We discover an old Civilian Conservation Corps Trail--thrilling!

September 18 & 19, 2013

In our travels we have seen many vestiges of the 1930s Civilian Conservation Corps.  It is always a fun discovery, and often a moving experience.

The Civilian Conservation Corps (or CCC) was a public works program initiated by Roosevelt during the depression.  Young men were put to work on a variety of conservation projects--building lodges, bridges, lookout towers, and campgrounds throughout the U.S.

The young men (boys) lived in barracks, and began their days with calisthenics.  Their leaders ran the camps in a quasi-military fashion, although not to train them for the military.  The reason for the quasi-military format was that there were an absence of people who could manage this type of group in outdoor settings since the program grew so quickly.  Those who were available were often ex-military men.

What is remarkable is the quality of their workmanship.  Their structures have a massive quality to them.  Made from stone and huge timbers, they were built to last.  And many have lasted.

But what is sad for us is to see how often these structures have fallen into disrepair.  Some of the parks where these men worked have been maintained, but we frequently see evidence that they have not.  For example, many campgrounds that used to have water piped in from wells dug high in the mountains above them no longer have functioning wells.  Many structures have been allowed to deteriorate when it seems that only a bit of upkeep could have prevented this.

One of the most puzzling aspects of the CCC is the number of hiking trails that were built.  Why?  Was the country into hiking during the depression?  I doubt that any but a fraction of the population had even heard the word.  And most people couldn't drive to these places to hike (couldn't afford it, no roads, etc.), so who were they built for?  A lot of effort was expended creating these trails, but I have no idea who actually used them until well after WW-II when the country became more prosperous and people took to the interstates to vacation far from home.

REI didn't even start until 1938, and back then it wasn't for hikers, but for serious climbers.  It wasn't until the 1970s that it became more diversified. 

Was it someone's very far-sighted thinking?  I'd really like to know.  It's quite a puzzling aspect of the CCC in my opinion.

We spent two nights at Guernsey State Park in Wyoming.  Structures built by the CCC are featured prominently on their web site.

The park was practically empty.  Not sure why exactly.  Obviously it wasn't the summer season or the weekend, when a state park that features a large reservoir is going to attract a lot of boaters and fishermen.  And the water levels were very low.  Still, we couldn't figure out why it was so empty.

Great for us, though.  We like empty.



And we were excited to see more CCC structures.

It rained some our first night (big surprise), but the second day looked promising for a hike.  We didn't know if there were marked trails in the park, but the terrain was such that we felt we could hike off-trail.

What we did was head up the hill next to our camp site--the hill that can be seen above the hood of our pickup:

  

From the top of the hill we had a nice view of our rig:


 
 We traveled over to the other side of the hill, and had a beautiful view of the reservoir:

  

We went on around the reservoir, and down the other side of the hill.  It was evident that there had been a large burn in the park fairly recently.  One of the many public areas that we seem to find everywhere that have burned. 

 
 

Surprisingly, after trekking along for awhile, we found ourselves at one of the park roads!

Not knowing anywhere better to go, and wanting to hike some more, we decided to cross the road and head on up into the hills on the other side.  We trudged along in this area for awhile, until we knew we had to hike down off of them.  We found the best place, and carefully made our way down.

When we were almost to the bottom Vicky spotted something in the distant woods.  We couldn't tell what it was, but we thought we would go explore.

What we found was so fun--an old CCC pedestrian bridge out in the middle of nowhere.

    
  

At some point in the past the wooden timbers burned.  There was no trail that led to it.  But the massiveness of the construction is obvious.  The supports are still strong enough that a small bridge could be built across the stream, although unless a lot of effort was made to create a trail to it, there would be no reason to rebuild it.

However, what we could see was a trail leading away from the bridge on the other side.  So we followed it.

It was clear to us that this was an old CCC trail.  It was so well constructed that it was still present, in most places, 85 years later, even with all of the exposure to the elements it had endured.  

It was also clear that it had been a long time since someone else had walked this trail--the only prints we could find were from deer.

We followed this trail, and what do you know?  It led us back to our campground!

 
 It seems a shame to us that this trail is not better maintained.  It would be difficult for many people to even find it, much less hike it.  The basic structure of it is still there and is still in good shape.

One of those trails built out in the middle of nowhere for who-knows-who?  How many people actually used this trail in the 25 years after it was built?  

The park advertises the CCC history, and that is really nice.  However, to really honor the memory of this fine program, a little more effort to reconstruct these ancient trails would be great.

It is a shame that a CCC is no longer possible.  Young boys/men today would probably not be willing to start their days with calisthenics, spend their days being led by ex-military men expecting them to lift and tote heavy timbers and rocks, and spend their nights sleeping in barracks.

Yet look at what could be accomplished.  If any of these men/boys from the CCC are still living, they could take their families all over the country, and point with pride to how long much of their work has endured. 

How many of us can say that?