It was another cool day at the Dog Canyon trail above Oliver Lee State Park main building. Everyone that showed was ready to continue our work from last month in getting the trail in good shape and ready for summer hiking traffic.

This month we had 14 volunteers show up ready to do some work. We had a bunch of regulars as well as 3 new faces in the crowd to include some younger, more able bodied airmen from Holloman willing to carry 5 gallon buckets of dirt (around 60 pounds each — a welcome and significant bit of help to us old guys!).

Once again, we were reminded of how steep and rocky this trail can be but the view is worth the extra effort in getting up there. We split into two groups, one led by board member Doug Holcomb and the other by our longtime dedicated volunteer, Glenn Fess. Both groups essentially dug up loose dirt where we could find it (out of view from the trail) and hauled 5 gallon buckets to the trail wherever it was needed to shore up the large rock “steps” along the trail. On the way down near the end of the workday, Doug and a few others cleared the loose gravel that accumulated at each trail switchback.

Some of our volunteers for the day

Again, Jeremy Evans, the Forest Service employee that has been joining us over the last several months made the long drive from Cloudcroft and brought all the tools we needed for the day.

Again, we feel like it was a very successful work day and we really appreciate everyone that participated. Next month we SHOULD be hitting the Bridal Veil Falls trail — more to come on that as always!

Our dedicated volunteers from Holloman hauling a bucket of dirt up the trail

Laura Letterman, John Reimer and Don Draney filling up one of the 5 gallon buckets with dirt

Great view of Oliver Lee State Park campgrounds far below

As always, we’ve got many more photos! Check them out on our official Flickr page!