Rock Creek, Robinson Creek (Middle Fork Pasayten River), Tatoosh Buttes, Boundary Trail - Pasayten, Buckskin Ridge & Whistler Cutoff — Saturday, Jun. 1, 2013

Spent an amazing week clearing downed logs from trails in the Pasayten Wilderness on my first volunteer vacation with WTA. We basecamped at the forest service cabin on the old Pasayten Airstrip at the confluence of the West and Middle Forks of the Pasayten Rivers. We cleared a few miles on several surrounding trails: Rock Creek Trail (473), Boundry Creek Trail (#533), the backside of Tatoosh Buttes (485). I can't wait to come back and backpack this area later in the year. Area highlights: - Stunning views of surrounding peaks. - Gorgeous sunny warm weather. Lots of water coming down the rivers and creeks. Hardly any snow. This looks to be a warm, early year. - Spruce, fir and pine forests with a whole different feel than on the wet side. - We saw lots of (fresh!) bear and moose sign, but mostly spotted smaller wildlife: hares, birds, grouse, frogs and two deer. - Both a highlight (because it meant lots of great crosscutting experience) and a lowlight (for hikers and stock) was the amount of downed trees. There is a lot of work in store for backcountry forest service trail crews this year. - Wildflowers were blooming. The balsamroot was on its way out, but the lupine was just coming on. Saw a few chocolate lilies in the burn areas. Higher up the trail we spotted lady slippers and glacier lilies. Trip highlights: - My fellow volunteers and the great forest service staff with us. Great people, fun work, good food, a warm fire at night. - The stars. Wow. - The hike in and out, while a little challenging, was my first real backpack of the year. Felt good to wake up those muscles again and head out into the woods with a pack on my back. - We couldn't asked for better weather. A little rainy a few days, but mostly in the 60's during the day, and probably 30's or 40's at night. Nights sleeping outside: 7 Total nights outside this year: 9