Los Diablos Nuevos de Los Valles

Los Diablos ganan la plata!

This autumn, Los Diablos Nuevos de Los Valles worked to remedy the devastation left by a “thousand year storm”-Hurricane Dolly having struck the White Mountain Wilderness of New Mexico in 2008.  We worked in the Three Rivers Canyon on the Lincoln National Forest to repair damage done with the ferocity of an angry giant.  Massive trees had been uprooted, ripping out entire sections of trail, leaving water crossings annihilated, and our jobs secure for the better part of a month.  It was back busting, ego smashing, dirt flying, boulder pitching, improvisational labor that forged bands of mutual respect and affection between us all and our ravishing crosscut saw, DeLilac.  By the conclusion of our time in the Three Rivers Canyon, an impassable, boulder-strewn, washed out mess once again became a passable way to enchantment.

Next we hacked switchbacks into the heavy clay of the San Juan National Forest, constructed rock walls with Masonic skill, and mastered the delicate art water bar installation.  We had the acute misfortune to be camped a half a mile away from natural hot springs, and suffered deeply for it…On these two hitches, Los Diablos capitalized on the indulgences of front country camping with such culinary miracles as Dutch-oven pizza, Dutch-oven quiche, backcountry chimichangas, and Wisconsin Neal’s Wisconsin meal: the ultimate evolution of the grilled cheese sandwich.

We marveled at the turning of the Aspens and the brevity of the season.  We parted with joy and sorrow.

Crew 014

Alexander Wyckoff