Trail work has many benefits

Dear Editor:

With the impetus of President Reagan’s Commission on Americans Outdoors, the American Hiking Society set up National Trails Day in 1993 as a way to encourage citizens to participate in trail projects and educate them about the process in which a trail gets negotiated, built and maintained. Each year Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers (RFOV) organizes projects up and down the valley to celebrate National Trails Day. This year we held projects in Aspen, on Sunnyside Trail, and in Glenwood Springs, on the Scout and Forest Hollow Trails. We had over 85 participants building water bars to help divert water off trails, pruning vegetation, building rock walls and maintaining these trails!

Thanks to all of our volunteers, project sponsors and partners, including Aspen Cycling Club, BLM, Colorado State Trails Program, National Forest Foundation Ski Area Conservation Fund, Roaring Fork Mountain Bike Association, Summit Canyon Mountaineering and U.S. Forest Service, who helped make this day so successful!

Not only is working on trails necessary to keep them safe, sustainable and user friendly, it is a fun way to meet new people and be an engaged citizen in our community. National Trails Day and RFOV promote the stewardship of our public lands through these volunteer projects the first Saturday in June each year. Over 1,000 trail projects nationwide were undertaken this year!

Next time you are out hiking a trail, take a moment to look at how it was built, how it is being maintained and its sustainability. Then also think who might be doing all that work ” it might even be your neighbor!

Thanks again for all those who participated in National Trails Day this year! If you are interested in volunteering on trails this summer, there are several more opportunities up and down the valley: Maroon Bells, June 21; crew leader training, June 28-29; Hunter Creek, July 26, and more. For more information, contact us at http://www.rfov.org or 927-8241.

Amy Capron

board chair, RFOV

Basalt