Volunteering on America's Hiking Trails
Long-distance Trails Offer Volunteer Opportunities and Vacations
Feb 18, 2009
Without volunteers, hikers on America's trails would have far fewer miles to trek, or would spend all their time fighting to get through blowdowns, trudging through nettles and poison ivy, and slogging through bogs and mud puddles. Volunteer vacations offer a chance to get outdoors, work on a worthwhile project, and meet like-minded people. And in a difficult economy, they also offer an affordable outdoor experience.
National Forests, National Parks, BLM, state and county lands, and, especially, wilderness areas (where laws dictate that all trail work be done with hand tools) use volunteers to do a variety of jobs. Long-distance hiking trails are largely maintained by volunteers, who spend thousands of hours doing everything from putting together newsletters to building bridges to clearing brush and blowdowns.
How to Choose a Volunteer Trail Vacation
Some trail maintenance jobs require specialized skills in carpentry or construction, but many trips offer the opportunity to learn on the job. There are also jobs just about anyone can do, like hauling supplies and clipping vegetation.
Major trail organizations such as the Appalachian Trail Conference, the Pacific Crest Trail Association, and the Continental Divide Trail Alliance have well-organized trail maintenance programs. To find a complete list, check out the American Hiking Society, which offers what may be the best vacation deal around: For a registration fee of about $80 (which usually covers meals), you get to join one of more than 100 work trips in 27 states - the "vacations" range from four days to two weeks. The Student Conservation Association also runs volunteer maintenance trips for teens.
Consider the difficulty of a trip. Cutting trail at 12,000 feet in the Rocky Mountains five miles from the nearest trailhead requires that volunteers be fit enough to hike those miles at that altitude - and then work. The Continental Divide Trail Alliance, for example, rates the level of difficulty with one shovel, two shovels, or three shovels; hikers signing up for a three-shovel trip should be sure they are in shape to handle the demands.
Types of Volunteer Jobs on HIking Trails
- Trail construction. This can include building and maintaining lean-tos, bridges, and information kiosks, installing trail signs, and building water bars and stone steps.
- Trail clearing. Anyone can clear trail. Trimming shrubbery, removing deadfall from ice storms, and cutting overhanging branches are jobs that don't require specialized skills, but provide a crucial service in keeping trails open.
- Maintaining a trail shelter. Hike in to a shelter, then sweep it out, pack out litter, clean out the fire ring, and make minor repairs.
- Packing supplies in. On western trails, packhorses can be used to haul heavy supplies. Trail organizations welcome inquiries from horse and mule owners willing to assist with this job.
- Cooking for a trail crew. Hikers who like to entertain will get enormous satisfaction you'll get from cooking for a crew that's spent an entire day building a trail - and building up an appetite.
Whether volunteers install rock walls, build a cabin, or paint blazes on trees, they soon learn that there is a tremendous amount of satisfaction in helping keep America's trails open. And they take proprietary pride in the trails they have worked on.
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