Katy Baron: Living off the Peak

Summer 2008: The longest six weeks I’ve ever spent living in a tent. The only time I’ve ever slept with so many layers of clothing on because of the 30 degree weather at night. And the year I celebrated my 23rd birthday at 11,500 feet. I really came to appreciate nature.

For my third round during NCCC Denver, I was fortunate to get my top-pick project, which I knew would include intense camping. In NCCC Denver, you spend the first two rounds with your original team. The third round—the “shuffle” round—is great because it is shorter, you get a break from your original Ameri-family, and you get to work with different Corps members within your unit.

In my shuffle round, I worked for the Rocky Mountain Field Institute (RMFI) on two different projects in two different Colorado locations. For our first, and my favorite, project we lived and camped right off the Pike’s Peak Highway at 11,500 feet. Our sponsors were Eric and Bruce, and they were so helpful and fun to get to know. Here was a typical day on the mountain: wake up by 5:45 am Monday–Friday, do group stretches at 6:30, hike up the mountain to our work site by 7:00—it was 30 degrees at dawn and 70 degrees by 10:00 am—work until 3:00 pm, hike back to our campsite, cook dinner, and go to bed by 9:00.

During our experience with RMFI we learned that storm-water runoff from the unpaved highway had been washed down unto unprotected slopes and had resulted in the creation of over 120 gullies. As a result, the streams, wetlands, and reservoirs within the watershed have been severely affected by sediment. Our project consisted of the first attempt to restore one of these gullies. We began filling the gully with rocks in order to decrease the velocity of the water from the storms and thus saving the wetlands from being destroyed by erosion. In three weeks we were able to lift more than sixty tons of rocks with only thirteen people, and all our hard work was successful! I have never seen a middle-aged man dance so much.

Now although most of our day was spent moving four-hundred-pound rocks in groups or hand brigading rocks from one person to another, we still managed to spark up the funniest conversations. You can imagine how silly a team can get after moving rocks from one place to another for eight hours every day! However, I loved it because we had such an amazing view, we were getting a great work out, and we were actually making a difference and restoring nature. We also went on amazing hikes with our sponsor Eric, ran into two rattle snakes (no one got bit), and made friends with a family of deer who liked to circle our campsite when we cooked dinner. No bears—yay! I truly enjoyed this opportunity because it took me away from the materialistic world in which we live and allowed me to appreciate nature. I really felt like I was able to bond with my teammates through this experience.