As I’ve gotten more and more into hiking, I’ve wanted to contribute back to the efforts that make it possible for me to do what I love. I’ve donated money and participated in WTA’s Hike-a-thon (and am participating again this year), but I also wanted to do volunteer trail maintenance. I got as far as buying work gloves last year, but I never signed up for a shift, since it’s so hard to prioritize that on prime hiking days.
Photo credit: Richard Shelmerdine
This year, I knew I would get my trail maintenance day in because it is one of the graduation requirements for my Mountaineers course. I’m fortunate enough enough to work for a company that gives all employees one paid day off to do volunteer work, which was a perfect way to do this without struggling with giving up hiking days. Other people in our Hikers Hipchat room had a similar idea, so one member decided to contact the right people to get our own company trail maintenance day set up with WTA.
My subgroup with the piece of trail we worked on
Our project site was Denny Creek, most of us on trail before the waterslide. Even though it was a weekday, there was a lot of traffic going up. My group was working on a segment of trail where water running over the trail was starting to wash away parts of the trail, leaving exposed roots as trip hazards. We cut dead roots, dug proper drainage to direct the water away from the trail, put rocks and mineral soil down around the remaining roots to create a smooth trail, and replanted some ferns to discourage people from walking in the drainage. It was a hot day and the work involved a good amount of physical effort, but we had time to take some breaks, and it was a fun experience.
The Tableau crew
In addition to making a positive difference on the trail, the experience was an educational one as well. Before, I figured I understood the impact of trail maintenance after hiking trails with lots of blowdowns. I’ve certainly done my share of complaining when a trail is muddy or rooty, and I’ve hiked with a lot of people who have done the same. However, after experiencing how much work has to be done to make trails look like beautiful, shining examples, I have far more appreciation for the them. I’ll certainly continue to put in my trail maintenance hours in the future, and if more people do the same, then maybe we can have less mud and more lovely trail!
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