Written by Julie Polovitch, Wild Stew Field Crew Member.
This past hitch marked the completion of Phase III of rehabilitating decommissioned sections of the Highline Trail. As we closed this multi-staged chapter of Highline projects, we welcomed two new crew members, Grace and Ryan, who both just moved to Arizona from Montana and Colorado respectively. While one can typically expect an Arizona greeting to be dry and sunny, we instead shared a muddy-foggy-rainy week more akin to conditions of the Pacific Northwest.
Over the last 3+ years, numerous sections of the Highline Trail had been rerouted to achieve more sustainable grades. After the new trail construction, Wild AZ was tasked with installing sediment-capturing structures on the old Highline Trail in order to restore the area’s natural hydrology. The crew carried out this mission over more than a dozen hitches, and this week we completed the sections near Tonto Creek and Horton Spring.
Covering 1.77 miles of old trail, we altogether constructed 438 one rock dams/media lunas as well as 3 large rock mulch rundowns in more significantly trenched areas. Hurricane Priscilla’s consistent rains allowed us to witness the structures actively fulfilling their purpose and to augment them post-flooding as needed.
Two of the rock rundowns were substantial, requiring all hands on deck to collect large rocks for in-trench assembly. When constructing the largest structure, we were glad to have additional assistance from Sam Woosley, Wild AZ’s new Volunteer & Community Engagement Coordinator, who joined us for a work day in order to become better acquainted with the crew and organization. It was delightful getting to know Sam, and we’re all excited to see the wonderful ways he’ll bolster the volunteer program into the future.
On our final morning of hitch, we bumped into Mike and Bob, Forest Service volunteers of the Payson area, at the Tonto Fish Hatchery Trailhead. They were headed a quarter mile up the Babe Haught Trail to resume building stairs along a steadily eroding climb. We were glad to lend Mike and Bob a hand in carrying in supplies to their project site. Along the way, we traded trail maintenance stories and gratitude for one another’s work. Our exchange was a testament to the unwavering spirit of collaboration needed to maintain the Highline Trail and its adjacent network.
