Heat waves dominated the fourth week of hitch, but the Forestry Crew still made great progress on this week’s sites! Due to the heat, we didn’t camp this week to let Crew members cool off more easily in the evenings. We stuck to locations near Darrington, starting at the Old Sauk trail, then moving to Beaver Lake, White Chuck Overlook, a dispersed camping site, and the Mt. Baker Snoqualmie National Forest sign on Mountain Loop Highway. Going to several locations allowed us to switch up the scenery and chase the shade as temperatures ticked close to 100°F!

Brushing the Old Sauk trail gave us a break from hand sawing and lopping, which had defined our last week at the Seed Orchard. It provided us with beautiful views of the river, which was so blue it looked like it had been peeled straight from the pages of a travel magazine. Our second day of work also took place alongside the river on the Beaver Lake trail. We brushed the sides of the trail as we hiked, admiring views of the mountains and sparkling water.

To wrap up our week, we fell back on our hand sawing and lopping skills to clear out the White Chuck Overlook. Before we began, the trees, salal, and huckleberries were so overgrown that visitors couldn’t make out the view from the parking lot. After clearing out saplings, using a pole saw to prune larger branches, and removing thick underbrush, White Chuck rises tall and proud across the valley. As we finished up at the Overlook on Thursday, we had a few people stop by and enjoy the view.

Highlights from the week included learning how to use a pole saw and working together to reach tall branches, cooling off at the White Chuck Boat Launch, seeing wildlife (a snake and a salamander!), learning how to play Contact, and completing a successful work week despite intense conditions. We’re all looking forward to the cooler temperatures next week when we return to the Seed Orchard!

Keathley P.B., Forestry Crew Intern