A summary of the Trail Ambassador’s season thus far (time is flying!): Intro by Stewardship Director, Lindsay Butcher

I said it before, and I’ll say it again: This season has zipped past, blink and you’ll miss it! The TAs are still out on trails clearing downed trees, collecting water quality data, educating visitors on LNT, picking up after folks who leave trash behind 🙁 and leading the last of thier interpretive hikes in September.

Most of our Volunteer events have already happened: so far we’ve- installed a new section of the Rock Creek Boardwalk, deconstruted obsolete grazing fencing in the Golden Trout, decomissioned social trails and TONS of illegal firerings in the 20 Lakes Basin, cleared hundred of pounds of trash from the wilderness and more… A huge shout out to the volunteers we’ve had turn out thus far!

Have a peek at our 20 Lakes crew below:

One of our last Volunteer Opportunites is THIS SUNDAY! Join us in surveying Pinyon Woodland health. Check it out here

If you like the Trail Ambassadors and the work we accomplish check out the Go Fund Me campaign dedicated to the TAs and Stewardship efforts of FOI. Believe it or not, this work is expensive: Check it out here

 

And now, a few words from the TAs:

Bella- Mt. Whitney RD:

August has been full of variety. From removing old fence material in the Golden Trout Wilderness to campsite monitoring to leading the Stroll and Sketch nature walk, to installing signs, I feel like I have done it all this month.

The work week in the Golden Trout Wilderness has been one of my favorite trips of the season. With 5 volunteers, 3 Forest Service employees, and 3 Friends of the Inyo employees we removed 3,000 pounds of defunct grazing materials from Tunnel Meadow. This included the removal of 1.5 miles of old electric fence and 1 mile of barbed wire fence. It was so rewarding to help restore the meadow and work alongside such a great team. It was also the first pack-supported trip I have been on. Thanks to the hard work from the packers and their mules, we only had to carry daypacks for the 11 mile hike to the work site. All our camping equipment, tools, and food were waiting for us when we arrived. How awesome is that!

My least favorite trip of the season also happened this month. Campsite monitoring up the North Fork of Lone Pine was a battle against the wind. I camped at Upper Boy Scout Lake and my tent fought to stay intact as the wind ripped all through the night. With one hour of sleep under my belt I wrestled my tent away and went to save another person’s tent that had been left inadequately staked down. I planned on spending a second night up there, however, I was so determined to get out of the wind and have a good night’s rest that I completed inventory for the entire area and hiked out that day. Some wind gusts were so strong that I needed to lay down on the granite slab so that I wasn’t blown over!

      All the highs and lows of the month have made it one to remember. There is only one month left of the season and I am cherishing all the time I get in the backcountry.

Jean- White Mtn RD:

I have been clearing downed trees on the high country trails recently. It’s pretty satisfying to walk up to a massive tree blocking the trail and with many sharp-bladed hand-saw cuts, branch wrestles and log pivots, the trail reopens. On the other side of this grueling work is beautiful mountain-scape such as Sam Mack Meadow or Paiute Pass. I have also been dismantling illegal fire rings and educating backpackers about the National Forest being in Stage 1 Fire Restrictions, which means no dispersed campfires, even below 10,000’. On the other side of this dirty work, I look and feel like Pig Pen, so a good rinse in an icy stream is always refreshing. It’s been sweet to spend some overnights in the high country at Lamarck Lakes and Big Pine Lakes. One of my favorite recent discoveries are these coin-sized, compressed towelettes that can be rehydrated and used as a wet wipe while backpacking. Of course, all tissue and wipes, even biodegradable ones need to be packed out. On my last overnight trip, I forgot my coffee filter and the mini towel worked to filter my coffee as I attached it to my coffee mug with a hairband. I love improv in the backcountry! When I used to climb big walls, I used to say, “you don’t need what you don’t have.” All you really need is what is in your heart, which includes courage to go out and adventure.

Brian- Mammoth Lakes RD:

The month of August was full of overnight trips. There was the trip in Cascade Valley to remove trees from the Fish Creek Trail. It was a great spot to find mosquitoes still swarming in August. There was a trail work project on Island Pass with high a group of volunteer school students, which was so fun. We barricaded social trail and braided sections of the trail corridor, and helped improve drainage on particularly swampy sections of trail.  Then two FS  Wilderness rangers and I documented campsites around Duck, Pika, and Franklin lakes. There are more campsites up there than anyone expected, its a popular area! (be mindful when setting up camp) I also hosted my second cyanotype photography walk to Heart Lake, with an improving setup for making prints. (with my luck, it snowed on us in the morning!) The last of these hikes will be on September 28th. Email lindsay@friendsoftheinyo.org to reserve your spot today!

Ellie- Mono Basin RD:

Once a month I go out into the creeks near the Owens River Headwaters Wilderness to collect water quality measurements. Today when I went out I could feel the change in season. Now that it is August, fall is coming to the eastern Sierra and the children have returned to school. I saw no one all day, as opposed to the many people out fishing and picnicking in July. I go to various locations on Glass Creek and Deadman Creek and use probes to measure the temperature, pH, salinity, total dissolved solids, electrical conductivity, and dissolved oxygen in the streams. It surprises me how much the values vary from site to site.

This data collection takes me down long dirt roads that I would never have explored if it were not for this project. Although it feels like this area is relatively flat, the trees can sense the subtle changes in environment. At the site with the lowest elevation, Jeffrey pines dominate the landscape. At middle elevations farther west, lodgepole pine are the dominant species. As I drive way back into the forest towards the west, the forest changes to fir. Standing in the water in waders waiting for the probes to calibrate, I notice these little details and get to watch the western wood pewees catch insects from their riparian perches. In a season usually full of hiking, I cherish these quiet days by the river.

 

Jordan- Bridgeport RD:

At the end of every week, I scroll through my notes app, past the loads of aimless thoughts I’ve documented on the trail, to find my Season Stats note. As of writing this, I’m at a total of 346.74 miles with 66,681 feet of elevation gain. That’s 136.74 miles further than the JMT and 2.3 times the elevation of Mt. Everest. And to be honest… I don’t even really like hiking. As a climber, I’ve often called hiking “the approach to nowhere”. Knowing I’m out there helping people access, enjoy, and respect the mountains I love so much, makes it all worth the hike.

Besides, the places I’ve been that I would have never reached otherwise have been remarkably beautiful. I’ve never been so privileged to witness the peculiar aspects of nature up close than on my way to a distant work objective. And the people! I’ve met so many hearty and compassionate people deep in the Sierra, but when we all travel our separate ways the opportunity to experience the range in solitude is an unmatched experience.

Wait… Do I like hiking?

Thanks to our partners for making this program possible!