Who:
Allyn Schneider
Group chair, National Outings Service Trip leader
Where:
Hilton Head Island, SC
On Saturday, August 6th, I was leading my service trip team of eight out of the Pioneer Basin of the John Muir Wilderness. This is an area of the Sierra Nevada in California that lies over Mono Pass to the Mosquito Flats trailhead in the Inyo National Forest.
We had just completed a seven-day project of removing illegal campsites and fire rings from the basin. We also did some trail work consisting of installing rock steps on a portion of the trail to preserve the resource. We worked with several rangers from the district who provided instruction on the work that we did.
This was a Sierra Club service trip that drew participants from five states including Massachusetts, Virginia, and South Carolina. My thoughts were on the great job that we had done on protecting the wilderness with our work. Most of the participants had given up a week of their vacation to perform this valuable work.
It was a beautiful place with flowing creeks, clear lakes, conifers and the soaring Sierras surrounding us. The work consisted of removing fire rings rock-by-rock and then the ash and trash. The ash was camoflaged in the surrounding vegetation and the trash packed out. The campsites were eliminated through the installation of icebergs -- rocks buried in the ground to deter the placement of tents -- and tha area covered with duff and decomposed granite to bring it back to its natural look. The campgrounds were illegal as they were within 100 feet of a lake or creek and the fire rings were above 10,000 feet.
All participants indicated on the trip out said that it was a great trip and they really enjoyed doing the work and felt great satisfaction in knowing that they did their part to improve our wilderness.
