Day 3: Roots, Rocks, and Bears

This morning we were treated to a pancake breakfast courtesy of Ethan and Jonathan. Those two are quite the chefs. After stuffing ourselves to the limit with flapjacks, we packed up and hit the trail. This time we walked into the park via the main entrance, and up to a gazebo that the Kodiak Rotary Club had erected ten years ago. There we met Andy and the one-ton pile of gravel he had deposited at the trail head. The plan today was to work from two directions. One team would start from where we left off yesterday, continuing to carve a turn through the trees, roots and stones that comprised the lower third of the trail. The other team would start from the gazebo, grubbing through the more forgiving soil of that part of the trail, as well as cutting down trees and laying down gravel on the trail surface.

Justin and Jonathan got to play lumberjack, cutting down trees together by running a bow saw in tandem. Their personal record was cutting down a pine tree with the circumference of a fire hydrant in about 45 seconds. Watch out Paul Bunyan!

The rest of the gang helped to create back slope and lay gravel. Back slope refers to the “upper” part of the trail, usually the portion that trail crews cut into to help create the path. If there is not enough of a slope to it, then hikers will walk on the outer portion of the trail, and cause undue amounts of erosion.

Ethan, Justin, Jonathan, and a local high school student from Kodiak named JC, laid gravel with Andy. They used a wheelbarrow and shovel to load and transport the gravel, and the MacLeods to help rake the gravel into place and tamp it down. Allison and Mike, two of our trail crew leaders helped to coordinate and instruct our efforts. Each inch of the trail needs at least 4 inches of gravel covering it, so you can imagine how much gravel it will take to cover our 2 mile section!

Michael, Emily, and Haley were on grub patrol on the lower third of the trail with Shane, Ralph and Tom. Tom is the third member of the trail crew team, and the younger brother of Mike. Ralph is their father, who is visiting for the week in celebration of Father’s Day. Together they all worked their way through a particularly root infested portion of ground cover. The roots, trees and rocks put up a valiant fight, and we wrestled with them for the better part of the day. Finally we stopped after we had carved out another forty feet of trail.

The two teams met back at the gazebo and hiked out to the van. We rode down to the Kodiak Island National Refuge Visitor Center, where we watched one video on wildlife in Kodiak and another very informative video on Bear behavior and safety. We also toured around the center, trying out hats shaped like animals from Alaska, and prying Shane away from books on geology and earthquakes.

Finally it was back to the Island C for dinner, relaxation and some more zany songs about tortillas from Mike and Tom. Goodnight for tonight!!