Lisa's Story |
By Forest Service crew lead Lisa Evergerd
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In 2013, a Methow Valley Ranger District Forest Service Crew led by Lisa Eversgerd teamed up with a crew of volunteerers from Washington Trails Association led by Joe Hofbeck to replace the broken bridge over Diamond Creek. It was a challenging project but a week with WTA and another with just the Forest Service Crew got the job done. Lisa's story is below the slide show.
The Slide show plays continuously. Click on an image for manual controls.
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My days in the Pasayten always seemed dusted in magic, some of the best years of my life.
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I spent 10 summers working on Forest Service Trail Crews before I found the Pasayten Wilderness. Her high mountain meadows, majestic peaks, swift-running rivers and gorgeous lakes captured my heart and soul from the first trail clearing trip I took into Hidden Lakes. I loved to wake in the darkness of the morning, build a fire, make some coffee and watch it all come alive. I never tired of this morning routine and relished in the peacefulness, often writing letters to old friends or weaving pine needle baskets.
Daylight brought the promise of another day of backpacking, adventure, laughter and trail work. We would clear fallen trees from the trails with crosscut saws, build bridges, water bars, turnpikes and rock walls. We worked long, hard days in all kinds of weather and I loved every second of it. I loved the smell of the forest, the sunshine on my face, the hard, physical work, the friendships created within the crew, the way food always tasted so amazing and the feeling of crawling into my tent exhausted at the end of each day. I loved the old crosscut saws, my sore muscles, the mind-blowing variety of wildflowers, star filled skies, wildlife sightings, cold mountain water, fresh berries, happy hikers, and booming thunderstorms. My days in the Pasayten always seemed dusted in magic, some of the best years of my life. I now run an organic farm, sharpen crosscut saws, make handcrafted soap and weave pine needle baskets from my homestead in the Okanogan Highlands, but still return to the Pasyaten whenever I can. I love hiking those old familiar trails and I am forever thankful to Joe and Dianne Hofbeck for creating the Pasayten Trails Trust. Knowing the trails in this magical land will be maintained for years to come and that countless young people will have the opportunity live, work and learn in the Wilderness makes my heart happy. During my 16 years as a seasonal trail crew worker, I never knew if the Forest Service Trail budget would have adequate funding for the next year. Some years we would have 15 trail folks and two years later it could be down to 3. During these low budget years, jobs were lost, trails were neglected and there was little continuity within the trail program. The incredible generosity of the Hofbecks will ensure that this will not happen in the Pasyaten Wilderness and the trails that we all love will safely lead us into the mountains for many years to come. |