Registration Box Instructions

Our data year is Oct. 1 to Sept. 30 which means that you should plan your last trip to the box soon after Sept. 30 to provide data through that date.

In order for all of us to keep current please follow a schedule approximating the following:

• First report: July through August 15 (data submitted by Sept. 1)
• Third report: August 16 through September (data by October 15)

You should maintain your box and replenish registration sheets and pencils as needed (See Previous for Downloadable registration sheets).

As far as possible, please take charge of repairing any winter damage to the box or support. If any of the information on the underside of the lid or an adjacent bulletin board needs updating or replacement or you need help with paint or repair, let Roger Shaw know at shawrw@rkymtnhi.com).

A data collection consists of retrieving the completed registration sheets from the boxes, filling out a Register Summary Sheet (see below), and sending me the completed Summary. Please note that the hope is to have a final report ready to present at the annual meeting in late October. Therefore the last date is the most important. Also the FS wanted a reminder on the form that permits are required for the Indian Peaks. Since that is not the case in the other wilderness areas, the forms differ slightly and should not be mixed. It is probably a good idea to gather all of the registration box completed forms in one place so please get those forms to me, either with each report or at the year end.

Register Summary Sheet

If you have a computer with Microsoft Excel spreadsheet program, it will be easiest for you and for me if you download (see previous) and fill out the sheet on the computer and email the file to me on or before the dates listed above.

1. You will notice that you are asked to record information by month for October through May. From June 1 through September 30 use individual days.
2. In consultation with Brad Orr of the USFS, two items were dropped from the summary data last year – the in-state/out-of-state numbers and the activity type. This continues to be the case this year.
3. The first column is the total number of visitors for the day or month.
4. The second column is the total number of dogs for the day or month.
5. The next six columns refer to “Destination”. As these are different for each trail, please write or type in the common destinations for your trail. There is provision for 5 common destinations plus one column for “other. If necessary, group multiple trails, say within a single valley or watershed. If you cannot read the entry on the registration sheet or if it says something cryptic like “up” or ”?” record the destination as “other”. The total number of visitors under Destinations” should normally equal the total number of visitors shown on that line. An exception would arise if a visitor, such as a backpacker, has marked multiple destinations, which is OK.
6. For backpackers the duration of stay is reflected in the column “People/nights”. People/nights are the number of visitors who signed in as overnighters TIMES the number of nights stayed. These folks obviously used the trails for more than one day and I will adjust the totals to reflect this. If the visitor checked “Day use” or made no entry in either column do not make an entry in this column of the summary.

The completion of these Registration Summary Sheets will take some time. The Wilderness Group, the USFS and I certainly appreciate your efforts. The first time around may seem a bit overwhelming but, as you become more familiar with the task, it gets easier. If you follow the above schedule the job will stay manageable and avoid a last minute crunch for both of us. Please call or e-mail me if you have questions.

Roger Shaw
P. O. Box 2200
Fraser, CO 80442
RegBoxes@gcwg.org

If you are going near a box not your own on a hike, please call or e-mail the keeper to see if you can save them a trip. If you pick up forms for them, however, you MUST follow through and get them to the keeper. Keep in mind that the forms for the Indian Peaks Wilderness (Roaring Forks, Monarch Lake, and Junco trailheads) differ from the others in carrying a reminder that permits are required.