Week three was a busy one for the YCP crew! Luckily the weather was better so they got to enjoy some sunshine while working on trails throughout Grand Teton.
On Monday, YCP renewed the Murie Trail, which connects the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center with the Murie Ranch. They spent the day widening the surface tread to specifications, increasing accessibility to accomodate more user groups.
The crew did some much-needed work on the Wister Draw Trail connecting the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve visitor center to Phelps Lake on Tuesday and Wednesday. They dug seventeen new drains in a section that was starting to become a trench, which will prevent further erosion. YCP also benched/widened two sections of trail that traversed across a hillside. And lastly, they cleared sections of thick brush that was encroaching into the trail corridor.
YCP wrapped up their week by starting their big project for the summer at Leigh Lake. There is a half-mile stretch of trail that they will reroute, and the team was able to start cutting in the tread on the new trail. The park's trail crew partners with a local physical therapy program, and they were able to come out to our work site and speak to crew members about the importance of taking care of their bodies while working on on YCP this summer and generally in life. They covered nutrition, body mechanics, recovery, injury prevention, and best practices. We hope that this will serve them well as they begin their careers in trail work throughout this season and beyond.
