Volunteer Vacation - Eldorado National Forest, California Trail Maintenance

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Join American Hiking Society for a week of building & maintaining trails in exciting locations across the country. Volunteer Vacations foster public land stewardship and provide volunteers the opportunity to give back to the trails they love, meet new people, and have a great time doing it! Crews consist of 6-15 volunteers accompanied by a crew leader. Volunteer Vacations involve backpacking or day hiking and accommodations vary from primitive campsites to bunkhouses or cabins. Tools and supervision are provided by the host agency or organization. Experience nature up close. Travel to new destinations. Meet other outdoor enthusiasts. Take a vacation that nourishes your body & your spirit. Get Out. Give Back.

Project Specifics:

USE CODE: 2023USFSWayneVV for a special registration fee of $200 thanks to grant funding received for this project. To register at this price please select "First Trip of the Year" registration cost. Additional trip discount not available for this special rate.

Join this project to backpack into a stunning river valley of granite and pine trees and help restore access along this popular canyon trail. The Mokelumne River Canyon has been described as a smaller version of the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River in Yosemite National Park. Sections of the canyon are up to a mile deep. Granite is predominate and the Munson Meadow trail is in some places a trail engineering marvel. The Munson Meadow trail is 9.5 miles long and is in need of trail maintenance. The trail was built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The trail is relatively flat for 6 miles as it passes Long Lake at mile 4 where the first campsite is. After mile 6, the trail drops steeply into the Mokelumne River Canyon. At mile 7.5 is the second camp, which has incredible views overlooking the canyon. There are trail maintenance needs above and below both camps with the majority of the work needed at the second camp. Volunteers will support this work through brushing, crosscut saw work, and tread repair.

Volunteers will backpack and camp near the project worksite, moving camp halfway through the trip. The first camp is four miles in with an elevation loss of 700′. The second camp is 3 miles further with an additional elevation gain & loss of 1600′. Daily hiking to work sites from the camping location will vary from less than a mile with an elevation gain/loss of 550 vertical feet near the 2nd camp site on up to 3 miles with an elevation gain/loss of 150 vertical feet near the first campsite. Volunteers will need to carry their personal gear and a portion of the food/tools/cooking gear to base camp.

AHS acknowledges with gratitude that this project takes place on the traditional lands of the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla Wašišiw Ɂítdeʔ (Washoe) and Nisenan peoples past and present. We honor the land itself, the Indigenous communities who have stewarded this land for generations, their deep and sacred connection to these lands, and those who continue to steward these lands today. We offer this land acknowledgement as the first of many steps to stand as an ally and amplify Indigenous voices. We invite the American Hiking Society community to join us through continued efforts to support Indigenous communities and learn more about the history of the lands on which we live, work and recreate.

Accommodations: Volunteers will backpack and camp near the project worksite, moving camp halfway through the trip. Daily hiking to work sites from the camping location will vary. The first camp is four miles in with an elevation loss of 700'. The second camp is 3 miles further with an additional elevation gain & loss of 1600'. Volunteers will need to carry their personal gear and a portion of the food/tools/cooking gear to base camp. Volunteers need to bring their own tent and personal camping gear, sleeping bag, towels, personal cup / bowl / mug / eating utensils. Please contact volunteer@americanhiking.org for assistance with gear needs

Trip Cost: $425 per person

Volunteer Experience: While trips do not require prior trail maintenance experience, all of our projects require participants to be in good physical condition and will involve 30-40 hours of physical labor during the week.

Find More Information & Register Here: https://americanhiking.org/volunteer-vacation-trip/eldorado-national-forest-ca-volunteer-vacations-2023/