Devil's Playground

Devil's Playground

Saturday, September 15, 2018 to Sunday, September 16, 2018
7:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Calla Balliett, Volunteer & Partnership Coordinator, 719-471-7736 ext. 4#, calla@rmfi.org

Registration for this event has closed.

Volunteer Calendar

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 - SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16

Spend a weekend camping and doing trail work on Pikes Peak! RMFI is partnering with Friends of the Peak, the Colorado Mountain Club, Mile High Youth Corps, and the U.S. Forest Service through the National Forest Foundation Find Your Fourteener campaign so that together we can do more on our majestic Fourteeners. We are working collaboratively to increase the pace and scale of trail improvements and ecological restoration. Our vision is to work together, with you, to build and maintain a sustainable trails network, ensuring these peaks remain healthy and inviting for decades to come. With help from skilled, passionate volunteers like you, we can complete even more on-the-ground work on Colorado’s Fourteeners. 

For our Pikes Peak project, we will spend Saturday and Sunday, September 15th-16th performing much-needed improvements to the Devil's Playground Trail and camping out on the Peak Saturday night. Volunteers are welcomed and encouraged to join us camping on Friday night as well. All meals provided.  

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PROJECT OVERVIEW:

The Devil’s Playground Trail (also known as the Crags Trail) traverses approximately 7 miles and 4,300 feet starting from a trailhead located near the Crags Campground (Woodland Park, CO) and terminating at the summit of Pikes Peak, elevation 14,115 feet. The trail is located entirely on the USFS Pike National Forest. The Devil’s Playground Trail is one of two primary hiking trails to the summit of Pikes Peak, accepted to be one of the most visited mountains in the world. The Devil’s Playground Trail offers a shorter, less crowded route as compared to Barr Trail, and provides hikers with stunning views of mountain ranges to the west.

Unfortunately, the Devil’s Playground Trail is in poor condition. Objectives of the 2017-2018 Devil’s Playground Trail Improvement Project will focus on mitigating erosional impacts from the existing trail. We will be addressing maintenance “hotspots”; areas of the existing alignment that are destabilized and over-widened. The trail corridor will be narrowed by installing “gargoyle” rocks (to channel users onto the hardened trail) and transplanting vegetation into impacted areas. In order to keep users on one designated trail tread, we will make improvements to short sections of the trail that are braided and incised. In some cases, stabilization structures such as rock or log riser steps, check dams, and retaining walls may be necessary to retain soil and provide a clear route for hikers. Restoration materials such as an alpine seed mix, organic fertilizer, and erosion control blankets may be useful to expedite the restoration process.

BASECAMP AND EQUIPMENT

We will camp at a campground off of the Pikes Peak Highway. Carpooling from the RMFI office will be scheduled and available. Volunteers must supply their own personal outdoor gear. Volunteers may be asked to buddy-up in tents to make best use of available space. There is a vault toilet at the campsite. 

Further information to come as the event gets closer. 

REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS

  • This is a strenuous program. No prior experience is necessary, however, participants must be in good physical condition and comfortable living and doing manual labor at high altitude.
  • Participants must be 18 years of age or older.

Questions? Contact Molly Mazel, Volunteer Coordinator, molly@rmfi.org, (719) 471-7736 ext. 4#      

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