Rebolting in Fern Canyon
This September, a group of 10 volunteers replaced over 100 bolts in Fern Canyon and made a few anchor upgrades. Some of the hardware we removed was sketchy (photos to come), so it’s the right time to be psyched about this rebolting initiative. Once completed, Fern Canyon will have 252 bolts.
Volunteers Paul, Steve and Mark hiked up static lines and setup fixed ropes on all of the routes. Then on Saturday morning, seven experienced volunteers equipped with tools set out to work on replacing bolts. Three ambitious beginners helped carry loads and fix ropes, and two OSMP rangers drove us all up to the Mesa trail with our packs. The rangers also picked up lunch for everyone and hiked it in for us, staying with us into the evening. We had 2 brief thunderstorms that soaked us, but we kept going.
A huge thanks to the volunteers, as well as Greg Barnes at the ASCA for providing bolts. Mark Roth is heading back up to Fern Canyon to replace the remaining bolts this Fall.
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!