The BUS crew spent the past two weeks fanned out across Montana. They visited low-income homes in order to prepare them for the winter as part of the Warm Homes program. The crew members slapped plastic over windows, wrapped water heaters, and distributed low-flow shower heads and compact fluorescent light bulbs. 
Their job done, the crew will now go their separate ways. The evidence of their work remains, though, to be enjoyed by all.
The B.U.S. crew rolled back into Tally Lake Ranger District, the place where it all began. They received a great welcome and the crew remembered how much they enjoyed working for the district.
This spike, instead of planting trees, they tried to save mature ones. The crew went into timber harvest sites and removed branches and fallen logs from around the base of the largest healthiest trees. Scattering this fuel will help preserve the trees when crews come to do prescribed burns on the plots. The burns help restart the area. The crew met their task of fire prevention with great enthusiasm. Some members even sported ink to display their pride.
The crew slept in the closed down campground and the trip had a feeling of finality to it. They had returned to the place they started, and the change of the season marked the passing of time. 
As the crowds thinned and the Going to the Sun Road closed a large section, Glacier National Park became a quieter place. As the vacationers headed home, the B.U.S. crew was setting up camp; their work was not finished. For the next two weeks they were to prepare and plant 900 plants around the new Apgar transit center.
The first week the stallions weathered the cold temperatures in tents. Their work centered on the nursery where they weeded containers and then washed used containers.
The following week the crew got a break when they were allowed to stay in Park housing; plain, ranch-style homes that came in government issue colors of tan, gray, and dark green. The basic dwellings were a welcome windfall to the soaked workers. Nights were filled with discussion, hot meals, and an endless game of Trivial Pursuit. Once the small black and white TV was turned on, but before long it was abandoned. It couldn’t compete with hot coffee and books.
The weather was less than welcoming. Rain fell on four out of the five days and the unicorns’ boots didn’t dry until the last day. Hail fell a few times, but most agreed it was better than rain because it bounced off clothes instead of soaking in. None of it stopped them from planting all the trees, shrubs, grasses, and plants around the transit center. The building and the surrounding area was transformed, and the crew took so much pride in the shining new center that they even cleaned the bathrooms before leaving.
Fortine Ranger DistrictFortine Ranger District took in the B.U.S crew this spike. The Stallions found some very helpful technical advisors in the trail crew there. With their help they performed general maintenace and built many log water bars and drain dips on the trail. The also stacked rock cairns and reshaped some rough tread.
The first day they hiked up to an old fire watch tower. Unmanned, but still cared for, the fire tower was a favorite spot for the crew.
The comforts of front-country camping gave the stallions a little respite from
the cooler temperatures that were now common place. Wrapped in bags and blankets at night the crew heard grouse drumming as nearby hunters geared up and headed out in search of moose. In the end, the only discernable thing they killed were cases of beer. So much the better for the crew, who always has an eye out for wildlife.
Good news came at the end of the spike when the fire restrictions were lifted. In the end the wood was too wet to burn satisfactorily. Cold but not defeated, the crew soldiered on.
Swan Lake Ranger District: Alpine #7When the B.U.S. crew woke up on the first morning of their spike in the Swan Lake Ranger District to find frost on their tent, they knew that the rules had changed. The alpine world they were to spend the next nine days would not guarantee warmth and sunshine.
The crew set to work nonetheless, performing routine maintenance on a stretch of Alpine #7. The first two days taxed the Unicorns as they tried to hike to the end of the work site and work back. It proved to be too much, and they reversed strategies, starting instead at the beginning of the trail. They focused their efforts on getting water off the trenched-out, multi-use trail. They built check-dams, rock bars, and knocked off long stretches of berm.
The crew's evening entertainment involved watching bats diving over LaMoose Lake to pick insects off the surface. After dinner, many stallions hiked to the top of the ridge above them, where, on one side, they could see into Flathead Valley where lights flicked on in Kalispell and Bigfork, and on the other, ranges of wild mountains fading into blue twilight. It was here, standing on a ridge straddling both worlds, that the Burly Unicorn Stallions felt most at home.
The B.U.S. crew had a change of pace this spike. They collected seeds and did odd jobs at the native plants nursery in Glacier National Park. Luckily, the project also included a change of scenery, and the Unicorns enjoyed working at scenic places near Logan Pass, Polebridge, and St. Mary Lake. 
The collected seeds will be used to re-vegetate areas impacted by people, construction, and a recent flood.
Although front country camping felt a little awkward for the seasoned backcountry crew, they found ways to enjoy it, such as cooking freshly caught salmon and eating ice cream. No one complained about sharing the four-day work week of the parks employees either.
Recently returning from three weeks in Priest Lake Ranger District in Northern Idaho, the BUS Crew enjoyed a heroes’ welcome. Unfortunately, the enthusiastic locals mistook them for fire crews battling the many blazes popping up in the valley. Nevertheless, the crew’s morale was not dampened.
Spending such and extended time in the woods gave them renewed confidence in their individual abilities, as well as a greater trust and respect for their crewmates.
Their work focused mainly on building and repairing water control structures on a trail suffering from ground springs, mountain runoff, and rain. Luckily, ample building material was available in the dense, old-growth, cedar forest that the trail ran through. Each project presented unique challenges which allowed the crew to use their creativity and skill, in addition to their brute strength.
Nature had her share of surprises for the corps members. A thunderstorm hit one night early in the spike. Except for some lost sleep and some wet clothes they suffered little. They saw towering, 500-year- old cedars finally succumb to gravity and fall roaring to the ground. Two black bear cubs delayed five crew members on the trail for a while one afternoon. Soon after, their mother arrived and forced them right off it. On the more pleasant end of the spectrum, there were many huckleberries, mountain blue berries, and thimbleberries to eat. A shady canopy of ancient trees nearby a cold-flowing creek made for comfortable surroundings.
Ironically, the volunteers had many interesting people to visit with. They met their share of berry pickers and mushroom hunters, but by chance Andy Shurka, a famous thru-hiker, walked by on this way to completing the 6,875 mile Great Western Loop. He’s halfway done. He seemed discouraged about the blow downs on a nearby trail. He says as much on his website: http://www.andrewskurka.com/. Notable guests also include Cliff, the regional director of MCC in Kalispell and Lowell, a local poet, writer, and teacher who helped the crew reflect on the meaning of service. Both were great companions and raised the spirits of the crew. They did seemed surprised at the calm and cooperative mood about the Unicorns’ camp. To the crew, who had their eyes on this spike since the beginning, it was business as usual.
The B.U.S. crew is now enjoying a week-long break. Next week is midseason week, so they will be in Kalispell for more rest and preparation for their next spike. 
