken only two hours), to lost luggage, and a forgotten driver’s license, these volunteers began this hitch with another storm coming for them. 

The volunteers found the hike in challenging, some saying it was the hardest thing they had ever done. On the bright side, they weren’t the only ones with a challenge that day. Before leaving the campground, we heard from a hiker that had just come from Blodgett Pass that the trail we were about to march on was completely clear. However, after crossing the Wilderness Boundary, we found about 50 trees down. As the volunteers clambered over fallen trees with full packs, four of us worked on clearing as much of the trail as we could. It was a glorious moment when we finally all made it to Big Sand Lake and the volunteers could seek refuge in their big bug tent.

Although the volunteers started the hitch with a couple of hiccups, morale remained high and they were excited to get their hands on the crosscuts. I was a bit nervous to teach a volunteer what I had been practicing all summer, but the volunteer that I paired up with picked up on the technique right away. We spent the day clearing trees with the other two crew members, plus interns; Emma and Henry, and the Sierra Club volunteers. Our group’s finest moment was making 5 cuts in a tree that was covering about 40 feet of trail. Everyone felt a great sense of accomplishment and pride knowing that they had achieved something larger than themselves. 

We had a great time getting to know our volunteers and teaching them how to play Euchre. We bestowed as much knowledge of trails and the Selway on them that we could, while also learning a lot from them in return. Who knew the correct pronunciation for coffee is “caw-fee”. And it was the volunteers who had to keep reminding us to stop and smell the flowers!

What a crew! Staff, WR Interns, and Sierra Club Volunteers.

This one was a whopper! But wait - there’s more………………………..

A Bridge Between Generations

Connor White – Wilderness Ranger Intern

Appalachian State University

Big Creek Bridge

July 22 – July 26th

Bitterroot National Forest

“BACKCUT”... “FALLING” then several seconds of expectant silence before the huge thud of a larch hitting the forest floor shakes the drainage. Adam and Don had picked out the tree the night before, sizing it up to see if it would make a good stringer for the bridge being rebuilt over Big Creek. After rounds of measuring, remeasuring, and contemplation over coffee, it had been decided on, and now met its fate in the early morning chill the next day.

Don, Roger, and Pat have built this bridge twice before. Once in ‘79 as part of a Forest Service Construction Crew, and then again in ‘99. This time they decided to come back as volunteers, several of them retired, to see it rebuilt into its third iteration.  Both bridges had been put into place by hand, carved carefully from local trees and hauled to the site through the use of sheer force of will and a bit of elbow grease. This time was a little different. Adam Washebek had come along and brought his rigging equipment, using a simple but effective system of pulleys to haul trees into the air and set them in place.

So you can imagine, that as an intern working their first season on a wilderness crew how humbling it was to be surrounded by so many generations of wilderness workers whose technical skills have been practiced since before I was born. I felt outclassed to say the least. But in one particularly poignant moment, Roger said something that has stuck with me through the last several days.

“You’re us from forty years ago.”

Could that really be true? I can scarcely imagine myself forty years from now, to be frank. But maybe one day I’ll make it there, and maybe I’ll be a part of the next bridge that gets constructed over Big Creek? And until then I hope we can keep our wild places wild, and continue to enjoy the rugged beauty that these mountains have to offer us.

Volunteers and Interns stand on the newly constructed bridge. From Left to Right: Don Burgess, Pat Burke, Michael Riviere, Verena Gruber, Roger Green

Putting the bridge stringer in place with rigging

Adam Washebek climbs the Larch Tree to rig it for felling

Grave Peak Lookout Restoration a success!

The following note was sent by our friend and SBFC member, Nate Raff. Nate was a volunteer on this summer’s Grave Peak restoration project. The Grave Peak lookout is just one of the structural restoration projects that SBFC was asked to work on this summer. Conner, SBFC seasonal staff, along with Kris and Emma, Wilderness Ranger Interns, participated in this memorable and historical trip. We thought we’d share Nate’s note and photos with you.

