“Turns out the trail fairies aren’t doing all the trail work after all.”

One of the important parts of our work – new dirt trail build and maintenance – happens, as you might expect, from before the snow melts to well into the fall. But, so much of it isn’t visible to the public as our field crew work is often remote … tucked away somewhere in Sawtooth, way out on Emigrant trail, or up above 7000′ on Upper Big Chief, for example. For clarity, it’s not like they are hiding either – the largest concentration of Truckee Trails branded clothing, gear, equipment, and vehicles is centered most days in the middle of the field crew pack. And, they are the first to give a wave, smile, and say hey so they are hard to miss. And, to the best of our knowledge, there isn’t an X (previously Twitter) tracker or Threads (24-hour delay) tracker for our crew.

That said, if you are like me you have a quiet (or not so subtle) fascination with how trail building works, who does it, how long it takes, and a myriad of other questions. The answers are forthcoming, I promise, but I have to share the words of a volunteer who took a break from her trail building and said jokingly, “Turns out the trail fairies aren’t doing all the work after all.”

Indeed, and with that potential insight dispelled, here is what the Truckee Trails Field Crew is up to these days:

Big Chief Maintenance. Fil (field crew lead) and the crew are out on Big Chief (Sawtooth Network) this week doing maintenance and trail improvements for the second time this season. This is one part cleaning up from this winter’s massive snowfall, while simultaneously taking advantage of being out there to add new small features, trail support and backstop, and other things.
Trail Maintenance Training. Training one of our generous trail adopters on the intricacies of trail maintenance. In this case, a local engineering firm adopted a trail that includes a commitment to come out as a group and maintain the trail or segment each season. Trail adoption is a great way to make a positive impact on the trails, support a worthy local nonprofit, and bring the team together each year for a fun and satisfying trail maintenance day. Here’s more information on trail adoption.
Trail Trimming. Trimming back overgrown segments on Sawtooth. Big snow winters lead to wet spring and summers which helps local flora to spurt up and out. Overgrown trails are frustrating for trail users but they also block sight lines which can increase trail conflict.
HITG Maintenance: Last week, the crew tackled trail maintenance on Hole in the Ground which included “logging out” dozens of fallen trees. Using chainsaws and hand tools, fallen trees are cut out on either side of the trail and removed (set aside). Large-diameter fallen trees require some clever cutting to ensure the cut-out thumps to the ground and finds its way completely off the trail.
New Trails: Coming up in the Sawtooth network, we’ll be building the Dutchman and Powerline trails to link existing routes. This helps provide more route options using existing trails, and spreads out trail users across the network.