Portrait Gallery
Full gallery of portraits, with links to full interviews.
Tracy McClelland: “Trails is the best therapist we have”
“I truly believe that trails are the best therapy for the people of our country. People would do better if they took a heavy backpack with all the shit that they believe they need in the world and walk out and deal with themselves.”
Smokey’s Lost Brethren: Obscure and Forgotten Mascots of Land Management
A roundup of PSA mascots who never quite made it as big as Smokey Bear.
Gallery: Steep Ravine
Steep Ravine is a fantastic showcase of trailbuilding techniques, as it features retaining walks, rock steps, several bridges, and even a 14-rung wooden ladder.
The Ten Commandments of Trails
Yosemite Trails veteran Jim Snyder’s “Ten Commandments of Trails”
Woody White: Not Done Yet
“I'd work with the same animals year after year. I'd have more continuity with the animals, more of a connection with them than I did some of the trail crew members. Our animals work, but they're cared for. I love them and give them attention and try to make them as comfortable as I can and don't overload them.”
Dietary Hitches
“For the longest time, I avoided anything to do with the backcountry because of my diet. “
Hannah Huscher: Building Back Better
“We were in it together. Our season there was pretty rough. We woke up in the morning and it was like 10 degrees. It was negative 16 degrees overnight. We're waking up thinking, ‘this sucks, but we're in it together.’ That's what made me want to stay.”
Laurie Aldrich: Hardass to Badass
“I just find that people that work trails are some of the hardest working, down to earth, honest, real, good people. This lifestyle appeals to a certain kind of people that are not afraid of hard work, not afraid of community.”
Sam Walters is pursuing a “liberal arts education in trails.”
“There's a firstness about manual labor in the woods that keeps trail work so regional. There is a vernacular. But there's still something interesting about that larger shared language.”
The Trail Worker’s Essential Reading List
Tent time in the backcountry means lots of time for reading, and backcountry trail workers are voracious readers. What books are on their reading lists?
Maddi Bacon: Illustrating Impact
I wanted desperately to do work that would really make an impact in a real and tangible way. And trail work gave that to me. It felt immensely impactful. All of the sudden, I had interesting things to make art about again.
Arlo Lynne: Embracing the Improbable
“These mountains have challenged me and they have loved me. They, without judgment, have seen me at my best and at my worst. They’ve shaped me into the person I am today. Giving thanks in the form of trail work is the best I can do with the fleeting timeline of my life. I can’t think of a better way to spend it.”
Essay: Imagineering Cultural Landscapes
A trail says, “This is where you want to go, trust me. I will take you there.”
Luz Lara: What Makes a Difference
“That first spike was like, ‘Shit, this is hard, but fuck, this is beautiful.’”
Gallery: Jack London State Historic Park
“I hope you brought an extra pair of shoes," Cedric told me as I clambered into a creaking Ford Ranger with a fading State Parks decal emblazoned on the side. "It's really muddy out there.”
Gallery: Stapelveldt Trail, Muir Woods National Monument
The Redwood Creek Crew tackled a burly repair of a washout in winter 2022-2023.
Jonathan Baxter: Globetrotter
“We were flying by the seat of our pants, trying to figure it out as we went. But it was amazing. The people there were just like some of the most larger-than-life people I've ever met.”
Gallery: Ben Johnson Project, Muir Woods, CA
From reclaimed logs to reconstructed trail, explore this on-going project by the Golden Gate Trail Crew in a series of photos.
Mountain Theater: An Exhibition of Stonework
Mountain Theater in Marin County, CA, is one of the finest examples of Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) rockwork in the country.