Elwood Pass

Gary & Lori Harris, Rick & Lee Hagar, Kevin Heckman, and Hollie and Gabe Rebaza joined trail leader Karin Freeman on a trail workday on Elwood Pass, east of Pagosa Springs. We spent time trimming trees and cutting back logs away from the edge of the trail, as well as draining several large mud puddles. We also cut back a lot of willows along two sections of road near creeks, which were quite overgrown. A cool lunch in the shade was followed by a visit to the section of trail the Club fixed in 2022, the repair of which is holding up very well to the high traffic and rainfall this summer. We moved the lower of our Club picnic tables out of a meadow and back to the trail edge, added a much-needed coat of paint, and then fixed a warped board on the upper table with nearly all hands (and feet) on deck! The Harrises showed their knowledge and prowess by winching a very large, fallen tree root and trunk away from the edge of the road. There was a fair bit of traffic on the road on this Labor Day weekend, including a group of about 13 side-by-sides that passed us on the way up, and on their way back down. Nearly everyone thanked us for our work. Near the top of the pass, we visited the repair work done by the Club a number of years ago in the high meadow. While the original repair appears to be intact, other springs along the trail have emerged, resulting in some erosion, deep mudholes, and off-trail travel to avoid the holes. The Club will discuss and plan some future repair work for that section. It was a long but beautiful day, with a great work crew!