“Dear Sally,

I just wanted to drop you a note in regard to the folks from the SBFC Foundation that helped out with the Grave Peak Lookout project near Powell, ID.  Conner Adams, Kris and Emma were great to work with, a huge help with all the sherpa loads they brought up to the lookout for us, and were a key part of the successful completion of that project. On time and within budget, as they say, but actually ahead of time and I have no idea of the budget..…….. We couldn't have pulled off that project without their tremendous help.  By our count, there were 14 mule loads that got broken down into 38 backpack loads to be hauled that last mile of very steep, rough, boulderstrewn "trail" to the lookout. Everything arrived perfectly and with no damage.  Conner even volunteered to bring up an additional 17 ft. extension ladder all the way from Kooskia Meadows trailhead, a distance  of 5 miles and 3000+ ft of elevation gain. That ladder is what got the project finished early.  Attached are a few photos, one of Conner packing the ladder, and of the completed roof and floor.  

Again, thanks for their help.

Nate Raff - Grave Peak Restoration Volunteer”

Conner carrying the ladder. Five plus miles - 3,000 ft elevation gain.

New Floor!

New roofs & door.

One of the views from the lookout.

From Prairie to Peaks

Kris Mueller

Iowa State University

Wind Lakes / Grave Peak

July 10 – July 17

Nez Perce / Clearwater National Forest

Iowa summers can be much different than those here in the Selway. Hundred-degree days with so much humidity in the air one can sweat within minutes, hiking through deciduous trees on public state or county land, and fields of corn that outnumber forests by a factor of more than ten. It is unsurprising that a group of Iowa high school students (one group, sometimes two, of Iowa high school students make the journey to the CNF each summer/inspired by Connie Saylor Johnson so many years ago) and myself would want to spend time away from the Midwest in one of the largest areas of Wilderness in the lower 48.

For some of us, our first time in the Wilderness can be overwhelming at first; seeing, for miles, nothing but undeveloped and primitive forest. Where hillsides are spotted with burned areas and young lodgepole stands wait to see their time come. Where water in creeks and lakes is so clean, we can’t imagine a place like it aside from the public pool. Where even the sound of a passing plane sounds like something from a distant land.

At over 8,000 feet Grave Peak is not a walk through the prairie to ascend the peak although a sense of pride overcomes us as we finally reach the top. As Sherpas we helped carry restoration supplies to the historic lookout, no longer in use, but available for anyone to appreciate. Our sweat becoming cold as the winds got stronger climbing up the sides of the mountain and blowing over the top trying to bring us with it.

Looking down at upper Wind Lakes makes us only hope that the sun will be shining during a cold afternoon swim at camp. The next order of business at camp was to start a fire to set at bay the clouds of mosquitoes that call this area home. Though bugs may be annoying at times the mind is only temporarily distracted by discomfort. Whether while working on clearing a trail, monitoring campsites, or attempting to move large rocks out of a narrow ridge trail, we can only feel appreciation for the opportunity to serve in such a wild place.

We experienced a rather strong summer storm overnight about mid-week not too different from Iowa storms as they roll across the plains. Flashes of lightning every five seconds shortly followed by loud cracks through the mountains accompanied the whipping rain and wind against the tent fly. As for someone who has never seen an active forest fire it was exciting to hear the talk of potential fire starts on the radio the next morning.

Everyone may find a different meaning in Wilderness and some may take longer than others to find it, but one thing is for certain; we need Wilderness, but Wilderness not does not need us.

Grave Peak Lookout after a morning hike to the summit

A view of Wind Lakes from Grave Peak

The Frank-Where Wilderness Stays Wild

Briana Bienusa- Wilderness Ranger Intern

Montana State University

Marble Creek Drainage/Salmon-Challis National Forest

07/10/2019-07/17/2019

This summer has been full of breathtaking views, sore muscles, and smiles. This internship has given me perspective on not only what I wish to gain out of the wilderness, but what others seek out of it as well. I have had the opportunity to meet a lot of amazing people whose eyes sparkle when they think about the places and experiences they love most. Our trip into the Marble Creek Drainage was no exception.

We arrived at Thomas Creek airstrip via a plane referred to as the Beaver, unsure of what was ahead. Taking a plane into the forest was an amazing and surreal experience. One moment you are in civilization and the next you are carrying a crosscut through the sage brush headed towards the wilderness along the Middle Fork of the Salmon river. Rafters float by laughing as they fish and swim near their boats filled with luxuries that are unthinkable as we walk along carrying our belongings in a backpack. 

