An Alumni Outdoor Adventure Combines Hands-On Trail Restoration, Lakeside Camping, and Plenty of Laughter in the Colorado Mountains
Written by Senior Instructor, Changemakers & Alumni Coordinator, Erin Angel. Cottonwood Alumni were up bright and early, meeting at the gear room at 6:45 a.m. to get to our worksite at Red Feather Lakes on time. The two-hour drive to Lady Moon Trailhead flew by with a fiercely competitive game of My Cows. Our crew joined forces with Wildland Restoration Volunteers (WRV) for a day of trail restoration. Together, they built rock walls and improved drainage on an awesome accessible trail set to celebrate its grand opening in April.
Lunchtime was a relaxing break. BLTs with homegrown tomatoes and Cyd’s homemade banana bread fueled everyone for the second half of the day, Lahja took control of the excavator for the first time as Excavator-in-Chief for the afternoon! Trail users, including some four-legged visitors, shared plenty of kindness and gratitude for the crew’s hard work.
The team soaked up the golden aspen colors before heading to beautiful Dowdy Lake Campground, where giant boulders and ponderosa pines set the scene for a cozy evening. A little drizzle called for a crackling fire and foil-pack dinner experiments (a definite hit)! The evening wouldn’t have been complete without the alumni’s traditional Tim Tam Slams with peppermint tea, accompanied by the soft calls of owls through the night.
In the morning, some of the group sat on the rocks by the lake, drinking hot drinks and soaking in the autumn peace. When everyone was awake, the group started exploring, wildlife tracking, crawdad-catching, and doing some serious rock skipping, which included an impressive 11-bounce record. The crew also explored a rocky peninsula, where their rock-engineering confidence from the day before proved… perhaps a little premature. Those supposedly stable stepping stones were surprisingly tippy!
Back at camp, tents were packed away in the wind while Erin introduced everyone to Norwegian Swing Braiding, a rhythmic skill dating back to around 700 CE where you toss weighted strings from one to another to create a round braided rope. Nobody wanted to stop! The group worked well together, even figuring out how to master a six-strand braid.
This was another great alumni adventure filled with meaningful work, good food, laughter, and the kind of connection that keeps everyone coming back for more.
A sincere thank you to everyone who attended the 2026 Base Camp Bash event, which helped raise critical funding for our Alumni Engagement programs.
If you are also passionate about getting students outside for camaraderie and connection through activities such as trail restoration, please consider making a donation or becoming a monthly donor! You’ll help invest in our students, programs, and long-term sustainability and success!
