CATS Survive Heat - Pt 6 26 July 2018 at Lake Boedecker

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

26 July 2018 at Lake Boedecker

CATS Survive Heat – Pt 6 Ouch – not only hot again, but late in reporting! I am swamped with everyday living things and painting houses. I hope someone in the future finds a way to write up reports faster. Anyway, we were back at it in the same place with the exception that we are heading south now as we turned the half way point. Meadow or grass field cutting is not so fun, but our members have developed their own way of doing business which I think is remarkable. Some stake out a piece of trail between two to three of those pink flags and call that their work zone. They seem to stay in there until the piece of trail is right and looks good and then they bounce or jump over others to the next piece. This repetitious way of whacking trail has become standard for us and we are good at it too. I think we are helping out on another important piece of the puzzle out there as we are depositing our cuttings on the eroded edges of the reservoir. This action will help stop some of that washing away of the embankment and preserve our trail that is not too far. Kathleen brought out a new member – Jeondra Arrington from Denver area and she is an experienced trail builder with VOC. Hope she liked our work project  even though it is in direct sun? Good times afterwards as we went up to the Wapiti for dinner and got some really nice new long sleeve bright yellow shirts from Scott. Thanks Scott!

Members:  Navy Bob, Connie, Dean, Scott, Kathleen, Lynn, Jeondra (new),  Dale Roberts, Brandon, Andy,   Hours:   3.5

RESULTS:   280’ of new finished trail – ready for use

ROSES: o  Welcomed new member – Jeondra Arrington o  Dale did not overheat! o  Snack treats from Liza Sheldon again always great o  Bigger toads – real big this time – see photos o  Crew leap frogging works well o  Bright new LS shirts – all took one home o  Fun at Wapiti

THORNS: ü Hot – humid too – full sun ü Tried to stay outside at Wapiti – but got too cold and windy ü Water keeps pulling back in lake ü Grass growing back into trail ü Big toad peed on me

BUDS:  Writing from a disadvantage, like being late, is perhaps similar to telling an old joke over again. Nobody is going to listen. So with that analogy, I will make this report quick and sweet. The End. Seriously, we are plodding away with this trail and it is a real test for us as we have some other trails to construct in Loveland that will be out in the prairie with full sun again. I think the smartness of it all is that we tank up with water and sunblock. Our clothing is important too. Wearing loose fitting light colored apparel is good for dealing with this heat wave. The air quality is not the greatest either with all the fires going on in the state at this time. We also look out for each other and keep an eye on heat issues as that can be a killer if not dealt with immediately. One thing also is that members should have some food on their stomachs before coming out. No time for a fast food place, then just smack down some peanut butter. That stuff is great for having something in your stomach to digest. This trail is a real challenge for us and we are taking it on with tactful decisions including prolonging the start time by an hour if the temps are over 90°F. We also have back up water in the van. “Be Prepared” – the old Boy Scout Motto and thus we are.