News for VIP Volunteers in the Montane Sector

Transcription

1 Earth Day at Balboa Park by Daniel Williford News for VIP Volunteers in the Montane Sector From the enthusiastic masses of folks attending the 20 th Annual Balboa Park Earth Fair to the fantastic crew of park volunteers, it was a day filled with the promise and hope that Earth Day brings. Great things can happen when nature and the environment are the common thread that brings everyone to gather, learn, and share. So it was, amidst those glorious Spanish style buildings along the Prado in Balboa Park, that the Cuyamaca Rancho/Palomar Mountain State Park/CRSPIA booth took action! Supported by representatives of each volunteer unit; from the MBAU Sean and Susie Murphy, Chris Vine, Kathi Medina, Steve Boland, and Jim Loh, from the IAU Peggy Buffo, Joseph Gerans, Mary Loh, and Jean Harnage, from the TMU Paul and Grant Leeds, Susan and Ariana Russo, Serena Hill, Dave Breazeale, and from the MAU Nancy Ujazdowski, the success of this day could not of happened without you. Along with Sector Superintendent Nedra Martinez and me, hundreds of contacts were collectively made relating to the park. Most people, whether they realize it or not, have an interest in the parks and the questions and conversations experienced this day reinforced this idea. There were many concerns about the future of state parks and if we were open, how our parks are recovering from the Cedar Fire of 03 (CRSP) and the Poomacha Fire of 07 (PMSP), what type of wildflowers are blooming now, what volunteer opportunities are there were among the many topics addressed in addition to the memories and stories that people had about these parks and how glad they were that these places existed in our county. Having a presence at one of the largest Earth Fair events in California was a great thing for the park to be involved in and I look forward to next year s Earth Fair. In the meantime, our park will most likely benefit from more visitors and, perhaps a few more volunteers, as a result of our IAU member Joseph Gerans and State Park Interpreter Daniel Williford answering questions about the park participation. Thanks again to all who made this possible! The Park Earth Fair Booth Susie Murphy (MBAU) and Peggy Buffo (IAU) engage the public Photos by Nedra Martinez

2 2 MAU News from Suzie Kirkwood I m not sure if you ll be reading this before May 1. So, just in case you are, this is your final reminder to attend the annual park training and unit meeting on May 1! Both are mandatory for all MAU members. The park training will only take a half day this year, so we ll have more time for our unit meeting. We ll do our camp clean up immediately following the unit meeting on Saturday. I ed a sign up sheet for the camp clean up. Please try to let me know which jobs you want to help out with. If you don t sign up before the meeting, you can still help. We need everyone to please pitch in with the clean up so we can get er California Buttercup done on Saturday! Our Second Annual MAU campout at Los Vaqueros is June 3 8. We still have some empty corrals, so please let me know ASAP if you plan to come. The MAU Benefit Ride is July 25. It s not too early to start working on raffle prizes. The raffle prizes generate a good part of the revenue from the event. The park should be beautiful this spring with wildflowers. Enjoy! TMU News from Dave McClure Another productive month has passed for the Trails Maintenance Unit. With summer vacation time rapidly approaching, we are working hard to get the trails ready for an influx of visitors. We are also working to get ready for the annual SD100 Endurance Run on June 12. This is a major event and we want to make sure that our trails are in good shape for the run. The SD100 Endurance Run is a 100 mile run that starts early in the morning in the Lagunas. The run enters Cuyamaca Rancho State Park from Anza Borrego Desert State Park on the California Riding and Hiking Trail, winds around the southern end of Lake Cuyamaca and then heads up the backside of Stonewall Peak. Then it's down the switchbacks toward Paso Picacho, across the highway and up Azalea Glen Trail to the Springs Fire Road. Then south on Azalea Glen Road to Westside Trail all the way to Sweetwater, back across the highway, up Eastside Trail then across the river to the Upper Green Valley Fire Road and Trail until leaving the Park at highway S 1 and back into Anza Borrego. TMU making the difference on the park trails Dave McClure continued on page 3 Marc Arndt

