We had the pleasure of working with a great local offroad club, the Dirt Hedz, on building their trail adoption sign for Mineral Basin. On June 24th we picked up the wood from the South Fork Ranger Station on our way back from installing the Holman Flat sign, and delivered it to Joes house where the sign would be built.
After speaking with the DH members, we decided that the morning of July 4th would be a good time to get folks together and begin on the sign. That morning we were able to get the sign fully assembled quickly before parting ways to enjoy the holiday.
Drone footage video of the Mineral Basin sign being installed.
Our goal to install the sign on August 21st was hampered by the mini-ex being needing in another location longer than expected. The soonest time it was available again was September 11th. That morning the Forest Service went up and dug the hole for the sign just before the water crossing with the paving stones. The group met up that evening at 6:30 to head up for the install, but i had gone up a little earlier to stop at the ranger station for supplies and get a head start on my slower journey of transporting the sign to the install location. We placed the sign and finished back-filling the hole right as the last of the light slipped away.
Thank you to everyone who made this project a success from sanding, cutting, assembling, and staining to the install tonight of the finished product. This would not have been possible without everyone's help, and its going to be awesome seeing this sign up the canyon for years to come.
Thank you!
8/9 - Despite the rainy weather, we met up with Dirt Hedz members to do the final assembly on the sign for Mineral Basin. Our first task was drilling and countersinking screw holes for attaching the display portion of the sign to the posts. After attaching them, we bolted the sign together for the final time and plugged the bolt holes. The glue will be left to dry over the next few days, at which point we put the last bit of stain on and are ready for our install day on the 21st.
Today(7/22) the group got together to put stain on the sign. After brushing/vacuuming/wiping off the posts and boards, we stained all surfaces except the faces of the 4 posts(more on that later). This ensures each part of the sign is fully protected against the elements, and looks great. Next up will be final assembly, finish work, and final staining.
The group came back together on July 10th for the most time consuming part of the process, sanding. We made sure each burr, split, etc... was sanded down fully to prevent any chipping and/or water damage due to exposed non-stained wood. Although the task is a bit tedious, and very messy, the end result is a product that will hold up in the elements. It was great getting younger generations involved in the project, teaching them how to use tools properly, and the value of doing service for others. At the end of the day the sign was fully sanded and ready to be stained.