This weekend Mariposa Trails held a thank you party for all the folks who have helped out over the years on their project to rehabilitate miles and miles of trails accessing the South Fork of the Merced River and its environs around the town of Mariposa.
For those of you who don't know, Mariposa is the middle access point to Yosemite National Park, and the South Fork of the Merced meets the Main Fork (which flows through Yosemite Valley) between Mariposa and El Portal--the park entrance.
Back to the party
More than fifty people showed up to share stories about chain saws, extractigators, hidden trailheads, magical moments, and new work to be done. And we ate and drank a bunch, too.
Organizers Bill and Beth had certificates for everyone, and the span of work was impressive, from editing and graphic design on the new trail map to cutting through more than 800 trees, and pulling out more than 30,000 bushes growing in the trails.
It was the kind of feel good event that made everyone want to get back to work and see what we can get done this year. Which was exactly the goal--that, and letting us all see how much fun it was to be united together in a single purpose.
If you want to help out, either by picking up a tool or just sending some cash, Mariposa Trails can be found right here: https://mariposatrails.org/
That's also where you'll find an online version of that map of the trails you can hike out of Mariposa. Pretty darn cool.