Page 14 - summer 2018

14 Friends oF red rock canyon
Meet Susan Murphy (continued from page 13)
lost because of our methods of defining trails with only asks for a good Facebook photo!
rock lining and naturalizing spur paths.
True, many of our trails still need a lot of work, We have several teams that show married cou-
but since we’re LIGHT Trail Maintenance, we ples really can have fun working together - Edie &
Kevin Cardiff, Rebecca & Howard Dukes, Beth &
don’t lift 50 pounds and work with mules (al- Brian Schuck, Shari & Jeff Young, Karen & Mike
though I’ve considered renaming this group “Light Evans, and Joan Urarro & Glenn Ritt.
Trail Maintenance with Over-Achievement Ten-
dencies”). We constantly get compliments from Chelsea Conlin (aka “Hercules”) is usually (ok,
hiking groups and individuals on how good the always) our youngest volunteer, ever eager to pitch
trails look because of our work. in whenever someone calls out “We need some
muscle over here!” She also makes a great batch of
What are some of your favorite endeavors vegan chocolate chip cookies!
along the trails?
Susan: Learning how to maintain our tools. What do you envision moving forward for
BLM Firefighter Jason Douglas, with help from Light Trail Maintenance?
three other colleagues, gave us a Power Point Susan: That we won’t be needed! Well, I can
presentation and a hands-on workshop on sharpen- dream! Mother Nature will make sure trail work
ing tools. will continue. In the future, I plan to do more edu-
Learning the art of naturalizing social paths in cation. The volunteers will have a firmer grip on
Lost Creek with long-time volunteer (teacher) seeing proper techniques for themselves and can
teach others.
Larry Dunn.
Teaching how to keep water off a trail. Water What advice do you give newcomers about
is the main source of damage (via erosion) to our volunteering?
trails. I was delighted when a steep hill portion of Susan: Newcomers are encouraged to join us.
a trail off Moenkopi Road held up following a tor- We always have several newbies. I think it’s a
rential downpour because of our work. good idea to introduce them by name and make
Volunteers dedicated to the preservation of Red Rock Canyon
them feel welcome and immediately part of the
Having Peter Sbraccia teach us some graffiti re-
moval techniques as part of our trail maintenance team.
in Willow Springs. We have a couple of companies (Timberland
Boot Company and Revzilla.com) that pay their
Teaching some trail-building techniques on what
was just a path connecting the Scenic Loop exit to employees to work with us and they always send
the Red Rock Overlook. new volunteers. It’s fun to see a wide range of
people whose lives are so varied on the outside, all
Can you share a few anecdotes about individu- working together toward our common goals.
al volunteers and their work along the trails? What do you see volunteers getting out of their
Susan: Lisa Metzer-Gott stopped work for a experience?
moment, spread her arms out wide and expressed Susan: They not only get the “Before” and
how wonderful it was to be volunteering in such “After” photos, but also pictures of themselves
an overwhelmingly beautiful place. having fun at trail maintenance. They like the
Cory Gozar, a volunteer in her 70’s, is like a camaraderie of helping each other. I make sure
cheerleader. She works hard and inspires others to remember their names and they appreciate the
to join her. She even recorded the sound of a Gila recognition. They like the organization, as well as
monster so we’d know what not to go near if we the freedom to choose what they’d like to do.
heard it (quite scary, actually!). When all is said and done, beyond the fact that
Sofia Castille, who often gets dropped off and they (1) Made it look BETTER, (2) Stayed SAFE
picked up by her husband, always has a beautiful and (3) Had FUN, I make sure they are dearly
smile and pleasant demeanor. She works hard and thanked!

the Rock - Volume 8 Issue 4