By Bob Ballou

This is a tribute to and a chronicle of the work done by the Carsonora Volunteers over the past seven years, and an invitation to join them this summer.

The Carsonora Area is the name given to an approximately 85-mile section of the PCT primarily in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest between Yosemite National Park and the headwaters of the Truckee River, where the PCT connects with the Tahoe Rim Trail. It includes the Carson-Iceberg and Mokelumne Wilderness Areas, and trailheads at Sonora Pass, Ebbetts Pass and Carson Pass.

Anyone who has hiked or ridden the PCT through the Carsonora Area in the past five years has seen a lot of improvement to the trail thanks to the PCTA’s Carsonora Area Volunteer Trail Crew. Nowhere is the improvement more dramatic than between Sonora Pass and Ebbetts Pass.

Problems with tread width, downed trees across the trail and collapsing rock walls in this section were first brought to the attention of the Carsonora Volunteer Trail Crew in 2002 by U.S. Forest Service Wilderness Manager for the Carson District, Pam Wehking. The Carsonora Area Volunteer Trail Crew was just “getting its legs” that year so we took on a fairly easy weekend project between Wolf Creek Pass and Noble Lake. Thirteen volunteers joined me for a weekend to clear brush, clean out water diverters, and widen tread, while Backcountry Horseman, Ralph Truax, bucked out one log across the trail near Asa Lake. A total of 160 volunteer hours were spent on this section in 2002.

In 2003, Bill Holt led a weekend project between Ebbetts Pass and the Noble Canyon Trail Junction to cut brush, clean water diverters, clear blow downs, and widen the tread. Lacking a certified sawyer on our crew, Pete Fish joined us to cut out several trees, exhibiting once again his willingness to work anywhere he was needed. Over 170 volunteer hours spent on that project.

There still remained significant work to be done so plans were made to address some of the problems north of Sonora Pass in 2004. A scoping trip proved beyond a doubt that we were in for a long haul to get the trail up to standards around Sonora Peak and in the Carson River canyon.

Under the leadership of John McKenna, and with stock packing assistance of Backcountry Horsemen Dennis SerpaandDr. Bill Carter a crew of ten volunteers removed twenty-five 24”-34” trees, reduced or removed three dangerous rock outcroppings that impeded hikers and stock, and as time allowed, did minor tread repair on a 10-mile segment north of the trailhead over a one-week period. A total of 368 hours were spent on the project in 2004.

John’s crew found the tread to be only 6”-12” wide for nearly three miles (sometimes on 60% slopes) between Sonora Pass and Wolf Creek Lake, so a project was planned for 2005. In our report to the Forest Service, we recommended that the Humboldt-Toiyabe trail crew join us to provide technical skills and leadership. We were pleased to receive word that our request for trail crew support had been honored, and we would have well-known trail builder Dolly Chapman and her crew with us for an extended period the following summer.

On July 6, 2005 Dolly and I scoped the project. One look at the snow just three days before the project was to begin told us that this was going to be a difficult undertaking. Huge drifts up to 8’ deep covered the trail in numerous locations, and where we could see the tread, it was obvious there was sufficient work to keep us busy for all of the scheduled four weeks.

From July 9 through August 6, four crews of volunteers and Dolly’s crew of three rebuilt 4,161’ of tread to a 36” width on steep slopes, constructed three rock retaining walls, and cut steps in snow drifts to make it safer for thru-hikers who were passing by at the time. But when all was said and done, there were still at least 1.5 miles of trail that needed significant work to bring it up to the standards called for in the PCT’s Comprehensive Management Plan. A total of 812 hours were spent on the project in 2005.

Carson Ranger District Supervisory Forester, Larry Randall, and Forest Engineer, Kevin Wilmot, joined me for an inspection of the work that fall. They were in awe as we went from 36” tread to 8” tread and back again, noting the obvious places where snow had kept us from our work. During our sack lunch overlooking Wolf Creek Lake, it was decided that we would have Dolly and her crew again in 2006.

Anyone who spent time in the Sierra Nevada during 2006 knows that was a heavy and late snow year, and since the Carsonora Area is almost entirely above 8,500’ we faced some serious access problems, especially at 10,500’ north of Sonora Pass. This is not unusual for us, and we try to schedule our projects from mid-July to September. However, because of circumstances beyond our control, we had to attack this particular project the first week of July.

We had faced difficulty in 2005, but in 2006 the situation looked impossible. Snow blocked the PCT in many places, so Dennis couldn’t pack us into a spike camp close to the worksite, and even getting to the worksite on foot presented huge challenges. After talking with Dolly about the problems, we decided that we could overcome them if we put our minds (and bodies) to it.

While project leader, Bill Holt, and our volunteer crew got acclimated to the 10,000’ altitude, Dolly and her crew cut over ninety steps into 500’ of icy snow on a 70% slope leading up to the worksite from a side trail below. Nine volunteer crew members and the trail crew hiked a mile and carefully climbed the steps daily for eight days, rebuilt 1,200’ of tread to a 36” width, removed eighteen 2-8 cu. ft. of dangerous rocks from the back slope, constructed 22 sq. ft. of retaining walls, and removed two large boulders that weighed a combined total of 12+ tons that restricted stock travel.

Three students from Turlock High School joined the crew to construct rolling dips, widen tread and clear woody overgrowth. Heavy snow and dangerous access kept them working nearer the trailhead, yet they gained valuable experience and satisfaction from their effort. A total of 508 volunteer hours were spent on the project in 2006, yet there were still another 1,600’ of minimal tread and several gravity dams to be constructed.

Reports of an inordinate number of trees across the trail in the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness north of Sonora Pass initiated a joint Carsonora Area volunteer-Forest Service trail crew log-out project in August of 2006.Robert Parks and David Knapp, joined Bill Holt, Dolly, and trail crew member Zack Gray for a grueling 35-mile five-day hike-in project. They carried Mathilda (our 7’ cross-cut saw) and axes plus all their personal gear and food and cleared 111 logs, trees, and leaners. Five of the largest trees exceeded 40” in diameter, and one was 52”. This was duty above and beyond, but the call went out and Carsonora Area Volunteers responded.

It looked like we were finally going to finish the work north of Sonora Pass in 2007. A seven-day project was planned, and Bill once again took the crew leadership role. Fortunately, Mother Nature cooperated and the snow was completely clear when the volunteers hit the trail. Working for five eight-hour days in strong winds and often threatening weather, seven volunteers brought 1,100’ of the trail up to the 36” width we’ve been trying to establish for this area to give us a five-year sustainable tread.

Also in 2007, Bill led another eight-day project with help from Dennis and his fellow Backcountry Horsemen from the Mid Valley Chapter of the Backcountry Horsemen of California. Eight volunteers cleared woody overgrowth from approximately three-miles of the trail and, with help from Dolly, reconstructed approximately 400’ of tread to meet minimum standards on steep decomposed granite and hard rock side slopes between the floor of the Carson River canyon and the ridge south of Boulder Lake Trail Junction. Much of this work involved building gravity dams at three stream crossings and removal of rock and slough in precipitous locations.

That brings us to 2008 and what remains to be done by this great crew and those who choose to join it: another 500’ of tread widening and the removal of the last outcropping that causes packers a problem, that’s what. Then there’s that nasty rock pile of trail north of Wolf Creek Lake. Maybe that’s a job for a joint Student Conservation Association or Northwest Service Academy crew and volunteers this summer or next. Then it’ll be back to cleaning off the slough caused by snow creep on all those steep side slopes over the past few years.