Photo By Sgt. Joseph Parrish | Soldiers from 4th Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) guided by a U.S....... read more read more
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The lumber will be used to restore the storm shutters on the fire lookout tower at the mountain’s summit. The relationship between the U.S. Forest Service and HHD was built at a previous endurance event. HHD coordinated with the U.S. Forest Service to use Granite Mountain as a training venue, and during the coordination HHD discovered that the Forest Service needed to transport almost 1,000 pounds of lumber to the top of the mountain. HHD saw the opportunity to give back to the community by carrying the load, while making the trek to the top challenging, according to HHD Commander, Capt. Wesley Wiblin.
The fire tower was built in 1956 and hasn’t been renovated in the 61 years that it’s been standing at the summit. Most of the Forest Services Rangers are volunteers and would have to make multiple trips up the mountain to get the lumber to the summit.
“We didn’t know how we were going to get the lumber up to the fire tower, so the soldiers from HHD volunteering to help was amazing,” said Chris Felsted, Forest Service Park Ranger.
In total, 36 soldiers from HHD participated in the ascent. The Forest Service packaged the lumber into 40-pound two-man carry loads. With water and food the Soldiers brought with them plus the lumber, each Soldier carried approximately 50 pounds up the 4.3-mile trail to the summit.
The trail is an incline all the way to the top, and the halfway mark turns into snow-packed terrain.
One soldier from HHD said the hike to the top was very challenging and really tested physical fitness, but it was great to give back to the community and help the Forest Service.
The training allowed the unit to test its mountaineering skills, so along with teambuilding, the change of command helped Soldiers reach new heights.
| Date Taken: | 07.07.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 07.10.2017 19:45 |
| Story ID: | 240678 |
| Location: | GRANITE MOUNTAIN, WA, US |
| Web Views: | 131 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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