Despite unusually hot weather, a 12-person California Conservation Corps (CCC) crew is working 10-hour days -- for eight days at a time -- to clear "Section O" of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail (PCT) of deep brush that's accumulated over 15 years.

Crews began work on June 25 on Section O, roughly 83 miles of trail from McArthurBurney Falls Memorial State Park to Castella.

"Section O on the PCT has been historically one of the most difficult sections of the trail to maintain due to inaccessibility, steep, rocky terrain, heavy brush, and downed timber from heavy winter snows and high wind. It's been a serious problem for PCT hikers and equestrians for years and years," said Alan Hill, spokesman for the Back Country Horsemen of America (BCHA), a member of the local Shasta-Trinity unit of BCHA and a Redding resident.

Indeed, over the years, the infamous Section O has stymied many attempting to travel the entire 2,650-mile National Scenic Trail in one season.

But thanks to a new partnership between the BCHA, the Redding CCC facility, the U.S. Forest Service, and Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA), Section O will soon be restored and accessible in the manner in which they were designed. The partnership is the first of its kind between these organizations in Northern California, said Joe Sobinovsky, program director for the PCTA.

Funding and planning of the eight-week trail maintenance project has come from the Forest Service (both the Region 5 office and the ShastaTrinity National Forest), the BCHA and the PCTA. Additionally, the PCTA is supplying volunteer camp cooks to shop, plan menus, and prepare meals for the young CCC workers. The PCTA's donation of camp cooks, according to Lynda Burkhalter, Supervisor of Corps Member Development Programs for the CCC Redding facility, is saving the Corps approximately $3,000 per eight-day camp. "Thanks to the PCTA," Burkhalter said. "We have a lot more money going into working on the trail, which is phenomenal."

CCC crewmembers involved in this project range in age from 18 to 23 and are largely residents of Redding. As part of their CCC commitment, the crewmembers not only work 10-hour days but also complete schoolwork, earning credits towards high school diplomas and scholarships for higher education.