The Squaw Butte Chapter of Back Country Horseman of Idaho spend a lot of summer weekends doing trail or trailhead work in the mountains, or providing pack support for other volunteer trail crews. In July some members provided the pack support to a trail crew out of the Moscow/Pullman area spending a week cutting trees on trails in the Frank Chuck Wilderness.
Dan Waugh, of the Squaw Butte Chapter was the lead packer for the group and provided the following account of the trip back out of the Wilderness.
“Picked up the Selway Bitterroot Frank Church Foundation trail crew. They did an amazing job clearing over 5 miles and cutting more than 550 trees with a crosscut saw. If you haven’t ran one then you wouldn’t understand the task of this. But 3 crosscut teams can get to work!
The morning of the pack out was cool and wet and came early. Thank goodness for good hot coffee. We had the seven pack animals and two riding horses saddled and ready to go in about an hour. The ride in was great and without issue. The trail was wet so zero dust which is always a blessing. However, the bogs were deeper and sloppier than last week.