Another youth group from the summer adventure camp Rustic Pathways joined us last weekend to clean up the Upper Deadman campground and clear brush on the Lundy Canyon trail. They loved the Lundy waterfall and were even brave enough to swim in the snowmelt! Thanks for the help, Rustic Pathways. See you next summer.
Stewardship
Watching the students’ ecstatic faces as they raced toward a muddy patch of snow on the Tamarack Bench trail, you might have thought this was the highlight of their summer. But the chance to lob pine-needled-filled snowballs at their counselors was just one of many bright moments during a weekend of trail stewardship with the youth adventure programs Rustic Pathways and Road Less Traveled. One student from New York City had never seen the stars before they appeared above her campsite on Crowley Lake. Several others hiked above 10,000 feet for the first time in their lives. For some, finding a robin’s nest…
The iconic scenery of the June Lake Loop was the perfect background for a morning of stewardship last Saturday. A partnership between Friends of the Inyo, June Lake Trails Committee, Mono County, and the Inyo National Forest, the eighth annual June Lake Trails Day brought together 36 volunteers from as far away as Reno and Arizona. Volunteers tackled a variety of projects on popular trails, from pulling weeds, picking up trash, and repainting signs along the Gull Lake trail to crosscutting fallen trees on the Yost Lake trail. Steep trails like the one to Fern and Yost Lakes are very…
At the head of the Bridgeport Valley, Twin Lakes is the gateway to a spectacular corner of the Northern Sierra. Climbers, skiers, backpackers, fly-fishers, kayakers, and campers visit the area and travel its trails. This year, we were excited to partner with Mono County and the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest to host the first annual Bridgeport Trails Day at Twin Lakes. Twenty-four hardy volunteers pitched in to pick up trash and fishing line, crosscut downed logs, brush the Cattle Creek trail and the Lake trail, and disguise illegal switchback cuts along the Horse Creek trail. In all, we maintained nearly 12,000…
Once again, Friends of the Inyo and the Mono Lake Committee kicked of the Mono Basin Bird Chautauqua with a volunter event sponsored by Mono County and in partnership with the Inyo National Forest. This year, we worked on trails around the Mono Lake Visitor Center, including the ADA trail and the Lee Vining Creek Trail. Check out photos below: It’s been a while since the ADA has been touched up, so volunteers and Friends of the Inyo staff worked on widening it back to fit regulations. Check out the nice, clean, finished product… We also brushed and realigned the…
Join Friends of the Inyo and the Sierra National Forest for a spectacular five day trip to Shadow Lake out of Agnew Meadows. August 9-13 RSVP deadline: Friday July 28 We’ll be doing fire ring rehab, brushing and minor trail maintenance. Projects can be adapted to physical limitations of volunteers. Volunteers are responsible for their own backpacking equipment and food (if this is a problem, please contact Julia) Volunteers must be confident in their ability to hike and work at elevation for 5 days. Pack stock are available to bring in tools and food. Bear cans required — FOI will…
In March, Friends of the Inyo partnered with the Access Fund, Bishop BLM, and the Flash Foxy Climbing Festival to put on a morning of clean up in the Tablelands. The Flash Foxy Climbing Festival brings young women to Bishop for the weekend, many of whom have never climbed outdoors or recreated on public lands. This event was a great opportunity to connect young folks to conservation efforts in the Bishop area. In all, we picked up 80 pounds of glass from a restoration site at the end of Quarry Road, cleaned over 40 fire rings, removed 1,000 pounds of…
Thanks to all of your support at the Inyo County Board of Supervisors meeting and the LA water commision meeting, things are moving forward on the Owens River Water Trail Project, which Friends of the Inyo will be taking the lead on the long term, annual stewardship. Check out the Inyo Register article about the great support for the Owens River. Stay posted for progress moving forward.
“It takes all of us that love the wild to keep it wild.” By Janet Carle I will never see the wilderness in exactly the same way after a five-day service trip into Humphreys Basin, organized by Friends of the Inyo in partnership with the Sierra National Forest. I have enjoyed many backpacking trips over the years, but “working” in the wilderness took my knowledge and appreciation to a whole new level. Our group of seven intrepid volunteers from all over California joined Sierra National Forest wilderness rangers Greg Dusic and Zach Barton and Friends of the Inyo staff Tristen…
“I sat watching this world slowly exist around me while every trouble I had trudged up here began to fall away.” By Jack Hereford For nine days the Friends of the Inyo Stewardship crew packed into Chicken Spring Lake above Horseshoe Meadows. This was my inaugural season of trail work and the crew’s first big trip for the summer. I had already blundered through learning how to run a chainsaw, had no idea how to set a stone step and was quite unsure how many more 10 hour days of manual labor I could muster. For me this was the…