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The footpaths unfurling beneath your boots don’t make themselves. Pick up a Pulaski or some loppers and volunteer with a crew to improve your favorite trail—or build a new one—using these tips from Tom Cronin, field programs manager for the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative, and Ellie Place, programs manager with the American Hiking Society.
1. Select a project in a place you’re passionate about, Cronin says: “Doing the work will feel more meaningful.” Luckily, with Earth Day around the corner, there’s no shortage of opportunities close to home (Boulder, Golden) and farther afield.
2. Outfit yourself in long sleeves and pants plus sturdy hiking boots. “We’re moving 400-pound rocks—don’t be wearing Chacos,” Cronin says. Pack snacks and water. Your trail crew will provide tools, an itinerary, and probably some sort of lunch.
3. You likely won’t be handed a chainsaw on your first outing. “The work we do isn’t always the sexiest, most glamorous work,” Cronin says. Expect to move dirt, gather rocks, cut vegetation, or dig drains—the sort of upkeep that keeps a trail from eroding.
4. A full day of physical labor is hard, Place says. Take breaks and, as your leader allows, offer to rotate tasks with other members of your crew to keep seldom-used muscles fresh. “Always be in check with yourself,” she says.
5. Whether annually, monthly, or weekly, make volunteering a habit. Front Range organizations work alongside public land managers whose resources and funding are depleted, especially under the current federal administration. “Doing it even once a year makes a huge difference,” Place says.
Read More: Meet the Local Nonprofit Responsible for Nearly Every Trail on Colorado’s Fourteeners