3 continued from page 2 As I'm sure that you are all aware, the dead trees are now starting to come down in record numbers and it has been difficult to keep up with keeping them cleared. Our Wednesday trail crew recently spend an entire day clearing over 40 fallen trees on the West Fork of Black Oak Trail. Our Saturday crews are slowly making their way up the East Fork of Black Oak. The East Fork has many sections overrun with our old friend, the Ceanothus. It is slow work slogging through this stuff and we can usually only manage several hundred yards on a typical Saturday morning. On a typical Saturday, our tree clearing crew consisting of our master sawyer John Sproule and our new master swamper Swamper Dylan Durazo (L) and Sawyer John Dylan Durazo will forge ahead and clear fallen trees Sproule clearing a tree on Black Oak Trail while the rest of us stay behind and hack away at the "evil bush". Our Wednesday crew has started working on the long closed Azalea Glen Trail. The trail is now at least clear to the grinding rocks, so that hikers can easily reach this area. A short section of the trail near the California Riding and Hiking trail junction has been taken over by an overflowing stream, so even though it's an easy pass through it, hikers are going to get their shoes a little wet. We unfortunately will have to wait until the stream recedes to its normal boundary before we can repair this part. Azalea Glen Trail is a high priority for us because not only is it part of the SD100 Endurance Run, it is a popular summer hiking trail for campers at Paso Picacho. We are hoping that by the time you are reading this, the trail will be close to being clear and open for use. And once again, a special TMU thanks to our Saturday supervisors Milo Prodanovich and Janet McNeil who bring their motor home up on their scheduled weekend and prepare a big buffet lunch for the trail crew to consume at the end of the work. For some reason, we tend to get more volunteers on the Saturdays when Milo and Janet are there. Come join us and discover why. Please consider coming out and helping us on a Saturday morning. We accommodate all ages and skill levels and even lazy folks like me. Check the schedule at the end of this issue and please do note that we have switched to our summer hours; starting time is 8 a.m. so you re on your way home by noon. Chaparral Whitethorn Ceanothus leucodermis Daniel Williford Dave McClure 3

4 IAU News from Peg Buffo IAU NOW HAS 39 VOLUNTEERS IN OUR UNIT. I believe that is a record! We have started asking for an additional radio, because some weekends we have more than two patrols I will keep you informed when I hear how we can be accommodated. Speaking of the radio: Of all the confusion we ve had on s about the radio this past week, keep in mind what we've been told about the radios and now apply this to your use on the trails: 1. When you go in service try line 2 first. if you get no response, then switch to line 1, after listening for a few (maybe 20?) seconds to see if there is any emergency traffic going on. Do the same when going out of service. 2. If you want to talk to a ranger, keep in brief. 10 second rule. If you are on line 1 then ask to go to line 2 if you need to talk longer, or unless it s an emergency. Make sure you are turning in your trail reports and keep them as accurate as you can! And don t forget to keep up on your hours. More words of wisdom from Dick Bruce: Forget the pigs! I'll bet if I told the new volunteers who have been here less than 10 years to watch out for bears they would think I was pulling their legs. Back in the summer and fall of 1999 there were bear sightings on Palomar Mountain, Volcan Mountain and CRSP. The Fish and Game department, newspapers and TV stations received many sighting calls, but they all assumed the people were really just seeing loose dogs. Then, as I recall, a dead black bear was found around Lake Henshaw. It had been very old and in very poor condition with the pads on its feet worn completely down. A rancher also shot and killed one in the Santa Ysabel area. A former co worker of mine who lived on North Peak took a bear s photo as it was raiding his shed, where the sacks of dog food were stored. He sent it to a TV station and finally everyone believed. That bear was living the life of Riley raiding garbage cans and especially loved the sugar water in hummingbird feeders. Two of our IAU volunteers sighted a bear in the meadow by Milk Ranch Road. It was thought the older, un healthier bears were being forced out of the San Bernardino Mountains down to the San Jacinto Mountains, from where they eventually ended up in our mountains. That was a busy, exciting era in the park as we had bears, mountain lions and bison. Now all we see are boring turkeys and pigs. The last grizzly bear in the wild in this state was found in 1922 in Tuolumne County in Northern California. Get out and enjoy the Park! 4

