Five in the morning rolls around and my alarm goes off. It’s cold, all of my clothes for the day are stuffed in my sleeping bag with me, and I now have to go through the struggle of putting on my many layers without feeling the bite of the mountain air. It doesn’t work. I am at San Luis peak, about 10,000 feet in elevation, running a group of volunteers for Labor Day weekend. We will get up, boil water for coffee, stretch, and hit the trail for a mile to work in the Alpine. The weather for the day is snow.
Trail work is not easy. Most, if not all, who come out to work with CFI will tell you that. Yet for myself and these volunteers, we will wake up and do it again tomorrow.
I started working trails with the California Conservation Corps. I can’t really tell you why I started living in the woods and doing this type of work after college, but I can definitely tell you why I want to do it now.
#1 It Needs to be done.
Most hikers will head up a 14er and only look at the trail to see where they should put their feet next. And that is one of the goals of trail work. Hikers shouldn’t be looking at the trail, they should be enjoying the environment around it. But someone must look at the trail. As it weaves up the steep slope, many things can damage a trail. Trees, water, and users. And when it becomes damaged so does the surrounding environment. So, my job is to prevent damage or fix it. The idea is that we only want one defined trail, that is a small impact on the mountain. And to keep it a small impact we have to maintain it and take care of that trail.
A healthy trail equals a healthy environment around the trail. Someone needs to care for it. Luckily, I don’t have to go at it alone. I have a strong group of volunteers from across the country who are willing to spend their long weekend cutting back vegetation in order to keep the trail clear, and the alpine from being trampled.
#2 It’s fun.
Let’s face it, it’s adventurous. Every summer I move to Colorado and spend my days on 14ers. Not many jobs are like that. While it is a very physically demanding job and making sure the work gets done to standard is stressful, seeing the sun set in the San Juans makes it worth it. Some people think it is crazy, but it provides me with the opportunity to live in some of the more wild and beautiful areas of Colorado.
There are days when the price is higher than others. Maybe the rocks that you are using do not want to work with you. Maybe your knees are starting to hurt. A bad day in the woods isn’t always better than a bad day at the office. But I can look up and see the small flakes of snow starting to stick to the nearby ridge of Organ Mountain and realize, what I do is pretty bad ass.
#3 The Community.
Trail dogs (a title gained after 7 seasons of trail work but used loosely here) are far and few between. You grow close to the crew. You always seem to like them more than you dislike them. They are from different parts of the country yet walk the same trail you do. Chances are, you have worked somewhere they have, know the same people, and have all had a finer crushed by a rock. Yet you may have never met before the season.
By the first week you have a climbing buddy, or someone to hike Eillingwood Ridge with. If you are lucky, like me, you find someone who doesn’t notice the after-hitch smell and is willing to follow you from trail job to trail job. At the end of the season chances are you won’t talk to a majority of them, chances are you won’t live in the same state as them. But you’ll remember them. And if you don’t see them next season, they will definitely be a part of your conversation.
#4 Pikas
Pikas are pretty cute.
So, this isn’t really “many”, but I could go on for a while. Bottom line, it’s great! And you could always find out the other reasons why we do trail work if you come out and volunteer.
