We began the week by receiving orientation about what we would be doing for the week. For us, we would mainly be doing trail restoration work due to the vast amount of flooding the park received earlier that fall. With tools in hand, we embarked on a 2.5 mile hike to our job site in McKittrick Canyon. We arrived deep in the heart of the canyon at Pratt Lodge. From there we used McLeods to pull the larger rocks on the outside inward in order to tighten the 2 mile trail. While a few people were doing that, others were using loppers to clip branches that were impeding the trail. The third and final group picked up large rocks that were on the trail and tossed them aside in order to make the trail easier to hike upon. At the end of the day, we finished 1.25 miles of the 2 mile trail. For all of us, it was immensely enjoyable to work with such a great view of the mountains and different kinds of plants all around us. It was not strange when someone in my group remarked on how small they felt in comparison to the lofty mountains and dense foliage because we all got that feeling. We noticed that there was a significant lack of wildlife presence in the park, but Bridget, our ranger and leader for the week, explained to us that even though it was in the mid-60s and considerably mild for January weather, it was considered winter for most of the desert creatures who live there. Exhausted and barely acclimated to the 8000 feet difference in elevation, we finished the day with a substantial part of the McKittrick trail cleared, allowing for much easier passage, still in awe of the humbling mountains around us.
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