5 MBAU News from Kathi Medina Chris Vine and I were on patrol a couple of weeks ago, and decided to stop by Green Valley Falls to see how much water there is. Well... there's lots of water! It is spectacularly beautiful this year. During our ride through the campground, we couldn't help but notice how friendly everyone was. People were waving and saying hello. It was great to see Green Valley occupied once again. From the falls, we decided to ride over to East Side Trail, then head west to South Boundary Fire Road rather than the usual patrol up to Granite Springs. There's a water crossing on this route. Specifically, the Sweetwater River meanders right across the trail. Did I mention that there's lots of water this year? Chris and I walked up and down the stream, trying to find a place to cross. Well, there isn't any. And, if there was, you probably would not want to cross through the brush because of the abundance of poison oak. If there's lots of water, there's lots and lots of poison oak. We decided to remove our shoes and socks and hike our bikes over. It was cold! While we were trying to decide what to do, a group of about teenaged hikers came across from the Falls Fire Road, through the brush (not at the stream crossing). We asked them if they'd seen any poison oak. Well, they had no idea what it looked like. Chris was nice enough to walk back with a couple of these youngsters, to see what they had walked though, and he was able to verify that they had plowed right through a mass of poison oak. We advised not to touch their clothing, especially pant legs and shoes. I don't think they were paying us any attention: a couple of them were removing stickers from their socks and brushing their pants off. We further advised purchasing something like Tecnu and showering immediately. I just don't think they believed us. We did decide that it would be a good idea for patrols to scoot through the campgrounds once in a while, to greet park visitors and answer any questions. Visibility like that sends a good message, and can be extremely helpful (like, warning folks of the presence of poison oak). We did encounter additional hikers, and let them know that the tri lobed red leafed plant is something to stay away from. They all seemed appreciative of our advice. No telling if they believed us. Young poison oak leaves Daniel Williford Daniel Williford Leaves of three, Let them be! Poison oak with its berries (not an acorn as a true oak would have) 5

6 Working in the Museum Works for Me By Michele Hernandez When Dave and I first started volunteering all we did was trail work. However it came to our attention that often the only person in Dyar House working in the museum was a sole camp host. Sometimes the place was packed with visitors. So we would stay after TMU and help out. After doing this a few times we thought we should join the IAU and become officially trained Museum people and it has been a lot of fun. Especially on a busy day when we get a lot of visitors, (I remember a day when we had visitors from France, Germany, Kamchatka, Japan, and Korea!). Of course not all days are busy in the museum and that can be rewarding too. On slower days we get to visit more with our guests and tell them about the parts of the park we like the most. We are able to answer questions in greater depth if we know the answer, or spend more time searching through the books if we don t know the answer. Or better yet, if Dave is in there I direct them to him for the answers. (Dave s note If it is a bird or flower question this works the other way around!) It is always fun showing people trails that are good for wildflowers, or views, or for challenging someone who wants to hike far and fast. It s even more fun to encourage people to put the animal skins on their heads and take pictures for future walks down memory lane. In fact that s what I feel I am doing in the museum when I work there; creating memories for our visitors that they will enjoy when they think about Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. Give it a try, who knows, you may like it even more than I do. And you may even encourage another great new volunteer to join us in the park! Mystery Caterpillar (maybe a Pandora Moth?) found under the pines behind Stonewall Miner cabin Marc Arndt Pink Yucca on Southern Boundary Fire Road Ranger Erik 6

7 Stonewall Mine: History and Mystery by Ranger Brent Hufford 7 The Stonewall Mine located in the north end of the park has a rich history both for the park and California plus anew unsolved mysteries, as well. What is now Cuyamaca Rancho State Park was once part of a larger Mexican land grant. The first legal title was given to Agustín Olvera on June 5, 1845 and it was approximately 30,000 acres in size. Mr. Olvera s primary interest was in timber and he made one attempt to settle in 1847 in the Green valley area, but was soon run off by the local Kumeyaay. Mr. Olvera had several court cases over the next 25 years with several different attorneys to have his land grant recognized by the U.S. Government. Mr. Olvera settled his case in 1869 and sold the land. During this process, Mr. Olvera gave several unknown tracts of land to his many different attorneys as payment. During this same period was the westward expansion and people had started to homestead in the area, too. Gold was discovered on March 22, 1870 at the present day site of the mine. One of the enduring mysteries is who actually discovered it. The original claim has never been located and four possible versions exist of who found it. The most widely held version is an African American man by the name of William Skidmore was trying to catch one if his runaway mules when the hoof of the mule kicked over a rock and he noticed the gold within the quartz. By this time there were multiple people living in the area and legal land owners, well not too surprising when word got out about the gold, everyone felt that they owned a piece of LAND. Several different people tried to work the mine for several years without much success. In 1886 the mine and 20,000 acres were purchased by Robert Waterman. Mr. Waterman was a wealthy railroad tycoon from the east coast and ran the mine until his death in During this period, the mine produced about 1.5 million dollars of gold (worth about million dollars today). He also established Cuyamaca City, which had many unique features, such as indoor plumbing, one of the first telegraph lines on the west coast, a doctor, and a school to name a few. The mine went back to bank ownership after Waterman s death. The Dyar family purchased the 20,000 acres in 1923 form Colonel Glassen and they sold the land to the State of California in 1932 for half of the lands assessed value. Agustín Olvera 7

