More than 250 volunteers spent a day working at Smith Rock State Park for the 2016 Spring Thing.

The all-volunteer, nonprofit Smith Rock Group is in its 24th year coordinating the event, where state park staff, local nonprofit organizations and volunteers complete restoration and maintenance projects throughout Smith Rock.

“It gives you really good climbing karma so you can climb really strong if you volunteer,” said Dean Stauffer, one of the volunteers with the group.

One of the founding members from the group of climbers who started the event attended. It was John Francis’ first time volunteering at the event in almost 15 years, after moving out of state. He recently moved back to the area and was eager to help out.

“It’s just a day of fun for me,” Francis said. “I get to come out here and play. Smith Rock is like my home, so anything I can do to upkeep it, I will.”

Blake Hankins, another founding member, also attended.

About 1,500 hours of volunteer work was completed at the April 30 event. One of the main focuses was restoring eroded portions of hiking trails to prevent safety hazards. An accident happened the same day when a hiker was injured while traversing an eroded portion of trail. The hiker was evacuated by Deschutes County Sheriff Search and Rescue.

The accident, while unfortunate, shows the need for support of regular maintenance at the park.

“We’re working to make these trails safer for hikers and park goers,” said Ian Caldwell, a Smith Rock Group volunteer who helped coordinate the event.

Caldwell also works for the Oregon State Parks and Recreation Department.

“This is a day where we can get a whole bunch of people to the park and work on a bunch of projects — in one day,” he said.

Park Manager Scott Brown feels fortunate to have community backing and said that maintaining the park would be impossible without volunteers.

“It impacts the park substantially,” Brown said. “We have a limited staff to the amount of miles at the park. … Without those volunteer hours, we couldn’t keep up with the maintenance and improvements at the park. Volunteers are essential.”

Smith Rock has 12 miles of designated trails, plus a few more miles of access trails. Brown mentioned that volunteers work with his staff throughout the year on various projects, normally tallying more than 8,000 hours of volunteered time a year. About 24 projects were either completed or progressed during this year’s Spring Thing. Some of the things improved included climber access routes, protection of habitat, fencing, hiking trails, native demonstration garden and blocked known erosion issues on trails.

“It creates a sense of ownership for volunteers; it gives them a stake in the park,” Brown said. “It’s rewarding to see how people care so much for this park. It’s encouraging. Smith Rock is an iconic park, and we have a strong volunteer presence, and we’re fortunate to have that.”

Smith Rock Group is the local nonprofit that coordinates the event. It arose from the founding group Francis was part of. The day included a thank you, burrito dinner for volunteers after work was completed, as well as a raffle and auction. The raffle and auction are the main source of money for supplies needed during Spring Thing. This year supplies tallied almost $3,000, which included lumber, gravel and trail clearing supplies.

“It’s a huge project,” Caldwell said. “We build up to it every year, and we accomplish a lot of work. I’m out here climbing year-round, and I can see the progress from the work done today.”

Francis feels proud to see the number of people who participate in the Spring Thing. Multiple local and national nonprofit and climbing organizations attended the event as well, including a group from the National Climbing Association and another from Cascade Mountaineers.

“It’s awesome to see so many people who want to come and help,” Francis said. “I’m very proud to be a part of the founding group, and to see young people pulling weeds and moving rocks to make it a better place is pretty cool.”

— Reporter, 541-548-2185, cbrown@redmondspokesman.com