Youth Conservation Corps Sweats Out Another Summer

Twenty young men and women from Los Alamos, Española, Pojoaque, and points north who would rather work outside than sit at a desk are getting what they asked for: heat, dirt, sweat, and hard labor. The Los Alamos Family YMCA's Youth Conservation Corps has been performing maintenance work and trail construction on the Los Alamos County Trail Network since June 1.

To learn the basic skills, the crew did some needed maintenance work on the Perimeter Trail on the Western Perimeter. Dry soil makes it difficult to create lasting covered water diversions, so the crew installed grade dips and check dams. Next, they constructed a reroute on the popular Canyon Rim Trail/Cooperative Market loop that scoots around pit detention pond near the Holiday Inn Express.

For the past 10 days, their attention has focused on the difficult construction of a trail connecting the Pueblo Canyon Rim Trail on the north side of the airport with the Tent Rocks Trails near the bottom of Pueblo Canyon. The terrain is steep and the trail is currently nicknamed the "Zip Line Trail." The crew has roughed in about 2400 feet of the trail, gaining 220 feet of elevation. The most difficult 1400 feet of trail remain. It will be about a month before the trail is ready to open for all to enjoy.

If you see the crew out there working, says thanks to them for their willingness to spend they summer working to improve Los Alamos trails.