By Sophia Efremov
Sophia and her AmeriCorps NCCC teammates are spending the next two months working on the PCT in Southern California with California State Parks, Angeles National Forest, Sequoia National Forest, and multiple BLM field offices. The crew is going to focus on tread, brushing, drainage, rock reconstruction and trail restoration following the October 2015 mudslides. Ready to join Sophia and help get things done? Find out more about AmeriCorps NCCC online.
I’ve spent 22 years on this earth, most in the concrete jungle; mainly Moscow and Baltimore City, but a lot more cities in between. Family vacations as a child were abundant with trips to national parks while I pouted in the back seat. Why did we have to go to these parks when we could be spending my precious two months of summer break on a swanky cruise or visiting Mickey at Disney World? Getting me to an actual campground wasn’t much of a chore as was getting me to leave the comfort of my folding chair surrounded by S’mores. When it came to hiking, forget it. I specifically brought only flip-flops and acted baffled when my mother would ask me why I didn’t bring hiking shoes.
I was crafty in avoiding the outdoors and had legitimate reasons. I didn’t swim in open bodies of water because fish would have obviously eaten me. I didn’t sit in the dirt because bugs would get into my clothes. Having a skin tone similar to the color of rice paper made it easy for me to avoid the sun almost completely. Needless to say, the outdoors and I were not a match.
Sophia
Fast forward a few years. I spent several months WWOOF-ing (an organic farming help-exchange program) in Maui, Hawaii, surrounded by some of the world’s most beautiful oceans. We’re talking crystal-clear, postcard style beaches. Getting myself past a few feet in the water was eerily similar to the way people screamed in the TV shows where one would have to lay in a big box of spiders to win a million dollars. Farming time was a game in which I would find ways not to have to stick my hands into the bug-infested dirt. Gardening gloves were my best friend but God forbid they were left outside overnight. Vicious bugs surely would nestle themselves in the nylon awaiting to attack my fingertips.
In the fall of 2015, I joined AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC). It’s an exceptional 10-month program that sends teams of young adults on different service projects within designated regions of the United States.. Within each region, various service projects are completed by dozens of teams. Whether it’s building houses with Habitat for Humanity on Kaua’i, Hawaii, or screwing in LED lightbulbs in Bend, Oregon, members have amazing experiences that resonate their entire lives.
The NCCC Americorps team listening to a Leave No Trace training put on by PCTA staffer Ben Barry.
I applied to be on the NCCC Fire Management Team for my second round. Even though I’m a softie about bugs and germs, I wanted to push myself to my limits for strength and endurance. To my surprise, I was accepted and placed on a new team. First project: trail maintenance on the Pacific Crest Trail.
I was ecstatic. Scared? Absolutely. I held excitement in the notion that I might actually fool the rest of my teammates that I was just as outdoorsy as they were. Nodding and rubbing my chin when they mentioned names of mountains I’d never heard of. So far, so good. Then came the part where we had to go play in the dirt.
Sophia working on the Pacific Crest Trail.
On the first day we stepped on the Pacific Crest Trail with tools in hand and walked. I’d never seen anything so beautiful in my life. How was it that so many different landscapes were in so few miles? How was it that I had seen so many pictures but nothing was truly like walking and working on that land with my own un-gloved hands. I must have sweat all the ludicrous fears away that first day. Not only did I sit in the dirt while I ate lunch but I laid down and happily ate my pretzel sticks. It may have had little to no impact on others, but to me, I was a new girl already. I swung the tools and got dirt all over me. I dropped my half eaten apple on the ground, swiftly blew off the dirt, and enjoyed every remaining bite.
After my second night of camping in the valley, my tent was annihilated by wind gusts. News broke that we would be sleeping cowboy-style, under the stars. I freaked out. Wait, not because I’d be surrounded by everything I seemingly hated, but because I didn’t mind whatsoever. That’s right. I was completely unfazed. Goodbye showers, hello dirty clothes, eating out of the back of our truck, greasy hair, totally not understanding how trails need to be built and now sleeping outside! I hadn’t felt this peaceful in my entire life and all I needed to do was stick my hands in the dirt and enjoy the serenity that is the PCT.
The team taking a hike in Whitewater Preserve.
I’m not sure if the Pacific Crest Trail has always been this sneaky or magical but I’m so blissfully in awe of the wonders it holds for me these next few months. I’m eternally grateful for this opportunity and I’m excited to give my all to a trail that has already done so much for a hopeless city girl like me.