WEE-2009 - The FoOT Western End Extravaganza

…..And A Good Time Was Had by All

FoOT Members:

The Western End Extravaganza is a vivid memory now.  We came, we saw, we conquered.  In some of the most rugged, steep, and beautiful country you have ever seen we accomplished extreme tasks. 

All but one day was absolutely gorgeous weather.  But even on the not so good weather day we prevailed. The good weather helped us move along with our projects of building 2 new bridges, completing tons of tread renovation projects (the dirt and rocks were flying), removing the old rotten and installing the new shiny trail signs, blazing where no man has gone before (at least that’s how some of us felt roaming around in the boulder fields without any trail markings), chainsawing Miles 0 to 20 with Billy McMillen and Bo Lea carrying two chainsaws for 3 days, lopping, removing limbs and debris. 

We cleared and repaired old waterbars, built new waterbars, cleaned out drains, and sawed some trees without mechanized help.   There were crews working the trail in various areas from Talimena State Park to the OK/AR State Line. What an awesome group of volunteers we had out there.

We camped at Cedar Lake Recreation Area---complete with hot showers  YAY---courtesy of the Choctaw/Kiamichi Ranger District.     Larry Ross and Bill Durant of the U.S. Forest Service participated with the crew as time allowed.

We made a number of new "friends", acquired some new adopters, and just had a fun time all around.  Friday evening was story-telling night and we enjoyed and laughed at Tales from the Trail - real and unreal.  Saturday evening we were entertained by the music of Trapper, and Sunday night we had movie night with photos from WEE displayed on a big screen at the pavilion.  Monday night we skipped the talent show in lieu of going home since it grew very cold outdoors.

After dinner each night we had drawings for door prizes with lots of great items provided by FoOT, TrailHankie.Com, REI, Pack Rat of Fayetteville, AR, and Backwoods of Tulsa, OK.  On Monday after steak dinner our impartial campground host, Carlos Torres, drew the ticket of the winner of the Grand Prize (2 nights for 2 in a cabin at Beaver’s Bend State Park near Broken Bow, OK).  The lucky winner was Donna Price, our chief cook.  YAY, Donna.

We had yummy hot breakfasts and dinners prepared by Bobby and Donna Price, Fran Bauer - all of Russellville, AR;  EJ Pangle and John Symons of Hot Springs Village, AR.  Kitchen equipment was loaned to FoOT by Ozark Highlands Trail Association.  Bobby and Donna made special trips to Hot Springs to shop at Sam’s Club.  EJ and John stored the food.  They all hauled gear, food, and completed many behind the scenes work that we can only imagine.

All crew members received FoOT Trail Crew t-shirts with funds from a 2010 Census grant through the efforts of Bill and Rhonda Sears and Dewayne Hall.  Everyone received a trail maintenance bandanna donated by Trail Hankie.com

Statistics:
21 female volunteers
27 male volunteers
2,401.5 volunteer hours
10,519 miles driven by volunteers

We had a budget from our Treasury of $3,450 of which we spent $2,410.

The trail in Oklahoma is now in generally great condition overall with many improvements in place.  NOW would be a good time to grab a friend and see the OT in Oklahoma!!

Many Thanks to all who participated in the WEE!!!!

Your Friends,
Kris McMillen and Bill Sears