Steel Creek Cabin 2019 - Passport in Time
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Current Projects > 2019
Montana - Beaverhead-Deerlodge NF
Closed! Steel Creek Cabin Roofing and Survey
Steel Creek Ranger Station in the 1930s
MT-4408
July 8-15, 2019 (including weekends)
Must commit to entire session
Join us on the beautiful Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest this summer, where we will have a two-tiered project, located in the Big Hole valley near Wisdom, Montana. The first tier of this year’s PIT project, run in coordination with Cathy Bickenheuser and the Region 1 Historic Preservation Team (HPT), will be the re-roofing the historic Steel Creek Cabin. Over the course of six days, four volunteers will assist the HPT and the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest Heritage folks re-roof this once FS administrative cabin. The four volunteers selected for this portion will help strip the old and weathered cedar shingles, clean up debris, and re-install fresh shingles. Other work to be completed, if time allows, may include replacing all missing pole and oakum chinking, sanding and repainting the interior floor, installing hardware cloth in the attic, and replacing the door hinge screws.
The second tier of the project will be a pedestrian cultural resource survey around the area of the cabin. Over the course of five days, four additional volunteers will monitor existing sites and hike over uneven terrain to locate previously unrecorded cultural sites. Both aspects of the project will be moderately strenuous and the weather here is always variable. The Big Hole country is known for cold mornings, warm afternoons and potentially mosquito-laden evenings. Nevertheless, this truly is spectacular country, known for incredible vistas and wildlife viewing. Additionally, the Big Hole River, which flows through the valley, is world-renowned for Blue Ribbon Trout fishing. The valley is also home to the Big Hole National Battlefield, site of the 1877 Nez Perce battle and part of the Nez Perce National Historic Park. Other attractions in southwest Montana include the historic mining towns of Bannack and Virginia City. On behalf of the Wisdom District Ranger, Molly Ryan, and the Beaverhead-Deerlodge Heritage Program, thank you for your interest, and we hope to see you this summer!
Note: Please specify on your applications which project tier (roofing OR survey) you are applying to participate.
Number of openings: 8 (4 volunteers for roofing/4 volunteers for survey)
Special skills: Volunteers must be physically capable of performing strenuous and repeated tasks for extended periods each day; volunteers performing survey must be physically capable of hiking for extended periods each day, often over uneven terrain; previous roofing, carpentry, painting, general construction; archaeological survey, mapping, and/or artifact identification experience helpful, but not required
Minimum age: 18 years old
Facilities: Tent or small RV/pop-up camping near the project area; there is also Forest Service Campground nearby; amenities vary at FS campground. At base camp, the heritage team will be providing food and camp cooks (we guarantee you will not go hungry!); potable water, showers, and porta potties also provided; project area is less than 10 miles from Wisdom, which has small-town amenities (gas station, grocery store, and restaurant); volunteers responsible for own camping equipment, and daily transportation (if opting to stay outside of base camp)
Nearest towns: Wisdom, 10 miles; Dillon, 65 miles; Butte, 75 Miles
Applications due: May 6, 2019
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