For the last three years the team at Mountain State Overland has worked in conjunction with Tread Lightly! to do a service project in Monongahela National Forest prior to their annual Adventure X Fest event. Since 2023 AXFest has been held at the Experience Learning outdoor education facility on the backside of Spruce Knob along the eastern edge of “The Mon” (as the locals call it). More on AXFest to come in a future article.
- 2023 AXFest Tread Lightly! Project – Gladwin Dispersed Camping Area
- 2024 AXFest Tread Lightly! Project – Laurel Fork Campground
The group of volunteers would be returning to the Laurel Fork Campground to camp out the night before the project. This was not only where we camped last year, but also the site of last year’s project (see link above). It was a chance to return to the project site and enjoy the fruits of our labors.
Wednesday night was chill as people rolled in. A few of us eager-beavers were there as early as 1:00 and got to see the rest of the group roll in throughout the afternoon into the evening. As usual there was good food, a big fire, more than a few adult beverages, and lots of shenanigans.
Not only do we work hard, we eat well.
Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Thursday morning the group packed up and convoyed through a cloud of dust to Spruce Knob Lake. Last year we banged out all the work the US Forest service had for us in a few hours. Being victims of our own success the USFS had a much heavier workload for us this year. However, we were equally prepared with more people. We once again managed to surprise the Forest Service team with how hard and how quick our group worked.
Especially when you run out of windshield washer fluid.
Thanks Andy for the hookup of a bottle of fluid and keeping me safe.
Don’t subtract from the population, don’t add to the population, and watch out for sharks.
To manage the work load our group of volunteers was distilled down to four smaller teams. One team tackled lining a gravel path with landscape timbers to mitigate erosion of the gravel walking path between the parking lot and the northern most bathroom. A second team headed across the damn to the southern bathroom to give it a face lift with some much needed paint as well as some general landscaping. A third team eagerly jumped at the chance to play with trimmers and saws to cut back the vegetation lining the walking trail that circumnavigated the lake. The forth and final team, the one I joined, was in charge of demoing a retaining wall that was failing as well as scraping dunnage off the wooden boardwalks and bridges that were dotted along the trail.
which included demoing a failed retaining wall and clearing the boardwalks of dunnage.
Pile a few months, or even years, worth of dead and decomposing organic matter on top and it’s a mess.
Not to mention the soft uneven surface this creates around the steps.
Later one of the USFS staff came through with a leaf blower and took care of the loose bits left behind.
Meanwhile the other half or our team (Walt, Rodney, and Mike) was tackling the retaining wall.
Divide and conquer!
Once each team completed its primary task, it moved onto secondary tasks as needed. When all was said and done most all the teams were wrapped up by a late lunchtime and in no time were locked and loaded rolling for Experience Learning.
and the walking path regraded and compacted.
A highlight of this year’s project day was a group pot luck dinner. Pot luck dinners have become somewhat of a tradition of the Mountain State Overland guided trips. With many of the project volunteers having been on trips with MSO, this tradition looks like it will be adopted for future AXFest Tread Lightly projects. No complaints from me; or anyone else for that matter.
Once bellies were full and the bonfire was dying down, people trickled off back to their rigs for a good night’s sleep. The next morning would be the start of Adventure X Fest 2025… and that’s another article for another day.
ECOA would like to thank all of the volunteers that helped out with the project this year. Additionally we’d like to thank Lowell from Tread Lightly! for coming up again and being on site for this year’s project. We’d also like to thank the US Forest Service staff from Monongahela National Forest for setting up all the necessary tools, equipment, and supplies needed for the volunteers. Lastly a huge thanks to Jason from Mountain State Overland and his team for not only organizing the project with the USFS but helping foster a growing relationship between the community of overland adventure travel enthusiasts and the Monongahela National Forest. Every year the group gets bigger, better, and leaves an ever indelible impression on our fragile public lands.
If you are not already a member of Tread Lightly! please consider joining and supporting the organization. Money raised through memberships goes right back into projects just like these. As our public lands continue to be underfunded and overused it falls on us to step up and do our part to ensure that these beautiful lands remain intact for future generations. Additionally, consider joining a local Tread Lightly! project in your area and help leave your own positive mark for others to see so they too can be motivated to do their part in taking care of our precious planet.
