ST. GEORGE — For decades, those hiking the Three Falls Trail near Hurricane have enjoyed the scenic views Southern Utah is known for such as, waterfalls, wildlife, colorful cliffs, caves and steep canyon walls during the trek to Gould’s Wash. But the trail was also littered with rusted-out cars, industrial-sized tires, jagged metal pieces and other hazardous waste.
Not anymore.
Hurricane High School senior Timothy Lawton recently completed a massive trail cleanup for his Eagle Scout project, which involved more than 2,100 service hours. The Hurricane City Council formally recognized Lawton for his accomplishment during their last meeting drawing a standing ovation from the crowd.
Charlie Twist, Lawton’ scoutmaster, said although the teenager needed mechanical assistance removing the vehicles, the trailer full of metal, tires and garbage that was left behind had to be packed out by hand. The trail is 2.1 miles roundtrip.
Before the abandoned vehicles could be removed, they first had to be hauled to the top of a cliff using 1,000 feet of cable, Twist said. As the cars were being hauled up the cliff, bouncing off boulders along the way, parts such as doors, glass and other debris came raining downhill.
“Some of the debris fell off the cars when they went over the cliff in the first place,” he said. “And the others dropped off as it banged up the cliff. So Tim’s job then became to go back into that area and locate the pieces and move them back down the hill one piece at a time.”
Hurricane’s council members saw a photo of the debris Lawton and his crew packed out, comparable to a commercial-sized dumpster. Some of the tires were from larger commercial trucks weighing up to 200 pounds, covered in rust, and filled with rain and mud, Twist said of the effort.
“This is no minor effort on this young man’s behalf,” he said.
Hurricane City Mayor Nanette Billings said an average Eagle Scout project takes between 40 and 80 hours to complete.
“An Eagle Scout is someone who is a finisher,” she said. “Thank you Timothy for being that example in our community.”
Matt’s Off-Road Recovery donated time on the project after Lawton approached him at the Hurricane Valley Easter Car Show, owner Matt Wetzel said. But he needed to enlist the help of a larger vehicle with the ability to winch an automobile up a 1,000-foot drop-off. So he called Heavy D Sparks, as he is known on the Discovery Channel program Diesel Brothers.
Not only did it take one of the largest off-road recovery vehicles ever built to make the haul, it took three full-size trucks pulling that truck, too.
“The project was pretty hectic from our perspective,” said Wetzel. “But it was nothing compared to the job those kids faced packing all the junk that was left out on foot. I have been working with youth most of my life and it was inspiring to see.”
A video of the cleanup on the YouTube channel HeavyDSparks has more than 3.3 million views. A YouTube video shared by Matt’s Off-Road Recovery featuring the cleanup has 1.1 million views.
Photo Gallery
Timothy Lawton was officially recognized during the Hurricane city council meeting on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2022, for his 2,100 hour Eagle Scout project clearing junk from the Three Falls Trail | Haven Scott, St. George News
Locally-owned Matt’s Off-Road Recovery enlisted the help of Discovery Channel’s Heavy D Sparks for the Hurricane Three Falls Trail cleanup project organized by Eagle Scout Timothy Lawton | Matt Wetzel, for St. George News
Three cars that were pushed from a cliff can be seen at the bottom of a wash at the Three Falls Trail in Hurricane in this undated photo | Charlie Twist, for St. George News
One of the largest recovery vehicles in the United States was used in the Three Falls Trail cleanup project organized by Hurricane Eagle Scout Timothy Lawton | Charlie Twist, for St. George News
A door panel rusted with decades of decay is removed from the Three Falls Trail cleanup in this undated photo | Charlie Twist, for St. George News
Debris that no longer exists in Gould’s Wash after the cleanup campaign organized by Hurricane High School student Timothy Lawton | Charlie Twist, for St. George News
Tires, various car parts, pizza boxes and other garbage removed from the Three Falls Trail by Hurricane teenager Timothy Lawton is seen at its new home, the Washington County landfill | Charlie Twist, for St. George News
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