As many of you may know I am now working for the Pacific Crest Trail Association as their Southern California Regional Representative.I love hiking, trails (especially the PCT) and I am honored to be an advocate for one of our National Scenic Trails.Many people ask me how they can get involved with trails and how they could have a job like mine.I have listed 10 resources for people looking to break into trail work, trail maintenance, and/or trail construction.Without further ado…
The Student Conservation Association:if you are 15 or older, you can get involved with this Conservation Association, check out their programs, opportunities to earn education awards and opportunities to live and work outdoors.
The Rocky Mountain Youth Corps:if you are 16 or older, you have the opportunity to be on one of the Corps Crews, living and working outside, earning an education awards and having a great experience.I have worked with the Rocky Mountain Youth Corps (RMYC) before and they run a great program and support their crew members.
Southwest Conservation Corps:another opportunity for those 16 and older.Southwest Conservation Corps (SCC) has a few offices in southern Colorado and Arizona and offers the opportunity to live and work in the outdoors.
The Colorado Fourteeners Initiative:this is where I worked seasonally for two summers.They have many options from volunteering, to becoming a volunteer peak steward or applying for one of their field positions.If you are looking for experience, the Outdoor Leadership Intern (OLI) might be the position for you.
The Los Angeles Conservation Corps:according to their website the LA Conservation Corps’ primary mission is to provide at-risk young adults and school-aged youth with opportunities for success by providing them with job skills training, education and work experience with an emphasis on conservation and service projects that benefit the community.”
The California Conservation Corps:if you are between 18 and 25 this program could be for you.Even though they tout “Hard work, low pay, miserable conditions…and more!” as their motto, their mission is “protecting and restoring California’s environment and responding to disasters, becoming stronger workers, citizens and individuals through their service.”
The Continental Divide Trail Alliance:this is the youngest of the three major organizations advocating for the three north/south National Scenic Trails.They have a volunteer program that grows every year.If you are in the Rockies, check out their “Get Involved” page.
The Appalachian Trail Conservancy:the ATC runs tons of trail projects each year.To find out more, or to plan a volunteer vacation, check out their “Get Involved” page.
The Pacific Crest Trail Association:did you really think I wasn’t going to mention the PCTA?Of course I am!Whether you are looking to volunteer or searching for a job, the PCTA may have something for you.Looking for volunteer work?Click on the “Volunteer” icon on the right hand side bar.Looking for season work?We usually post seasonal (and full time) job opportunities on the left hand side bar, but just to be safe, check out our “employment” page.
Bonus:
The American Hiking Society:AHS runs many volunteer vacations.In many instances you may end up working with one of the groups I mentioned above as many of their vacations coincide with projects that the SCA, PCTA, ATC etc. are running.The AHS site give people a nation wide view of possibilities.
The US Forest Service:The USFS has many opportunities for volunteering in your local forest.Just look up your local forest and look for volunteer opportunities.If you can’t find them on the website, give the Ranger Station a call, the should be able to point you in the right direction.
Becky, David, Todd and Joe littering a rock across the tundra.
July 15th we started up the trail, Joe, Me, Todd, Chris B. and Laraine from RMYC.We had just chatted with Chris from the Forest Service who was out putting up a new sign encouraging people to fill out a permit at the self registration box at the trail head.They are free and are a good way for the Forest Service to get an idea of the amount of usage the Mt. Massive Wilderness is getting.
We made our way up the trail, established camp and made dinner.On the hike in, we noticed some vandalism, writing in blue marker, on one of the new signs that had been put up in the last year or so.It got me pretty steamed to see that vandalism on the sign.There is no excuse for that, none.
On the 16th and 17th we mainly quarried rocks, lots and lots of rocks.This is probably one of my least favorite things to do.It is a necessary evil.It’s so much easier to quarry with 4 people and since Chris was only going to be working with us for 2 days, we needed to take advantage of his strength and quarry.It would make setting the rocks much easier later.
On the 18th, it was just the three of us, Todd, Joe and me.Chris B. had to leave and it was great to have him on the mountain for even just a few days.Thanks Chris!Today we set a bunch of steps.It was very tiring but felt good to build things and create stone steps.
After a few more days of building with Todd and Joe my friends David and Becky (a husband and wife team) hiked in on July 22nd.It was great to see them again as I hadn’t seen them in quite some time.I originally met them while they were hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) and kept running into them while I was doing weekend hikes.We ended up keeping in touch and now they are in camp, ready to help us build the new Mt. Massive assent trail.Great people!
The entire hitch was great.We all hiked out on July 24th and even though David and Becky were only there for 2 nights, one work day, it was a great way to end the hitch.They did a great job setting the rest of a two tier wall.Kudos also have to go to Todd.Todd is a teacher who volunteered to work with us for the entire hitch, all 10 days.He did a great job of building stone staircases and monowalls.He was also great to have in camp with us and taught me a thing or two about cooking (as he went to culinary school).We couldn’t have gotten as much work done without the help of everyone so thanks Chris, Todd, David and Becky.I hope to work with you again soon!
On July 9th Joe and I met up with the Continental Divide Trail Alliance (CDTA) crew.There were 12 people comprising their crew:Randy, Mark, Wiley, Skip, Cooper, Aaron, Time, Clare, Colleen, Elizabeth, Ted and Ben.All seemed very nice and enthusiastic about being there with us.
Having just had such a wonderful time with our last group I was a bit apprehensive, how would the CDTA folks measure up?What would it be like to work with adults again?What about working with people that I just met as opposed to the Overland group who we had gotten to know over a long period of days?
