Save-the-CCC
Save-the-CCC
Fresno Bee
Crew is free and clear
Backcountry Trails Program is changing some lives.
By Marek Warszawski October 1, 2008
Six months ago, Kirk Voigt was chubby, clean shaven and clutter-brained.
When Voigt exited the wilderness last week, fulfilling his obligation to the Backcountry Trails
Program, the Clovis native had shed 40 pounds and three pants sizes, grown a bushy, black
beard and gained some needed mental clarity.
Lila Voigt barely recognized her 23-year-old adopted son, comparing him to a cross between
Grizzly Adams and an Orthodox rabbi. But when Kirk shaved the beard, as he did soon enough,
she discovered the changes in him went more than skin deep.
"He's more adult now in the way he talks and acts," Lila Voigt said.
For three decades, the Backcountry Trails Program, a branch of the state-funded California
Conservation Corps, has similarly transformed 2,000 young men and women from diverse
backgrounds who leave behind modern conveniences and venture into the mountains to
perform arduous -- but ultimately rewarding -- labor. And they do it for little pay.
Each of the six trail crews, deployed to wilderness areas throughout California for 51/2 months
from April to September, are assigned maintenance tasks. Sometimes, that means clearing
trails of logs and brush, making them more distinct or rerouting around fragile areas. It can also
mean building waterbars, stone steps or rip rap using whatever materials you can find lying
around.
It should also be pointed out that trail crews make their base camp an average of 5 miles from
the work site -- sometimes farther. So there's lots of hiking involved, before and after work.
"A lot of people say, 'Wow, you're spending six months in the woods. You must be nuts,' " Voigt
said. "Honestly, this is the most clear my mind has ever been.
"It gives you time to stop and think and not be bombarded by everything in the world. You just sit
and kind of dig through your own head a while and get things straightened out. I've come up with
a plan of things to do for the next few years."
Wearing khaki work shirts and brown Ben Davis pants, the 72 raggedy members of this year's
trail crews joined alumni from past years at a ceremony last week in Yosemite Valley honoring
the backcountry program's 30th anniversary.
Since 1979, CCC backcountry trail crews have provided 2 million hours of service while building,
repairing or maintaining 8,600 miles of trail and installing 26,000 rock steps and 10,000
waterbars. Their efforts help to preserve California's wilderness areas as well as make them
safer and more accessible.
"CCC backcountry crews are an invaluable partner for us," Yosemite deputy superintendent R.
Kevin Caan said. "Every trail they maintain provides use for the general public."
CCC director David Mukai knows all about "nature deficit disorder," the term coined by author
Richard Louv in his 2005 book "Last Child in the Woods" to describe children of the digital age
who have lost touch with the natural world. While Mukai doesn't disagree with Louv's premise,
he believes the tide may be beginning to turn.
"Over the last year or two years, we're starting to see this regeneration of young people who are
environmentally aware and conservation-minded," said Mukai, part of the first CCC backcountry
trail crew in 1979. "That's really encouraging. It was with us in the early '80s, and now it's with
us again."
Fresno native Mike Ice is an example of what Mukai is talking about. After quitting his restaurant
job, the 23-year-old joined the CCC for the chance to work outside and spent the past six months
living in a tent in the Emigrant Wilderness.
Ice and his trail crew mates awoke each day at 5:45 a.m., ate breakfast and fixed sack lunches.
(Each trail crew is assigned its own cook.) After 30 minutes of stretching and calisthenics, they
hiked to the work site and spent the entire day carrying out their assigned duties.
At quitting time, Ice's crew usually jumped into a nearby lake to bathe before returning to camp.
After dinner, there are educational seminars on topics ranging from botany to wilderness
medicine. Then comes some well-deserved sleep.
When the weekend arrives, members generally have little desire to return to civilization.
"Weekends are the best part," Ice said. "You can hike as long as you want, climb peaks, swim in
alpine lakes. It's just gorgeous."
Before being accepted into the program, members are required to sign a sobriety pledge. That
means no alcohol or illegal drugs, though coffee and cigarettes are a trail crew staple.
"I'm in unbelievable shape, and my mind is as sharp as it's ever been," Ice said. "I never want to
go back to old habits."
Trail crew members earn minimum wage for their time in the backcountry, based on a 40-hour
work week. Health insurance is provided, and they receive a $2,300 educational grant upon
completion of the program.
Rachel Ottem, a smiling 23-year-old from Weaverville, plans to use her scholarship to resume
college in January.
After graduation, she plans to return to the CCC (which crew members call "the Cs") to get
another dose of life in the woods.
"This is the happiest I've ever been in my life," Ottem said. "I feel so confident now, like I can
accomplish anything. I feel like nothing is out of reach."
Crew is free and clear
Backcountry Trails Program is changing some lives.
By Marek Warszawski October 1, 2008
Six months ago, Kirk Voigt was chubby, clean shaven and clutter-brained.
When Voigt exited the wilderness last week, fulfilling his obligation to the Backcountry Trails
Program, the Clovis native had shed 40 pounds and three pants sizes, grown a bushy, black
beard and gained some needed mental clarity.
Lila Voigt barely recognized her 23-year-old adopted son, comparing him to a cross between
Grizzly Adams and an Orthodox rabbi. But when Kirk shaved the beard, as he did soon enough,
she discovered the changes in him went more than skin deep.
