Oregon Youth Corps crew members practice with a crosscut saw June 19 at Phoenix School of Roseburg.  

Officially they’re called the Oregon Youth Corps Tiller Crew, but Phoenix School Youth Employment Program Manager Tiana Oaks said she prefers to call them the Pioneer Crew.

“We have to go back in time a little bit and pull out the crosscut saws,” said Ben Erickson of the Oregon Youth Corps. “It’s pretty cool to get people out there, clearing logs out of the trail, 1930s-style.”

The crew met for the first time June 19 at the school, where they learned to use crosscut saws and other hand tools they’ll need for trail improvement projects this summer.

The crew will work alongside veterans and Forest Service personnel to clear trails in the Rogue-Umpqua Divide Wilderness near Tiller for six weeks. They’ll also camp in the wilderness and will rely on only hand tools.

“We’ll use mules for a stretch of the trail,” Erickson said. “We’ll be away from water, so the mules will primarily haul water, but it also allows us to pack a little heavier.”

Erickson said the mules are provided by a fifth-generation mule packer out of Veneta who looks the part.

Sam Carter, regional business manager for Pacific Power, was present Monday as the Pacific Power Foundation supported the project with a grant.

“This is a worthwhile project,” Carter said.”We pick projects that benefit the community, and this checks a lot of the boxes of what we’re looking for.”

Carter said the Pacific Power Foundation has invested $60 million since its inception in 1998.

The grant was specifically to address a trail that has been impassable in recent years, a 6.7-mile Rocky Rim path. Rocky Rim Trail 1572 is said to provide spectacular views and access to a 30-mile trail that spans the length of the wilderness area. Once the trail is cleared, the Forest Service will resume responsibility for its maintenance.

Source One Serenity is sponsoring the veterans who will work on trail improvements.

The veterans will be volunteering their time, but the youth can earn minimum wage, get school credit and learn some new skills along the way — without cellphone reception or Wi-Fi.

“I like being outside,” Desiree Riehle said. “And I get paid and school credit, so it’s three-in-one for me.”

The five youth on the crew all live in South County and are eager to get started.

The team will work four 10-hour days. Erickson said in previous years the Forest Service brought in Mad Libs books to entertain the crew.

Most of the crew members had served before, and all had experience working on trails through a similar project at Phoenix School.

Those who participated in years past said visiting the old-growth forest was the best part of the job.

“It makes you feel smaller somehow,” Emmett Reed said.

Overall 40 students joined Oregon Youth Corps crews at Phoenix School this summer, but most stay around town — learning botany, or doing trail work along the North Umpqua Trail.

This “Pioneer Crew” is the only crew to head into a wilderness area.