last saturday was a scheduled trail building day on vedder mtn. our goal was to complete a climbing trail that my dad helped us start about a year and a half ago. on that day, my dad, myself and almost 50 other people ascended on vedder with shovels and picks and assorted instruments to open up a meter wide trail along a flagged route. 50 people working hard and leapfrogging over each other clearing brush and digging up ferns was very satisfying. half the trail was built in one day.
over a year later all the bridges are built, all the bureaurocratic hoops have been jumped through and ty joined us to finish the final 100m of trail to the road.
i didn't expect to stay long, but ty surprised me by actively shovelling mud for over an hour. the hard work was made more fun by his constant remarks, "look how much i'm shovelling daddy!" "wow, shovelling muck sure is hard work!" and the familiar "my arms are tired".
when ty was done shovelling he investigated the donated drainage pipes, the guys shovelling gravel and the myriad creepies and crawlies in the immediate vicinity. he also provided regular updates as to how close the guys wheelbarrowing gravel were progressing towards us.
ty was quite proud of his pipe and was not shy about instructing the gravel guys in how to embed it properly. they took his advice quite seriously. ;-)
what was once a mud pit is now a well drained crossing.
what was once a treacherous root ridden danger zone is now a dry elevated trail!
ty was also thrilled to have me roast a hotdog for him. he also had his first experience with orange pop. both were a hit.
photo credit for the above photo and the first photo to b j gordon
thanks ty (and of course FVMBA) for all your work. i will think of you every time i climb vedder!
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