Who says I can't use a Cross Cut?!

So I'm officially getting my feet wet. Today I was able to work in "Wilderness". Now I'm not talking about just the woods wilderness. I'm talking about what has been Federally declared as "Wilderness". It is land that has been sanctioned by the federal government as an area that is to be maintained as though no human has impacted it. For the purpose of my job, and those of trail crew, no mechanized equipment is allowed in "Wilderness". Therefore the job we were sent out to do today, clearing the PCT of any fallen debris like trees, would be done manually. We got to pick our tool of choice, which was a cross cut saw.

This is a cross cut saw... as seen in it's earliest uses by loggers and timber-men to cut those large ass redwoods you see all over west.

Yea. We used one of those. 

Although our trees were not that big (because we've chopped all those down already....), we still had the experience of our own manual labor. Carrying a saw, larger than myself (8ft), and walking for 6 miles will, if anything, make you pay respect to those who did this for a living.

Nick leading they way through the Wilderness.

My first cross cut!!!!!!!! Burly one isn't it.....not really. But it was something to experience. We continued to walk, and talk, and saw another 4 trees along the way until we started to head back to the car.

Here are some of the sights within the "Wilderness" Cascade Siskiyou National Monument, Pilot Rock trail:

Erythronium klamathense

Fritillaria pudica

 Pilot Rock National Monument

Shasta in the distance..

 South facing slope looking into California

Erythronium hendersonii in full bloom at higher elevations! Whereas by Table Rocks (down in the valley) they are already loosing their petals.