The second week of YCP has gotten the crew into a good routine for the season, with a mix of more training and also getting out on the trails and into the dirt.
On Monday, YCP returned to the Taggart Lake trail to address some of the areas that Dovetail Trail Consulting identified as difficult to overcome with their mobility devices. The crew completed a training that included an overview of what makes a trail and how to re-bench sections that were out sloped due to erosion and sediment buildup. Once the group had a better understanding of the tasks at hand, they were able to widen the surface of the trail and remove some of the excessive out slope. YCP spent the rest of the day making their way along the Taggart loop and managed to fix about a mile and a half of the tread surface. The crew enjoyed utilizing grubbing tools such as McLeods, picks, pulaskis, and shovels.
Leigh Lake was the destination on Tuesday for YCP, and they enjoyed their first full day of brushing, which involves cutting back vegetation that hangs across the trail corridor. YCP was able to improve visibility on three miles of the route, and also had a chance to hop in the lake during their breaks—a welcome reprieve from the mosquitos!
YCP completed their Wilderness First Aid certification with Wounded Bear Medicine on Wednesday and Thursday. They were given a mix of classroom learning and field-based scenarios, and covered topics such as wound care, anaphylaxis, fractures, and environmental threats like hypothermia and heat stroke. It was very educational, and the crew seemed to enjoy the theatrics of being covered in fake blood and learning how to keep themselves and others safe in the backcountry.
The group has enjoyed the work so far and loved learning more about wilderness medicine. Overall, it was a great second week, and they are looking forward to the next!
