TKO + Northwest Youth Corps – Partnering for Trails on Public Lands

Crew Leader: Steve Kruger

Hike Distance: Up to 1 miles

Elevation Gain: Up to 200 ft elevation gain

Hike Difficulty: Easy

Work Difficulty: Moderate

Work Description: NYC will use mechanized weed eaters for brushing and volunteers will work independently with hand tools for clean up and tread maintenance.

In the days of C-19 we ask for a little more experience leading into your first volunteer event. Since we’ve added mitigations of risk around physical distancing, our volunteer leaders are not as able to hover about and answer hands-on questions throughout the trail party. And if an emergency does develop, we need our participants to be even more aware of our safety procedures. Don’t worry, trailkeeping is for everybody and we made it easy to get going.

Click here to learn what you need to know before registering for this event.

Project Overview:

We will be doing brushing and tread maintenance on the Gorge 400 Trail, on the backside of Ainsworth State Park. Volunteers will be working to clean up the trail corridor in small groups ahead and behind a team of Northwest Youth Corps participants using mechanized weed eaters.

Hiking information:

We will be hiking in from Ainsworth Campground and working along a 2-mile segment of Gorge Trail #400.

What to expect:

Please follow the guidelines presented in a series of videos at https://www.trailkeepersoforegon.org/tk-u/c-19/. Weather this time of year can change quickly, be ready for all the elements and bring a change of clothes for after the event.

What to bring:

• A pack with a lunch
• Plenty of water (2 liters are recommended)
• Snacks, no sharing of snacks is allowed at this time.
• Work gloves, eye protection and hard hat (loaners are available, donate $20 to take a new hard hat home)
• Personal hygiene kit (face covering, hand sanitizer, wipes and discard baggy)

What to wear:

• Boots are highly recommended (Please wear something sturdy that will protect your toes from sharp tools.)
• Work gloves (loaner gloves available)
• Long sleeved shirts and pants.
• Rain gear as appropriate for the weather
• TKO will supply hard hats and safety glasses

Directions

We will meet at the Ainsworth Campground: Take exit 35 off Interstate 84 and head west for .5 miles on the Historic Columbia River Highway/Highway 30 to the entrance of the campground. GPS coordinates: 45.596467, -122.050997

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: TKO recognizes that the trails we work on travel through the traditional lands of many Indigenous tribes. In every corner of what we now call Oregon, these people were forced to cede their land, their home, to the US government at various times from 1853 – 1871. We are privileged to be here today & express gratitude to the descendants of these tribes for being the original stewards of this land.

EQUITY & INCLUSION: TKO seeks to make Oregon’s trails a place where people can go to connect with nature & one another. Not everyone feels safe & welcome in the outdoors due to racism, bias & hate. We commit to being part of the solution to change that. Conduct, speech, or expressions that target individuals or groups will not be tolerated by TKO, regardless of whether they are based on age, citizenship, disability, ethnicity, gender identity/expression, geographic origin, language, marital status, nationality, race, religion, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status.

PERSONAL SAFETY: Your physical & emotional safety is our number one priority. If a person’s actions or comments make you feel uncomfortable/unsafe – interrupt directly, tell a crew leader &/or complete the post-event survey. https://forms.gle/Fs9o13YWdgWGqXLq5

TOUGH CARING CONTRACT: If you see me doing or saying anything unsafe or hurtful, approaching an unsafe
condition, or slipping into automatic behavior or implicit bias, would you let me know? I agree to do the same for you. I will accept your intervention as an act of caring about my health, safety & awareness. I agree to intervene for the same reason. I will take your feedback &give feedback with trust and respect, so we can mutually benefit.