Gus Receives Makeover

SEELEY LAKE- Girard Grove near the western shore of Seeley Lake is an almost sacred space. A dirt path traces its way around the trunks of larch trees that have an approximate age of 600 years. Typically, the only noise that can be heard is the wind brushing through branches and the occasional car passing by on Boy Scout Road.

Last week however, the grove took on a new cacophony of sound. Saws buzzed, drills drilled and the prize of the grove, a 1,000-year-old western larch known locally as Gus, got a facelift.

Evan Yonce, a soon-to-be Hellgate freshman from Boy Scout Troop 1911 in Missoula, directed the makeover. Yonce is working to finish the criteria to become an Eagle Scout and the project was his finale.

"I thought this was a really cool thing, first to come up to Seeley because this is such a nice place...and also it's a project that requires a little more work," said Yonce. "Since the beginning of my scouting career it's been something I think it's important for an Eagle Scout project to be... a big beneficial thing.

When Yonce started looking for projects to work on, his first idea was to restore an old cabin on Forest Service land near Missoula, until he realized it would require more than 15 miles of biking and hiking to access.

He called around looking for other suggestions and Rachel Feigley, the Seeley Lake District Ranger, was quick to respond.

"Everyone loves to go up to Gus and give him a hug and get up close and try to put their arms around him and such. Over time that can become an issue," she said. "Each year we're seeing more and more the soil compaction around the base."

Feigley mentioned that similar projects have been done around the country to protect other botanical giants such as giant sequoias. Now instead of feet trampling the base of Gus, visitors will be walking on an elevated surface.

Yonce got his first look at the champion tree during the winter when he and Feigley snowshoed into the grove.

"He'd never been here, he'd never seen Gus... That's when he started getting excited about it," said Feigley.

Yonce spent four nights camping at Seeley Lake with his parents over the course of his project. His father, Ben, was a key supporter during his year of planning and building the walkway.

"He wanted to do more of a legacy project that would last for a while and he could come back and visit," said Ben. "He found a good one."

Ben helped Yonce with some of the design and construction.

"He introduced me to the process because it's not something I'm used to doing-obviously designing decks is a new thing," said Yonce. "It's a learning curve definitely."

One of the hardest parts of the project was not having easy access to electricity in the forest. A generator was hauled down the trail every day to run the saws and the materials had to be packed in and out for every workday.

The boardwalk is made of four rectangular sections of decking that Yonce constructed prior to coming up to Seeley. Once the prebuilt joist sections were in place around Gus (they screwed lawn mower wheels to the sections to make transportation easier) they were connected via triangular sections of decking.

The result is an octagonal deck surrounding the base of Gus, approximately two feet off the ground. The deck is six feet wide and with an ADA approved ramp leading up to it.

While he made plans to save Gus, Yonce picked up some of the history of the tree.

"I learned that Gus has been here for a thousand years, which is a lot longer than I've been alive," said Yonce.

For some perspective, when Gus was a seedling, Vikings were just beginning to colonize North America. Macbeth had yet to rule Scotland, the Crusades hadn't started and Samurai were rising to prominence in Japan.

Today, Gus stands 153 feet tall-higher than the Statue of Liberty. At the base, Gus is seven feet, three inches in diameter, and more than 22 feet around.

Gus receives visitors almost every day of the summer. The mile-long path always provides shade, making it a nice activity on hot summer days.

After three days of work in the heat, a tired Yonce measured, cut and drilled the last pieces of railing into place. The finish was anticlimactic. While nearly a dozen people helped work on the project, just three were there to watch the final pieces put in place.

After spending a year thinking, planning and fundraising for the project, Yonce was pleased to see it completed. Once he and Feigley decide on wording for a sign, there will be an official ribbon cutting ceremony to commemorate the new addition to Girard Grove.

Yonce was especially thankful to the donors for his project: Beach Transportation; Boyce Lumber; Langel+Associates; JB Yonce; Bob Garrity; Kevin Hood; Darlene McLuskie and Vern and Gretchen Vanderweide.

"When you actually get all the funds and actually come and build it... it's awesome to see it all come together," Yonce said. "It's awesome to see it go from a pile of wood to an actual thing."