It’s always amazing to see what volunteers can accomplish when they are inspired by breathtaking scenery. This past weekend at Coldwater Lake was no exception. The annual stewardship campout within the Mt. St Helens National Monument, organized by Jim Lemonds (affectionately known as ‘Jeep’) in cooperation with the USFS, has grown to achieve cult status ever since it started.
What a weekend it was! Over 70 volunteers showed up to spend several days camping under the stars, reworking the trail tread and brushing out the pesky spring overgrowth. The weather fully cooperated, and the Costco-sized tubs of sunscreen came in handy.
This year brought a new element to the event as Daybreak Racing participated in the campout and trail work. Having mountain bikers working side-by-side with trail runners on multi-use trails displayed the true power of volunteerism. Add in that June 2nd was National Trails Day and we were working within a National Monument made this a very special and memorable occasion for all.
The cumulative effect of this yearly event is evident to everyone using the area. These trails are ridden and run hard by all those who venture out to bask in the volcano’s glory, yet the tread is in great shape. Even so, there was plenty of hard work to accomplish and all the crew chiefs had their hands full teaching and leading volunteers of all experience levels. This included a cutback of the entire trail encircling the lake!
It’s not just about trail work, as three intrepid souls, Juntu Oberg, Gabrielle Roth, and Debbie Causey handled sign-in, took care of tools for the boat, and prepped the food!!! Thanks as well goes to Oregon Bike Shop for supporting the event (and supplying the food) and to Hopworks for supplying beer.
A special acknowledgement by all goes to Jerry de Ruyter, Kim McCormack, Michael Inbody, and Nathan Frenchen, who took on the brutal task of pulling tool-loaded B.o.B trailers up the 230A hill. We can’t wait for next year and for the SHIFT stewardship campout this August!