Luckily, the CDTA group was a wonderful, fun group of adults.We had a chef in camp, Tim, so I didn’t have to do any cooking or helping in the kitchen tent (I think I did get a little spoiled).Had to do a few dishes but with so many people, the job sharing was easy.
On the 10th we hiked up to the work site.It’s a long hike up there and my neck hurts.I noticed the pain when I rolled over last night in my sleeping bag and then again pouring milk into my cereal.It should make trail work a ton of fun when I can’t move my neck so much (sarcasm).At the work site we got a few steps put in and finished up a set of stairs that the Overland group started.
On the 11th we decided to do some restoration work at the upper end of the Willow Resto area.It was a bit nicer of a hike (read: shorter) and with my neck still hurting, I was ok with a shorter hike.I also ran in to my friend, trail name Mom, as she had hiked to the summit on the 10th and was camped out not far from our stretching area.She heard us and came out for a quick hello.
We ended up putting in a good number of grass plugs (transplants) and re-contouring 100 or so feet of old trail.We also fixed some tread on the new trail so it’s a bit easier and more sustainable for walking.Unfortunately, we got stormed off early so work got a bit curtailed.Fortunately, that meant that I could relax and chat with our volunteers since we had more time in camp.
We ended up having a great evening full of storytelling and laughter.It was great to be with the group and it was great to have some spirited, strong women around.I always feel fortunate when I have the opportunity to work with strong women in the field, and this was no exception.
The first day of work we ended up just doing mannies, also known as manni-ing.That is the way that we wrap up and tie up the loads that we are going to have the mules carry to base camp.This is a very specific process of dividing loads that are equal in size, weight and weight distribution.It’s important to be very consientious about the loads to ensure that the mule is comfortable and stays healthy.Think if it like loading your pack…you don’t want one side heavier than the other, otherwise you are horribly uncomfortable and your shoulder or back starts to hurt.
We basically mannied all day and the next day as well.We were supposed to pack in a load the second day but the weather was prohibitive so we just prepped some more (Drew was going to prep while we took a load up but we saved him a good amount of effort since we were there).
Finally, on my third full day here we got a load in.Joe and I hiked up with the pack train (all the mules and 2 horses and their riders) and unloaded the train and set up the bones of the camp.We got up our tarp and the big canvas tent.We still had a bunch of other stuff to do but it was cold (or at least I was cold) and it was after 5 pm and we had started around 6:30 am.I still had an hour or so hike down to the truck and then a half hour or so back to the Yurt, dinner and my bed.It was a long tiring day of strenuous activity in cold/snowy/rainy weather at over 10,500 feet in elevation.I was beat.
I got to the Yurt around 7pm, made dinner and went to bed around 8pm.
Wednesday we got going and hiked back into camp.This time Joe and I would stay at the camp so that we could more effectively use our time for setting up and not hiking in and out of the camp.We got another load into camp but the weather and a sick mule prohibited Glenn and Alice our packers from getting a second load into us.We managed to get the bear fence set up and the solar pannel that powers the bear fence battery set up as well.It was a long night, working until past 7pm and we slept in the kitchen tent since we hadn’t had time to set up our own tents.
Thursday was a big day.We got up around 8am (late…I know) and busied around camp doing minor things here and there.We got the final two loads in to camp.It was a bit sad to see Glenn ride off for the last time.But we had a great time working with him, Alice and his animals; Patti, Sophie, Jimmy, Rory, Becky, Finn, and Leah.
Around camp, we set up the groover (our backcountry toilet), got food organized, got the kitchen set up, propane working, tool tarp set up, my own tent set up, ate dinner and went to bed.I felt much better at altitude today and was much less cold than I have been.
Friday, Drew came up to help us finish setting up camp.He and Joe worked on the water purification system while I washed out water jugs and did some finishing touches around camp.We hiked out around 1pm.Nice to have a short day after so many long ones…of to visit my sister in Arvada.
It started out on Friday, after finishing loading my car and giving my room the once over, I said good-bye to my pups (who are really my parents pups but I love them like they are my own) and then drove to my dad’s work and said good-bye to him. My mom is out of town so only a phone good-bye for her.
I decided to break up my drive into two days. I would drive about 7 hours (plus an hour time change) to Salina, UT where I would splurge on a hotel room. Then on Saturday I would drive to Leadville, about 6 hours of driving. Well, my 7 hours of driving turned into 8 since I lost an hour negotiating the traffic in Vegas but other than that it was uneventful.
The drive through Arizona was especially beautiful. The interstate goes through the Virgin River Gorge, weaving around bluffs and bends in the river. I always feel a bit like I am “cheating” when I get to see such beautiful sights from my car instead of having to hike for hours to see such wondrous sights.
I got to my hotel, relaxed and watched the Lakers beat the Nuggets.
Saturday I got up and began the drive to Leadville. The 100 miles east of Salina were just gorgeous. Again that guilty feeling set in. I should have to hike to see this stuff. But now I am wondering, if Utah had that much to offer just from the Highway, imagine what the backcountry must look like.
I got to Leadville around 5pm and then went out to the Yurt. I met Joe and Drew. Joe is my Co-Leader on Mt. Massive this year. Drew is the Adopt-a-Peak Project Leader. Upon first impression, they seem nice, enthusiastic, oozing with culinary genius and Joe reminds me a bit of my cousin Scotty. Should make for a good season.
