FROM: Mark Langford, Incident Commander, Spider Lake Cleanup
Man- what a great day we had! The sun was warm, the sky was deep blue and everyone that was there shared a common bond- the love for the Rubicon Trail!
I want to start out by thanking every man, woman and child that worked on this project! It takes a special type of person to volunteer to pick up after others so that all of us might enjoy the trail for years to come. It was great to see how many people brought their kids up to teach them about proper trail etiquette and maintenance early. I tip my hat to everyone involved
We had several clubs show up in force to the work day. Thanks to the Axlesnappers (Venture Co), URJB, California Creepers, WT 4-wheelers, Rock-N-Roll 4x4's,
Sierra Chapter, TTORA, Cal Rocs and, my club, the Dysfunctional Rockcrawlers all had representatives working on the project! The Axlesnappers had 4 members drive all the way up from Venture County (13 hours ONE WAY) to volunteer as our haul team along with a fellow and his daughter in a white Land Cruiser that drove down from Yuba City! It was great to have so many clubs show up to support us. Thank you all
We had some very important people join us for the Clean-up. Jack Sweeney- El Dorado County Supervisor, his lovely wife Toni and Mike Gray from EDC Dept of Parks. These fine people came up not just to see what we were doing, but also to work! They showed up in work cloths with shovels and gloves in hand ready to work! They made a point to get around to each of the 4 work teams to talk to them about the closure, explain why it was done and to answer any questions our volunteers had. That made a HUGE impression on our teams. As we walked around the Lake Jack and Mike were amazed that ALL the waste, TP and trash they’d seen just a week before was gone! Our crews had pick the area clean. Nothing on the ground but dirt and rocks
These are good people to work with and they have my trust and support. Heck, they even shared a beer with us at the end of the day and encouraged a few of our volunteers as they attempted and conquered Little Sluice. Toni even offered to drive Danger Rangers truggy through the box if he needed help
Man, what a great site that was!
I also want to thank our Team Leaders. These were my Generals in the field making sure the job was done right. They were Aaron Beckstead- Danger Ranger (Dysfunctional Rockcrawlers & URJB), Mike Elrod- Rock Tractor (Dysfunctional Rockcrawlers, Nor-Cal Scouts), Tim Webster- Disco (California Creepers), Mike- tacomamike (TTORA) and Jen- Sluice Sally (URJB) & Dianne- Crash440 (URJB) that worked the registration table all day. These people deserve our thanks and gratitude for a job well done
Ok, now for some stats:
Registered Participants- 59
Waste Removed- Estimated 5-600 pounds of waste, trash, port-a-potty’s, etc. (filled a 6 yard dumpster)
Hours on site- 5
Total Volunteer Hours- will advise tonight
I want to thank all of you for your kind words of support and thanks. It’s greatly appreciated
But nothing would have been done without the good people that showed up to work. I just got the ball rolling. You all made me proud to be a part of Friends of the Rubicon!
Your Friend,
Mark
