DatesJun 27th - Jul 3rd 2010 Service ProjectLogout, waterbar constr/maint, trail brushing and trail treadwork Free DaysFishing, dayhiking, swimming, gold panning, wildlife viewing AccommodationsBackpack tent camping Trip RatingStrenuous : 5-mile backpack, lopping, digging, hauling, sawing. Pack animal supported LeadersDean Twehues Equipment |
The North Fork John Day Wilderness area is approximately 150,000 acres in eastern Oregon. From rolling benchlands to the granite outcrops of the Greenhorn Mountains, the rugged NFJD Wilderness provides diverse landscapes. Much of the wilderness is composed of gentle benchlands and tablelands; the remaining of steep ridges, deep river valleys and alpine lake basins fed by long winters and very wet spring Oregon rainy seasons. A continuous vegetative canopy covers most of the land, including dense virgin stands of conifer species like Douglas-fir, white fir, western larch and lodgepole pine and harbours numerous big game and other woodland animal species. The North Fork John Day drainage was a bustling gold and silver mining area in the middle to late 1800s. Old mining structures, building foundations, waterworn rock piles, dredged ditches, and other traces are still visible from people who removed an estimated $10 million in gold and silver. The river corridor is a designated Wild and Scenic River and blue ribbon trout fishery. The NFJD Wilderness has 150 miles of trail providing visitors with abundant opportunity to explore the remote river system and surrounding area. Despite the recent infusion of federal stimulus money, volunteer assistance with basic maintenance along the North Fork John Day River trails is needed to catch up a backlog of projects. Our group will backpack about five mostly flat miles and set up a basecamp from which we'll work for the week. The projects will include sawing downed trees and moving them off the trails, pulling out the side of the trail to allow proper drainage, trail brushing and waterbar construction and maintenance.
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