Pleasant Valley Trail work with Tucson Teens

Eight students from S.T.A.R. Academy and AmeriCorps State Member, Peter Burns, gathered in the parking lot of Southwest Conservation Corps early on a recent Friday morning with their camping gear in tow for a busy work and camping weekend on the Moody Trail at Pleasant Valley in the Tonto National Forest.  Many of the teens had never been on a camping trip and were not sure what to expect, but a few were avid outdoorsy- types.  Either way they were all looking forward to a break from school and work. 

The weekend was coordinated with Ranger David – whom we had worked with before – and he had high expectations for our performance.  Our goal was to clear the trail of overgrowth – prepping it as far as possible for the SCC crews to come in later that week. 

It was interesting to see most of the teens beginning the weekend attached to their electronics but by Sunday they were more interested in the great outdoors than their ipods or portable televisions!  What a shift in entertainment!  What a relief for the adults!

After early morning training sessions, Ranger David outlined the work for the day.  The teens adapted quickly to using loppers, combi tools, and cross cut saws on the overgrown trail and enjoyed the experience of working in such a beautiful forest.  Looking back at the trail they just cleared was a huge boost and I could see some of them beaming with pride!  Most of them mentioned that they had never done any type of yard work.  And although the temperatures at 8000 ft were vastly cooler than the Tucson desert, the day grew warm as we worked.  It was a great relief each day as we finished up and headed back to camp for a late afternoon of exploration, dinner preparation, and telling stories around our campfire.

Late Saturday afternoon our camp was pelted with a very torrential hailstorm which caused damage to a couple of the tents.  The teens had to share floor space with one another as they adjusted to this blip, and wait patiently for dinner because our campfire kept going out from the hail.  It was a very cold and wet afternoon! 

Sunday afternoon we were able to drive up to the Watch Tower at Aztec Peak with David Frew, Recreation, Wilderness, Lands, and Minerals Staff Officer and learned more about the history of Pleasant Valley and took a tour of the Watch Tower by the resident Ranger ‘Red’.  The teens were very engaged and asked quite a few questions about watching for a fire, how to determine the location of a fire and which team responds to a fire.  Red had quite a few stories from his past experience as a Hot Shot firefighter and tenure at Aztec Peak.    

On Monday the teens got to do more exploring at Workman Creek.  Although the water was quite chilly many of them swam and frolicked!  Later that afternoon we packed up and headed back to Tucson for the four hour drive.  I overheard a few of the teens noting the signs on the highway marking ten miles.  This is how far we hoped to work on the Moody Trail, but our Ranger said we only made about ¾ of a mile.  They have all learned that distances are deceiving when working on a very meandering trail! 

It was a fun weekend watching the teens “step outside their comfort zone” (as one of the other adult volunteers mentioned) and be open to new experiences.