Collaborative Project May Impact Weekday Hiking on Pacific Crest and Summit Lake Trails

Crew members from the American Conservation Experience (ACE), the Truckee Trail Foundation (TTF) and the Tahoe National Forest are working diligently to set the foundation for a major work day involving over 200 employees from Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI). The project will reconstruct sections of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) north of California Old Highway 40 past...

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Appalachian Trail Volunteers Report Record Number of Hours During Federal Fiscal Year

For fiscal year 2015, a record-breaking 6,827 volunteers reported approximately 272,477 hours to maintaining and protecting the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) for hikers to use. Since the ATC began collecting reports in 1983, individuals have contributed more than 5 million hours to the A.T., resulting in a volunteer network that is recognized worldwide. The record number of...

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Wanted: Volunteers to adopt sections of Maine Appalachian Trail

With a hiking pole in one hand and pruning shears in the other, Ron Dobra picked his way along the Appalachian Trail, snipping overhanging branches and making note of eroding soil. For the past 20 some odd years, he has helped maintain the popular hiking trail, which spans from Georgia to Maine and is seeing more foot traffic each year. “The entire length of the AT —...

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Glacier’s popular Highline Trail gets a facelift

The first mile of the Highline Trail is unforgettable. It’s also heavily used. “The Highline is probably one of the most popular trails in the park,” said Denise Germann, spokeswoman for Glacier National Park. All that use is leading to some wear and tear on the trail, which is why it will be having some work done to it this fall. The Highline Trail...

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Trails Forever crew making progress on Alum Cave Trail

Perhaps you’ve hiked the Alum Cave Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the last few weeks. Then you know that The Friends of the Smokies Trails Forever crew is making progress on the restoration of this popular trail. The 11-person National Park Service crew is joined by 21 Conservation Corps members on Monday through Thursday. The trail work started in May...

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Smokies Trail Sections in the Forney Creek Area Closed Temporarily for Trail Rehabilitation

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials announced the temporary closure of three trail sections in the lower Forney Creek Trail area for a trail rehabilitation project that will include work on the Lakeshore, White Oak Branch, and Forney Creek trails. Mechanized equipment will be used to significantly improve the condition and sustainability of these trails. The...

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Shovels up! Grooming hiking trails is a good deed and a good workout

While shoveling scoop after scoop filled with rocks, you wonder why anyone pays money to work out. If you want to do some heavy lifting, the good folks at the Washington Trails Association would be thrilled to have you. They’ll put you through the trail-work grinder for free — rain, cold or shine. Twenty-plus volunteers, from kids on up, arrived on a Sunday at Tiger...

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Trail angels keep Idaho Foothills trails in prime shape

A tan ribbon of dirt snaking across the landscape serves many functions. It gets us from point A to point B, whether on foot, bike, motorcycle or horseback, and often in an interesting way. How often do you find yourself walking a straight line in the Foothills? Not often. Part of that is the topography doesn’t allow it, but it’s also more interesting for a trail to...

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Volunteers Donate More than 200,000 Hours in 2014 to Maintaining the Appalachian Trail

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) has announced that for fiscal year 2014, 5,617 volunteers reported 241,936 hours to maintaining and protecting the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) for hikers to use. Since the ATC began collecting reports in 1983, individuals have contributed more than 5 million hours to the A.T., resulting in a volunteer network that is recognized...

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Sweating The Trail Details In The National Parks

Sweat and muscle for trail work in Rocky Mountain National Park comes, in part, in the form of Conservation Corps provided through the Rocky Mountain Conservancy. This past spring the Conservancy sent 36 conservation corps interns out into the field in six crews for an 11-week internship as part of its Conservation Corps Program. Half of this group worked in the national...

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