Written by Foster Mellott, Wild Stew Field Crew Member.
We got rained on once again in the Chiricahua Mountains last week. Our full crew of eight hiked in to Cima Cabin, in order to brush, retread and cut some logs on Crest Trail #270B between Junction Saddle and the Monte Vista Lookout. Although we had persistent thunderstorms all week, we didn’t let it rain on our parade.
The hike into camp was nice and short and we were all excited to hang out near the bats in the cabin again. At camp, we got to see a truly pulchritudinous black bear, probably looking for the raspberries growing across the mountains.
In the rain and snow (there was no snow), the Crest Trail stretched across the environment, like a great sea snake. Our crew managed to brave the weather and brush, degrass and retread two and half miles of trail. While doing that we also built a new rock retaining wall, repaired two other retaining walls and cleared out 48 logs. Unfortunately, we saw no signs of bigfoot at work.
After work, Sam and I practiced for our newly founded recorder band. The only feedback the crew would give us about our performance was that we sounded “maladroit,” whatever that means?
Overall the crew had a great time on this hitch. It’s always a good feeling to help keep trails well maintained and help people be able to explore this wonderful mountain range.