8 CUYAMACA RANCHO STATE PARK TRAILS MAINTENANCE UNIT Schedule for May, 2010 Saturday, May 1, 2010 Annual Training at the School Camp. No trail work today Saturday, May 8, 2010 Supervisor: Serena Hill Saturday, May 15, 2010 Supervisor: Milo Prodanovich SPECIAL EVENT See Below (meet at the Mack property at 8 AM) Saturday, May 22, 2010 Supervisor: Dave McClure Friends who come to help on scheduled work parties will get two free day use passes Saturday, May 29, 2010 A happy Memorial Day to all of our veterans. Enjoy your day off! Unless otherwise noted, all trail crews meet at the Paso Picacho campground maintenance area. PLEASE NOTE THE NEW SUMMER HOURS: 8:00am until noon. Pre Registration is not a requirement you are invited to just show up at 8:00. However, we strongly urge you to contact the scheduled supervisor if you plan to attend so that in case of a change in plans (such as inclement weather), you can be notified. SPECIAL EVENT: On Saturday May 15 the Lakeside Frontier Riders will be joining us for a cleanup at the Mack Property. We hope to get all the weeds and other vegetation cut back and we will be working on the dilapidated fence that runs along the highway. We will meet at the Mack property which is just south of milepost 1 on Hwy 79 (let one of the supervisors know if you need directions). There will be a BBQ lunch after work. So that we know how much food to order, please let Dave Hernandez know if you plan to attend. CONTACTS Serena Hill: serenahill81@aol.com Milo Prodanovich: mprodanovi@aol.com Dave Hernandez: jerrydave1@sbcglobal.net Dave McClure: dmmcclure@cox.net Milo Prodanovich on Azalea Glen 8

9 Upcoming Events Volunteer Training May 1, am 12:00 pm at Cuyamaca Outdoor School Camp Registration, Service Agreements, Social Hour Park Update Nedra Break Volunteer Program Changes Bob/Daniel Unit Reports Break Safety Talk Bob Interpretation for Volunteers Daniel Chair pick up 1200 on Lunch & Unit Meetings Chaparral Walk May 15, am 11:30 am Meet Park Interpreter Daniel at Merrigan Fire Road Trailhead for an adventure into the chaparral complete with waterfalls, blooming flowers and shrubs in the south end of the park. VIP CONTACTS IAU Unit Coordinator Peg Buffo pbuffo@cox.net MAU Unit Coordinator Suzanne Kirkwood spkirkwood@hughes.net MBAU Unit Coordinator Kathi Medina medina13@mail.sdsu.edu Larry and Luanne Ochiello, Mary Loh and Park Interpreter Daniel look closely at the henbit flower Marc Arndt Interested in helping with Summer Interpretive Programs? We ll kick off the summer season on Memorial Day Weekend with public nature walks and a campfire program. Let Daniel know if you would like to be a part of the season opening programs or any throughout the summer! TMU Unit Coordinator Dave McClure dmmcclure@cox.net VIP Coordinator Supervising Ranger Bob Hillis bhillis@parks.ca.gov Trails and Tales Copy editor General editor Mary Jo Redman State Park Interpreter Daniel Williford mjredman@sbcglobal.net dwilliford@parks.ca.gov Cream cups blooming in the hills on Los Vaq. road Marc Arndt 9