But this wasn’t your typical volunteer work party.

The group faced the challenge of having the airstrip located in a remote area of ​​rural Utah, an ecologically poor area where ground vehicles were prohibited, forcing them to hike to carry the equipment and materials needed to make repairs.

Strip mexican mountainlocated in Mexican Mountain Wildlife Survey In an area managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and UBCP. The dirt strip is located at an elevation of 4,461 feet msl and measures 1,900 x 40 feet. Located next to the San Rafael River, flooding is not unexpected.

But when the waters receded this year, the track was largely eroded as the river cut channels into the once-flat surface, according to UBCPA president Ron Evans.

“A few of our members went down to the lane, or rather most of the lane, to assess the damage and were shocked,” Evans said.

With the help of Russ Robinson, a helicopter-owning UBCP member, Evans visited the area, which he described as “2.5 miles from the trailhead, which is the end of a 14-mile dirt road.” A mile from civilization, another 15 miles of dirt road at the end of another 15 mile dirt road.

“Once we saw the damage and realized that the BLM could approve the mule team to come quickly, we thought we had it done,” Evans said, but then the four-day response window from the BLM extended to six weeks. The members decided that if they could get enough volunteers and a helicopter to airlift supplies, they could do the repairs themselves. So they did. Evans said pilots came from all over the country to help.

It took a lot of coordination, and UBCP board member Wendy Lessig stayed home and served as “mission control,” helping organize the 29 volunteers and keeping them accountable and on task.

Volunteers had to go inside carrying tools that Evans said included “shovels, rakes and picks, as well as tools like McLeods, picks and ‘Hilleys,’ which are custom-made tools that one of our board members specifically designed and built.” A few tinkerings to maintain the airstrips helped put the finishing touches on the job and we are hopeful that recent rains from Mother Nature will help tighten up the repairs further.”

Since wheeled vehicles were not allowed, volunteers dragged plastic sleds filled with soil back and forth across the track to smooth the track, inspiring the volunteers to adopt the nickname “sled dogs”. It’s no easy task, Evans said, and the volunteers, many of whom are aviation elders, have had to endure adversity, including nights when temperatures dip below 20 degrees Fahrenheit.

Once the repairs were completed it wasn’t the end of the story because they still had to pack everything up. They did this with the help of UBCP members Randy Riggs and Kim Wintz, who rode horses to the airstrip to help remove the materials.

“Honestly the biggest surprise was how many people showed up and braved the weather,” Evans said. “The majority of our ‘sled dogs’ were older gentlemen who went hiking and braved 20-degree night temperatures. Hats off to them for working so hard on this project.”

UBCP is a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization founded in 1996 to preserve and protect the state’s rural aviation heritage. As well as enjoying the beauty and challenge of flying through the countryside, members are stewards of the land, monitoring unauthorized access by wheeled vehicles and ensuring areas remain as pristine as possible by picking up litter left by others.

You can find more information about UBCP here. Here.