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Field Program

[Image Description: Two MCC members taking a brief break; one is sitting on a rock, the other is standing nearby. They are both in their uniforms, looking out at the expansive, mountain view surrounding them.]

The Four Seasons at Lost Creek State Park

A crew poses together behind a fire ring. They are all bundled up in the cold and their is overcast sky and a hillside with trees and undergrowth behind them.

Summer: The first few days at the park were lovely and sunny and warm! We were working on building a trail so there was a lot of digging and a lot of rocks to move. Each morning we were woken up by the camp host’s dogs, Sammy and Rocky, barking at us to make sure we didn’t sleep too late. While we were digging away, we would come up with obscure characters that other crew members had to guess - Spy Kids 2 & Shark Boy and Lava Girl characters were among the favorites. With the lovely weather, some of us went bouldering in the park after work! On day 3, we ventured into the town of Anaconda for some delicious pizza at a park, and since our crew was finally all together, we went over group expectations and made a group contract.

Spring: The warm and sunny weather soon gave way to plenty of rain. We got lucky and weren’t flooded, but there was plenty of rain throughout the next few days. The rain wasn’t enough water for us though, so after work one day, we decided to get into the nice cold river right next to our campsite. As the rainy days kept coming, we did our best to move all the boulders and finish up the .5-mile trail - which we accomplished on day 5!

Fall: On Day 6 the rain let up a bit and the temperature continued to drop, making the breeze feel like Halloween was right around the corner. With the trail done, we walked the half-mile, fixing certain parts as well as building some bridges. Our fearless leaders were on the chainsaw, cutting up some logs while the rest of us worked on building rock turnpikes with the endless amount of rocks that we had moved off the trail. After work on the lovely fall day, one crew member treated us to his favorite cooking music - some awesome mariachi songs that re-energized us after a long day of work.

Winter: Our last night, the temperature continued to drop so we decided to have a campfire with some delicious smores - some with peach rings in them. On our last morning in Lost Creek State Park, we awoke to snow (and the barking dogs of course) and plenty of wind. Our wonderful project partner brought us donuts and stickers which was a great morale boost for our last day of work. We got our campsite all packed up and spent the morning finishing up the bridges and working on some rock stairs. Before we left the park, we made a stop at a beautiful waterfall and then headed back to Bozeman!

In short:
Six MCCers
Five favorite minions
Four bridges built
Three dogs pet
Two pairs of pants ripped
One trail built
Countless characters guessed

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