Our goal was to clear as much of the Marble Creek drainage as possible in the following week and what a goal that was. Throughout the time spent in Marble Creek, we were faced with endless creek crossings and a trail that had a tendency to disappear amongst the overgrown brush and willow tree groves. The loppers became a very close trail companion as we bush-wacked and uncovered a trail that had been hiding deep below the brush for quite some time. As we ventured further, the trail climbed up, revealing breathtaking views of the canyon walls below.  The further we went, the more this drainage proved to be the epitome of wild and reminded me that as much as we work to maintain and develop trails, the wilderness will always be one step ahead in taking them back. Having the opportunity to recreate these trails is some of the most rewarding work I have ever done and was made even better by the hardworking and positive crew I had by my side. Once I stepped off the plane in Challis, I was ready to climb back on and venture back into the wilderness.

The view out over the Frank Church as we flew back into Challis on 07/17

Marble Creek drainage is shown moving through the canyon where it later empties into the middle fork.

Our amazing volunteer Tom standing amongst some of the ‘willow tree jungle’ we were clearing.

Time in the Wilderness

Michael Riviere – Wilderness Ranger Intern

University of Montana

Bitterroot National Forest

Throughout this summer of working on trails in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness I have been paying a fair amount of attention to the time it has taken for me and the Wilderness to become acquainted. I say acquainted because these woods, rocks, and mountain ranges are constantly changing through immense amounts of natural forces.  Rain, droughts, fires, snow and ice cause trails to become rutted from water runoff, blocked by fallen trees, or worse, blocked by boulders tumbling from above.

I often remind myself to stop and look around, take in the sights (after all, I may see something I wouldn’t expect).  Time in the Wilderness is dictated by how much you are carrying. You can get work done quickly and have a short day or work slowly and have a longer day.  The enjoyment received from the job comes from clearing trails there is no doubt, but I find the purpose of working in Wilderness is because of the Wilderness. The grandeur of the landscape, knowing through time it will inevitably change, drastic or not. I do not feel as though our work is futile knowing the next year there will be just as many trees to cut, rocks to move, or even fire rings to naturalize. Futility is only a concept if you feel there is no purpose in the work you are doing. Although the trails being maintained require persistence, working alongside other like-minded people such as Connor, Verena, and Adam, reminds me constantly I’m not alone in my efforts of keeping and maintaining Wilderness character.  Even after the satisfaction wears off of bucking a large tree, the long-lasting gratification I get is knowing others are persistent in preserving natural resources for generations to come.

Right Back at Home

Abby Propsom – Moose Creek Trail Crew Member

Hitch #2  June 25th – July 3rd

Nez Perce Clearwater National Forest

This hitch, like every hitch I have had the joy of experiencing in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, both last year as an intern and this year on staff, was packed with hard work, unexpected twists and pure joy. My crew hiked in right along the Selway River all the way to Three Links Creek on Trail #4.

It was a relatively quick hike due to our good fortune of getting pack support.  Upon our arrival things got interesting.  When we unpacked the manty boxes left by our packer something was missing.  That something was my bag of food which accidentally ended up at Moose Creek with the Montana Conservation Corps immersion crew’s resupply. Not to worry, I was reunited with my Snickers bars and instant coffee the following day (thanks Joey).

Following our half marathon day to Three Links, we hiked up the 405 to Stewart Hot Springs, and it’s true what they say, it’s more of an elk wallow and a mud pit than a picturesque hot springs but still nice to soak your feet in after a long day’s work. We had a couple days filled with cut and run on the 405, trying to open as much trail as we could. We eventually made it to Three Links Meadow after getting on the 693 trail. Although we didn’t quite finish the section of the 693 that we were hoping to finish, we should get to be back in the same area next hitch, clearing up to Frisco Peak.

The views were jaw dropping, the laughter never ending, and the packs a little lighter each day. The bees and rattlesnakes were out in full force, the thimbleberries just ripening and the occasional afternoon surprise of a huckleberry bush right on the side of the trail always welcome. Another beautiful hitch in the Selway complete! Although I’m very glad for a little time off to relax, recover and shower.  I’m still counting down the days until I can go right back to the place where I feel most at home.

Bianca, Britt, Joey, Lauren and Abby leaving the Wilderness at the end of hitch.

Joey Hudek looking over the Selway.