![[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.]](https://cdn.firespring.com/images/c3f85e97-43a9-4810-8081-e8e6338173d0.jpeg)
The crew set off on a long drive across Wyoming and into South Dakota. Our crew returned to full strength this hitch with Scott and Emily returning from trips of their own. We were looking forward to a new place and a pair of campers to keep us a little warmer at night. Mostly we wanted to come in and finish the season on a high note.
We got to our campers around 4 pm on the first day so we set up and fought over beds until everyone was mostly happy with the arrangements. The next morning we met with our project partner to give us a rundown of where to focus on damming up Silver Creek. Chris gave us a lot of great info being a retired fire forester who was very educated on how much wetlands help a forest to thrive and resist fire. Once he left we got straight to work patching Beaver Dam Analogs (BDAs) that were created by volunteers a few years ago. We used mud with fertile wetland plants that would root into the structure and keep it solid. A lot of the old dams needed extra layers including cut brush that would help stabilize the structure and catch more sediment. Some dams were trampled by cows and had to be essentially rebuilt while some needed only a bit of sod to plug up the water flow. Scott was able to use his chainsaw a lot this hitch providing brush for the group. Annika took charge on dam placement and laid out a plan for us as we all helped to build and move up the creek one dam at a time. I spent most of my days digging sod and cracking jokes to keep spirits up. John swamped for Scott and helped bring brush to Eric and Emily who also helped dig sod and construct the dams.
During our hitch we spent an evening to take a field trip to Mt. Rushmore and take our end of season compass lesson. We talked about the season and the bonds we developed with each other and had a bittersweet hug in the hills. We finished our last BDA and rejoiced in the completion of a long and hard season. We made tons of memories together and will never forget the hardships that the made all the good memories so much sweeter.
