Overnight Llama Trail Work Trip: Willow Lakes

Summary:

Llama trips offer great opportunities to explore some of the beautiful and more remote areas of the wilderness with experienced backpackers and help restore these harder-to-reach areas. This ESWA llama trip will spend a three day weekend performing various forms of trail work and restoration activities around Willow Lakes in the Eagles Nest Wilderness in Silverthorne, CO. U.S. Forest Service rangers guide the trips.

Itinerary:

Expectations for total mileage and elevation gain for the entire trip over three days is 12-15 miles and 2,500 ft of elevation gain.

Friday, 8/21

We will meet at a TBD location and carpool to the trailhead. We will then backpack in to camp on Friday, 8/21. We will set up camp in the Willow Lakes basin. It is a 5 mile hike from the trailhead to camp with 2,300 ft of elevation gain. Please click this link for more information about the trail. We will camp at the same campsite for both nights of the trip. Depending on timing and energy levels, some work and restoration activities around Willow Lakes may be done after setting up camp.

Saturday, 8/22

On Saturday, 8/22, the group will do work around Willow Lakes and Salmon Lake. We typically break into smaller groups to do various restoration activities. These might include scattering illegal fire rings and restoring the area, removing illegal campsites, social trail closure, trail maintenance (erosion control, trimming vegetation, tree clearing, drain digging, tread improvements, etc), pulling noxious weeds, and repairing and adding signage. The hike from Willow Lakes to Salmon Lake is fairly easy, especially with just a day pack on.

Everyone works at their own pace, and we are urged to take frequent breaks and drink lots of water.

We return to camp in the late afternoon to enjoy the wilderness and each other’s company.

Sunday, 8/23

We spend this day mainly backpacking out the same way we came in. Sometimes there is an opportunity to do some additional work for those interested. We expect to be back at the trailhead sometime during the afternoon on Sunday, 8/23.

Additional details and expectations:

The llamas may have extra capacity and be able to carry some of our gear  (tents, stoves, group beverages, bear canisters, etc). Group size will dictate how much volunteer gear the llamas are able to carry. Please come prepared to carry all of your gear in case the group size is large. The llamas are unable to carry tools, which will require several participants to volunteer to carry a tool during the hike into camp on the first day and back to the trailhead on the last day. The llamas walk steadily, but not fast. People generally hike at their own pace. For safety reasons, we encourage you to hike and work with at least one other person and carry a personal communication device, such as a Garmin inReach.

Please pack all of the backpacking items you would normally bring to be self-sufficient. We are all responsible for our own food, cooking gear, and camping equipment. Please know how to use all of your own equipment. The Forest Service requires use of bear-proof canisters. Let us know if you need to borrow one. In addition, please bring your own individual WAG bags for human waste. If you do not have any, let us know and ESWA can provide some. The llamas carry the WAG bags back to the trailhead.

We practice Leave No Trace camping so we don’t build campfires, but we generally eat together.

ESWA will bring some happy hour supplies for everyone.

Please only register if you are 100% confident you will be able to attend the trip.

We request any cancellations be made at least two weeks before the start of the trip to allow us sufficient time to find a replacement volunteer on the waitlist.

Contact Krista Hughes (krista.a.hughes@gmail.com) with any questions. Please list which llama trip you are attending in the subject.