Windy Bill Trail 531 (Weitas Bighorn Roadless Area)
Takeaways: To start off, we all learned that mountain mosquitoes know no bounds. Whether it is the dead of night, the hottest part of the day, or even in campfire smoke, they are heinous and relentless beasts, unwavering in their mission to suck your blood. But it is by working with Dakota Ronco that we have had an incredible experience that led us to our greatest takeaway. For context, Dakota is completely deaf, and to communicate- other than using voice-to-text on our phones, or writing- we have all been learning some sign language. Working with incredibly loud machinery/tools while wearing ear protection can make communicating really challenging, despite it being necessary. Incorporating her language and culture allows us to not have to constantly turn off the machine and take out the ear protection to understand and “hear” each other. With the signs she has taught us, something as simple as lunch or the different tools we are using, we get to move faster as a team. A person who has a societally stigmatized trait/quality is often viewed as a hindrance on a team’s ability to reach success. We found the opposite to be true. Differences and diversity not only makes success attainable, it’s what makes a team stronger.
June 23rd: The Great Burn trail crew left Missoula around 0500 MST, driving over freshly melted and cleared Hoodoo Pass. They arrived at the trailhead at 0900 PST and waited for both the Pierce and Palouse crews to arrive at 1030 PST (which made up for the hour change). Upon arrival, the ATV, 6-wheeler, and dirt bike were unloaded and everyone worked to set up camp at the trailhead. After camp was setup, everyone spent the last 3 hours of the day logging out west on Trail #531.
June 24th: Waking up to beautiful weather, the crews split up to conquer logging out different sections of Trail #531. Joelle and Paul left on the ATV and dirt bike to clear from the trail junction at Scurvy Mountain to where our base camp would be moved come Friday. The rest of us began logging out where we left off yesterday, making it 2.1 miles, falling a quarter mile short of the junction.
June 25th: Bright and early, we packed up camp and met Dan from Cayuse Outfitters at the trailhead. As he worked on loading our gear and tools onto his stock, we started hiking to the new base camp location 7.5 miles from the trailhead. Upon arriving at our new home for the next few days, we waited for Dan and his stock to arrive. Once Dan arrived, we began setting up camp, scavenging for the small and discrete water spring. After camp was setup and our water source was found, we spent the rest of the day clearing the trail near camp. After winding down for the night, we were swarmed by relentless mosquitoes who would make their presence known for the rest of the hitch.
June 26th: Waking up to a juxtaposition of beautiful weather and heinous bugs, we began our day. We started off by hiking 2 miles to where we would begin brushing and pole-sawing. As we began making it back to camp, the day got hot, exceeding 90 degrees as we cleared the trail. We made it approximately .5 miles before we cached our tools and headed back to camp.
June 27th: Hiking to where we left off, we all continued brushing and using the pole saw to clear out the trail corridor. Steady going, we made good progress with the six of us, making about .5 miles. We hiked back to camp and spent the evening going over the heat exhaustion job hazard analysis, covering symptoms and signs, preventative care, and aftercare.
June 28th: Running low on fuel, the crews made the consensus to send someone back to the ATV and grab the extra 5 gallons of fuel. Brendan volunteered and began his trek back. The other crews worked on brushing, moving really fast, and getting into the grove as a team. Despite it being even hotter than yesterday- it was 95 degrees- the crews continued working with unwavering speed and dedication to meet their goal of .5 miles. The goal was not only met, but Brendan got to see a cow moose and her twin calves! It was a great day.
June 29h: After singing birthday tunes for Jenny’s birthday, the crews set off. Being yet another extremely hot day exceeding 95 degrees, the crews had their work cut out for them. Following the heat exhaustion JHA, the crews made sure to be well prepared, hiking in a bucket of water to use to cool off. The team was working fast, staying hydrated, and made it all the way back to camp just when they ran out of saw oil. It was perfect! The last hour was spent cleaning and detailing the saws and equipment in preparation for next hitch.
June 30h: We began our day an hour earlier than normal, starting at 0500 hours to try and avoid the heat. We knew this would be crucial as the weather report from yesterday had predicted 103 degrees for ridgelines, and 113 degrees in the valleys. We broke down most of camp, compiling it together to be setup for the next hitch. What didn’t stay, we packed into our personal packs and backpacked it back to town. Once we made it up the treacherous hike to the ATV, dirt bike and 6-wheeler, we all went up to the Scurvy Mountain lookout and were met with a stunning view of the entire North Fork District. We then made it back down to the trailhead, stalked once again by horseflies and mosquitoes, and loaded up the motorized vehicles. Once we got back into the Missoula valley, we pit stopped for to-go milkshakes and checked the closest temperature gage. It was 113 degrees.
Summary:
Work Accomplished:
- Logout – 6.2 miles
- Brushing – 2 miles
- Pole Saw – 2.5 miles
- Trash Collected – 1 lb
- Miles Hiked – ≈ 40 miles
Interesting Plants and Wildlife:
- Moss Campion (Silene acaulis)
- Shooting Star (Dodecatheon pulchellum)
- Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja coccinea)
- Mountain Bluebells (Mertensia ciliate)
- Wild Ginger (Asarum caudatum)
