![[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)
What a great start for the 2026 MCC Season! Crews 6 and 7 from the Greater Yellowstone Region were paired up for this first hitch.
For our first day of hitch on Wednesday, we had a beautiful sunny day on the Deep Creek trail in the Absaroka range. We got to work with some amazing forest service members who trained us how to safely use crosscut saws to buck fallen trees. We worked there for two days while we learned the ins-and-outs of OHLEC, a procedure to make a safe bucking plan. On Thursday, we experienced some crazy Montana weather! It snowed on us all day, but we had a trail to clear, so we powered through. That night, we dried our boots by the fire.
From Friday to Monday, we worked on the Pine Creek Trail, where winter storms had knocked over countless trees. We focused on clearing the trail of the fallen trees and filling in the holes that were created by the root wads of the fallen trees. As one of the busiest trails within an hour or so of Bozeman, we had lots of tourists interested in learning about our crosscuts.
On our last two days of hitch, we worked on the Passage Creek trail collecting large rocks for the forest service to use to build switchbacks down to Passage Creek Falls. The terrain was steep, the rocks heavy, and the sun hot, but we kept spirits high with lots of singing, silliness, and frequent water breaks. We carried the rocks with rock baskets, one by one. The final count of rocks collected came to 87!
And that is a wrap on our first hitch!!
Until next time,
Sarah and Calla