"He's more adult now in the way he talks and acts," Lila Voigt said.
For three decades, the Backcountry Trails Program, a branch of the state-funded California
Conservation Corps, has similarly transformed 2,000 young men and women from diverse
backgrounds who leave behind modern conveniences and venture into the mountains to
perform arduous -- but ultimately rewarding -- labor. And they do it for little pay.
Each of the six trail crews, deployed to wilderness areas throughout California for 51/2 months
from April to September, are assigned maintenance tasks. Sometimes, that means clearing
trails of logs and brush, making them more distinct or rerouting around fragile areas. It can also
mean building waterbars, stone steps or rip rap using whatever materials you can find lying
around.
It should also be pointed out that trail crews make their base camp an average of 5 miles from
the work site -- sometimes farther. So there's lots of hiking involved, before and after work.
"A lot of people say, 'Wow, you're spending six months in the woods. You must be nuts,' " Voigt
said. "Honestly, this is the most clear my mind has ever been.
"It gives you time to stop and think and not be bombarded by everything in the world. You just sit
and kind of dig through your own head a while and get things straightened out. I've come up with
a plan of things to do for the next few years."
Wearing khaki work shirts and brown Ben Davis pants, the 72 raggedy members of this year's
trail crews joined alumni from past years at a ceremony last week in Yosemite Valley honoring
the backcountry program's 30th anniversary.
Since 1979, CCC backcountry trail crews have provided 2 million hours of service while building,
repairing or maintaining 8,600 miles of trail and installing 26,000 rock steps and 10,000
waterbars. Their efforts help to preserve California's wilderness areas as well as make them
safer and more accessible.
"CCC backcountry crews are an invaluable partner for us," Yosemite deputy superintendent R.
Kevin Caan said. "Every trail they maintain provides use for the general public."
CCC director David Mukai knows all about "nature deficit disorder," the term coined by author
Richard Louv in his 2005 book "Last Child in the Woods" to describe children of the digital age
who have lost touch with the natural world. While Mukai doesn't disagree with Louv's premise,
he believes the tide may be beginning to turn.
"Over the last year or two years, we're starting to see this regeneration of young people who are
environmentally aware and conservation-minded," said Mukai, part of the first CCC backcountry
trail crew in 1979. "That's really encouraging. It was with us in the early '80s, and now it's with
us again."
Fresno native Mike Ice is an example of what Mukai is talking about. After quitting his restaurant
job, the 23-year-old joined the CCC for the chance to work outside and spent the past six months
living in a tent in the Emigrant Wilderness.
Ice and his trail crew mates awoke each day at 5:45 a.m., ate breakfast and fixed sack lunches.
(Each trail crew is assigned its own cook.) After 30 minutes of stretching and calisthenics, they
hiked to the work site and spent the entire day carrying out their assigned duties.
At quitting time, Ice's crew usually jumped into a nearby lake to bathe before returning to camp.
After dinner, there are educational seminars on topics ranging from botany to wilderness
medicine. Then comes some well-deserved sleep.
When the weekend arrives, members generally have little desire to return to civilization.
"Weekends are the best part," Ice said. "You can hike as long as you want, climb peaks, swim in
alpine lakes. It's just gorgeous."
Before being accepted into the program, members are required to sign a sobriety pledge. That
means no alcohol or illegal drugs, though coffee and cigarettes are a trail crew staple.
"I'm in unbelievable shape, and my mind is as sharp as it's ever been," Ice said. "I never want to
go back to old habits."
Trail crew members earn minimum wage for their time in the backcountry, based on a 40-hour
work week. Health insurance is provided, and they receive a $2,300 educational grant upon
completion of the program.
Rachel Ottem, a smiling 23-year-old from Weaverville, plans to use her scholarship to resume
college in January.
After graduation, she plans to return to the CCC (which crew members call "the Cs") to get
another dose of life in the woods.
"This is the happiest I've ever been in my life," Ottem said. "I feel so confident now, like I can
accomplish anything. I feel like nothing is out of reach."
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Friends of the
Save-the-CCC
Campaign
-- Partial List --
Save-the-CCC
Campaign
-- Partial List --
- Paul Carrillo - Chair, Friends of
CCC - John Van de Kamp, Former
Attorney General, State of CA - Herb Perry -Professor Emeritus
Economics,CSUS & member of
Civilian Conservation Corps - Bruce Saito -Executive Director
Los Angeles Conservation Corps
& President o California
Association of Local Corps - Ian Kim, Director Green Collar
Campaign of Ella Baker Center
for Human Rights - Brian Stark - Director, Land
Conservancy of San Luis Obispo - Barbara O'connor, Ph.D., Dir. of
Institute of Study of Politics &
Media, CSUS - Bud Sheble - Former Director of
the California Conservation
Corps Gov. Dukemejian - Tom Mertens, Board of Directors,
League to Save Lake Tahoe - Susie Lange, Deputy
Superintendent Department of
Education - Rick Hawley, Executive Director
– Green Space Cambria Land
Trust - Bill Wilson, Former Chairman of
the Board, Tahoe-Baikal Institute - Robert L. (Griff) Griffiths, Co-
Founder, National Association of
Civilian Conservation Corps
Alumni - Robert Burkhardt - Head of
School, Eagle Rock School &
former Chief Deputy CCC