The Benefits of Volunteerism
By Doc & Deb Wesselius, Lewis County Chapter
It is not often that one can combine an avocation with your recreation. One of the principles of the Back Country Horsemen’s mission statement is to assist the various government and private agencies in their maintenance and management of public land for recreational stock use. The opportunity to become involved in this role can be difficult with the limited time that most of us have for recreational activity. Perhaps combining the two activities is the answer for Back Country Horsemen to become involved with volunteerism.
The Forest Service has instituted a Wilderness Stewardship program that offers horsemen an opportunity to become involved with volunteerism in wilderness areas. Wilderness Stewards are volunteers who work with the Forest Service to provide for visitor education and awareness of the wilderness resource. Horsemen that spend time in the wilderness for recreation can assist the Forest Service in this endeavor - combining this avocation with their recreation.
We became involved in the Wilderness Stewardship program when volunteers were sought for the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Our first project was a chance to work in the Goat Rocks Wilderness and an opportunity to also spend some time in the wilderness. We volunteered to pack in tools and food for a twelve man crew that was working on trail maintenance for a week. We organized the logistics for getting the loads up to the work site and then secondly to get organized for a trailhead camp to accomplish the mission. It was determined that this project could be accomplished with only two packstock, minimizing the environmental impact of our stock in a very sensitive wilderness setting. Snowgrass Flats is a very popular backpackers trail and we also wanted to minimize our interaction with their wilderness recreation. The experience was worth the effort and provided us some time to enjoy the two weekends required to get the gear in and out of the work site. It also gave us an appreciation of how little the public understands about horses and stock packing.
Our first challenge was to work out the logistics for getting the tools, then the food, to the work site - approximately two hours from trailhead. Trail maintenance tools are heavy but rock buckets and twelve hard hats are bulky. The tools were tied onto pack boards and the bulky gear went into soft panniers with a top pack for the remainder of the camp equipment. Besides the bulk on the last packhorse, it was easy to see us coming up the trail - the dust this summer was thick even at the higher elevations. The next trip up the mountain was another challenge. Nobody had told the work crew coordinator about balancing loads. The food and camping gear was in four large “Rubbermaid” tubs. The tubs fit nicely into the panniers but had to be repacked and balanced. The problem was what to do with the big, heavy cooler. Luckily we had two plastic boxes and repacked the fruit and vegetables - the two big blocks of ice would remain at trailhead (there was cold glacier water at the work site). The dust continued to billow up behind the pack string, forcing most hikers (most with dogs) well off the trail.
Our first encounter with hikers was a Boy Scout group - that scattered like quail, wide eyed, to both sides of the trail. We explained that they should all get on the down hill side of the trail (cougars live on the uphill side) and we proceeded to pass the boys. Then one brave lad suddenly reached out to pet the last pack horse - stop again and kindly explain that that was not a good idea. The next backpacker thought he could hide behind a tree (thus avoiding our presence on HIS trail?). We encouraged him to come out slowly and gently talk to the packstring as it passed. He was not aware that horses are not accustomed to boxes with legs in their environment, especially when they suddenly appear from behind a tree! It was amazing how backpacker’s attitudes changed toward horses when they discovered that we were working on trail maintenance - we even received a “thank you” from some that were appreciative of our efforts. While on the trail we were considerate to others’ right to use the trails and were courteous to those that were intimidated by livestock. The opportunity to take the time and to explain our involvement in ensuring that public land remains available for everybody’s enjoyment resulted in good public relations for future recreational stock use in the wilderness.
The third day found the temperature reaching record highs and the dust on the trail was going to be stifling in the afternoon. We had finished our obligation and were now going to take advantage of our free time and visit other parts of the wilderness area. Since we were going past the work site and the packstock were empty, we packed the big blocks of ice in burlap bags and plastic boxes and headed up the trail with the treat. We got an early start in the morning, reducing the dust on a segment of the trail that has heavy backpacker use. The trail crew were grateful for the ice - we suspect that they had iced drinks with dinner that night. We got to Old Snowy for lunch and bumped into a chapter member with a digital camera. The picture he took will win prizes at next year’s BCH rendezvous. On the way out that evening we encountered another challenge - llamas. The owner got the llamas off the trail and everything went well until the big male llama spit at the last pack horse as it passed. Our friends were on mules and they broke one of the principles of LNT - they cut a switchback.
By now the weather was so warm that every hornet in the wilderness was on the peck. Again another principle of LNT was broke - the horses and mules ran on the trail, except for one horse that wanted to stop and fight the stinging insects. One hundred yards from the trailhead the last packhorse had had enough and unloaded her packs and headed for camp. Why did the Forest Service pick that time to take a picture? We got things straightened out and the packhorse settled down (she was having a bad day) then got some good photos of the packstring for them.
This adventure may be old hat for some of you experienced packers but it was a chance for us to fulfill our desire to become involved with volunteerism for the benefit of all user groups on public land. For those of you that want to be involved and have the opportunity to volunteer for the Wilderness Stewardship program there is an opportunity for you to offer your services. The program has other fields to assist the Forest Service other than trail maintenance and packing. Plan on attending the next training session sponsored by the Cowlitz Valley Ranger District. The program also has the benefit for you to enjoy our wilderness resources while contributing to its future preservation and continued use by horsemen and the general public.
Photo by Larry Miller, Lewis County Chapter