Trails Forever - the Success of 2010

12/30/2010

The steady growth of the number of volunteer and the quality of the trail improvements that have already been made serve to highligh the value the program will have once the Trails Forever vision is fully realized!

Trails Forever - the Success of 2010

By Christine Hoyer, GRSM Trails & Facilities Volunteer Coordinator

The vision of the Trails Forever program is to fund a permanent trail crew in Great Smoky Mountains National Park that will focus on trail rehabilitation projects while incorporating the help of volunteers. As the Friends of the Smokies work towards the goal of a $4 million endowment that will fund the crew, we have been piloting the program on the ground. During this pilot phase which started in 2008, we have begun developing the program, building volunteer interest, and have tested the viability of incorporating volunteers into complex trail construction projects. With the success of the 2010 season, there is evidence that the Trails Forever program has great potential to benefit Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the trail system and the volunteers!

The Trails Forever partnership requires support both from the Friends of the Smokies as well as the Park. In October 2009, the Park created the Trails & Facilities Volunteer Coordinator position which supports the Trails Forever effort by recruiting, coordinating, and leading volunteers in trail projects. With the Parks’ extensive trails system, one of the other key additions was that of a Trails Forever tool trailer. This “mobile tool shed”, in the shape of a 12-foot trailer with the Trails Forever logos on the side, is outfitted with equipment needed for trail work and can be pulled to any trailhead in the Park. Another key step was to build volunteer interest and the web was one of the tools used to spread the word. The smokiestrailsforever.org website with information on the program, the volunteer trail projects, and ongoing updates in the shape of a blog called the “Coordinators Corner” has become a valuable way to connect interested volunteers with the program.

The 2010 season started out at full speed with a number of college groups from across the country participating with Trails Forever as part of their spring break. The students camped at different locations throughout the Park and spent their days digging out waterbars on Low Gap Trail, making improvements to the tread on Pine Oak Nature Trail, building structures to improve muddy areas on Newton Bald Trail, just to name a few. These groups provided both the opportunity to make trail improvements as well as a chance to inspire the next generation of Park stewards.

Sections of the Forney Ridge Trail, between Clingmans Dome and Andrews Bald, were rehabilitated and are much improved thanks to work done in 2009 as part of the Trails Forever program. Though we do not yet have a dedicated crew, we continued to make improvements on this section of trail, one workday at a time. This season was definitely a park-wide effort with Saturday workdays held on trails throughout the Park from Cades Cove, to Smokemont, to Twentymile and many places in between. The Trails Forever effort also supported the Parks’ trail-work style celebration of National Park Week, National Trails Day and National Public Lands Day. Some trail events were set aside for particular groups of volunteers, others were catered to the skill level of students and scouts, while the majority were open to whoever wanted to dig in the dirt – from first time volunteers to the already diehard.

The steady growth of the number of volunteers and the quality of the trail improvements that have been already been made serve to highlight the value the program will have once the Trails Forever vision is fully realized! I encourage anyone who is interested in getting involved in Trails Forever, as a supporter or volunteer, to become a part of this lasting gift for the Smokies.

Contact Information

Christine Hoyer - Trails & Facilities Volunteer Coordinator

Great Smoky Mountains National Park - 828-497-1949 - christine_hoyer@nps.gov

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Recent Projects

2012 Chimney Tops Trail Workdays
2011 Forney Ridge Trail Workdays
2011 "Saturday in the Smokies" Workdays