Ice Cream Social to Hyas Lake

To deliver ice cream to a crew of volunteers based deep in the woods, I recommend some dry ice, an insulated bag—and a few goats.  Two handsome hooved creatures took the weight off our shoulders last week as a delegation of Fireside Circle members and WTA staff escorted a few gallons of ice cream into the Advanced Youth Crew working at Hyas Lake. 

We caught the crew just a few planks shy of completing their project for the week: a stretch of new puncheon bridge to carry hikers and horses over the wetlands north of the lake.  This crew of ten high school students were veteran trail volunteers, and their experience showed.  They were clearly comfortable spending a week in a remote setting, working together as a team on a project involving heavy lifting and basic construction skills. 

The Hyas Lake crew was one of twelve Youth Volunteer Vacations headed out this summer.  Project locations stretch from Little Pend Oreille to the Columbia Gorge. Some trips are car camps, some involve a trek into the wilderness.  Students build trail, turnpike, and puncheon.  They get very, very dirty and they work very, very hard. 

And they earned that ice cream, for sure. 

Our delivery was quickly dispatched, and the students were happy to show off their new puncheon.  After lunch, we dipped our feet in the lake, found a few frog eggs and watched a garter snake look for shade.  Then we pointed the goats back down the trail and watched them munch their way to the trailhead.