I’m back!!!!!! Back to Cold Meadows in the Frank! It was a beautiful Monday morning and we loaded up the plane early and were soon in the air. It’s about a 45 minute flight deep into one of the largest wilderness areas in the United States. Our crew consisted of 6 members, myself, John, Tom, Brian, Eric, and Barry. Make sure you look back at last years expedition here: https://davefaitlemonde.com/2019/08/25/cold-meadows-trail-work-expedition-part-1-frank-church-wilderness-idaho/ A shout out to our pilots at McCall Aviation! These guys do an amazing job providing a vital air link to Idaho’s back country!
John, Brian and I were in the first plane flying across some of the McCall areas finest mountains…… of course John’s finger was soon fatigued from playing Name That Peak with Brian. The glazed look in Brian’s eye is normal during NTP.
After a smooth flight, we were lined up on the Cold Meadows Airfield. I LOVE IDAHO! Make sure you check out the video of landing here in last year’s blog post.
With the small planes, we were required to weigh our gear, a number we really did not want to know! Between the three of us, we had provisions for a week and tools that weighed a total of 175 pounds….
It wasn’t long and the second plane carrying Tom, Eric and Barry rolled down the runway.
Cold Meadows, one of my favorite places on the planet!
After a briefing, stashing a cache for our return and last night at the airport, we saddled up and headed out for the 30 mile trek.
The first 7 or 8 miles of our first day had been cleared 2 years ago and we were relived to see that it was still in great shape.
This creek crossing on the South Fork of Cottonwood Creek needed a little work so the boys sprung into action.
It was a relieve to set down the tools and packs for a few minutes and take a break from walking.
More Better!
After a long hard pull, we made it to Coyote Springs. It is rare to find any buildings in the wilderness areas but this is a historic structure…… Not what you think, its actually a telephone booth! Check out this history! https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd577371.pdf
We set up camp and settled in for our first night. Certainly, the trail work over the next few days wasn’t going to be this easy…… was it???? Check back soon for Episode 2!
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