Just getting to the edge of Rocky Mountain Front guarding the third-largest wilderness area in the continental United States requires miles of driving on rocky roads and through creek beds to find isolated trailheads. Those passing beyond the boundary must leave all motors and wheels behind. And yet, for two decades, thousands of people have hiked into this daunting territory to work – for free.
The land complex including the Bob Marshall, Great Bear and Scapegoat wilderness areas includes about 1.5 million acres spread along 200 miles of the Continental Divide south of Glacier National Park. It receives a fraction of the 2 million annual visitors trooping through that better-known neighbor. But it has more than three times as many miles of trail – about 1,700 at last count. All of which must be maintained by hand, using primitive tools and the occasional mule.
“The Forest Service hires trail crews on mainline trails or for more specific restoration work like bridges or turnpikes,” Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation program director Margosia Jadkowski said. “We come in to help with secondary trails that might not normally see trail crews on them every year.” BMWF started 20 years ago when some Forest Service retirees convened to provide extra help in a place they’d learned to love over their careers. Volunteer interest quickly grew beyond the Forest Service’s ability to organize, so the non-profit organization took on the role.
Today, BMWF sends about 300 volunteers a summer on 40 projects. Some car-camp on weekend stints renovating frontcountry campgrounds or trailheads. Others log 10 days in the deep backcountry, repairing eroded mountain passes or pulling weeds from valley meadows.
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I am Jeff Clark, founder of Internet Brothers, producer of this blog, and passionate about hiking. I live in Western NC near the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains. Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests are just out my door, so the content will focus on these areas, but let me know what you would like to see on the site. 
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