Mike Snyder: 28 Years and Counting

Mike Snyder is a “lifer.” While the term “lifer” is thrown around in many fields, in the National Park Service it implies someone who has dedicated their life and career to the agency and public service. At 56 years old and with over 28 years of trail work under his belt, Mike definitely falls into this category of the most dedicated public servants. And he’s still working full time. In fact, it was just in 2021 that he settled into his first permanent position with the Park Service after decades of seasonal work.

I work with Mike on the NPS trail crew for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and I was excited to interview him about his lengthy and adventurous career in trails.

Joe: Tell me about where you grew up and how you got into trails.

Mike: “I grew up in Buffalo until I was 22, then went to the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse. I did a work study in the Adirondacks, went canoeing and backpacking for the first time, and I was like, “this is awesome.”

I was trying to get my degree in construction management but realized I didn’t want that stressful lifestyle of being yelled at, screaming at people, machismo, and all the other garbage they have in construction. I heard about trail crews and decided that’s what I want to do - working in the woods, making a difference for the people who hike here.

In 1992 I went to Oregon and fought fire with the Prospects on a brush and disposal crew. We went to Tahoe, worked some fires in the Applegate - a really cool area of Oregon. And then I moved to Portland and I worked for Oregon State Parks at Tryon Creek State Park. That was park maintenance and we did some trail work. We built a bridge there, I did some treadwork, some drainwork.

Then I got a job in Mount Hood National Forest in the Zigzag Ranger District. That’s very important because that’s where I met Henry. It was the 15th of June, 1994. Henry is the six foot long crosscut saw, double bucker saw. I worked there for three seasons. Lots of brushing in slush. Not fun, it gets pretty cold.

In 1998 I worked on a heavy maintenance wilderness trail crew in Deschutes National Forest in Sisters. I tried taking a year off and went to Eugene and tried working in landscaping but got tired of it and went to Crater Lake.

I got my first job with the National Park Service at Crater Lake in 2000 and I worked there for five seasons. Went to Mount Rainier a season after that, then out to Point Reyes.

I took a year off to work on power lines with PG&E and I thought, “screw this” and went back to the Park Service and have been doing trails ever since. Last year I got my permanent position here [in San Francisco].

I love being outside and doing hard work. Seeing the happy faces on the hikers when they see you working on the trail, making it better. I also love working with fun and interesting people, not that macho, showoff attitude you get with a lot of jobs and trades like fire and construction.

J: How many seasons total is that? Or years?

M: Twenty-five summer seasons plus four…twenty-nine, thirty-one, thirty-two…not really sure…I just keep working trails.

J: Where has been your favorite place to work so far?

M: I like Lassen a lot. I had a great time at Mount Rainier, that park was amazing - a lot of cool landscapes and nice peaks and glacial rivers and cool stuff like that. Crater Lake was fun but that park is kind of boring with the backcountry. But the lake itself is badass. You can sit on the rim, enjoying the day, chilling out. Applegate Peak is my favorite peak, I love hanging out up there. I loved when that was my backyard. But now, in the fall, places are starting to get cold.

J: Not into the cold?

M: No, I could do without waking up in frost and snow. I grew up in Buffalo so I had my fair share of winter. And 8 seasons at Crater Lake. I’ve seen enough snow in my life.

J: You said crosscut saws are your favorite. Why is that?

It’s like an art form. Here you got this big metal blade with teeth. You gotta figure out the bind, and how you’re going to get through a log. Where you’re going to put it. There’s an art and an engineering to it. It’s fun, and good exercise too. When you get into a good rhythm with a good partner, ahhh it’s a blast. Nothing like logging out. Lassen was a great place for that. We did backcountry work the last 8 seasons I was there. A lot of it was on backcountry spikes. Walk around and cut trees all day, go home and swim in backcountry lakes and play bones.

J: Bones? Is that a game or…

M: Dominos. That was a big thing in that park.

J: How’s it been having to move so often with seasonal work?

M: That’s why I got a permanent job. I’m done with the moving. I’m done with the packing. Done with cleaning up houses every 6 months. Moving all my stuff. Taking weekends to do that. I used to spend so much time putting them in a storage unit, getting a place for the winter, moving out of that place, then moving back again in the spring. There was always uncertainty of the park housing each season too. How to pay your rent, who are going to be your roommates. The last two seasons I lived in Lassen there was tons of dust from construction.

I’m glad I don’t have to deal with unemployment. It’s nice to get rid of that too.

J: And how have you managed the toll this job takes on your body for so long? Do you have any tips or secrets?

M: Work the way your body is meant to work. Use your core. Use your whole body. Don’t use only your back. Use ergonomics. Exercise and stay in shape. Stretch, eat good food. Ask for help, don’t try to be macho. You don’t want to get injured. You don’t want to deal with light duty or workman’s comp. Never had to deal with them but I’ve heard horror stories. Just work smart. Use equipment to move something. If you blow something out your trail career is over.

J: Any other thoughts or comments or plugs or anything you want to put in the record?

Happy trails. Keep on hiking. If I could, I would do this for a lot longer. It’s been about 28 years of doing trail work. Happy, happy life. I look at all the sad people going to work, going in their cars, going to their offices. I’m like, “oh, I get to go work in the Headlands today.” Enjoy every day of trail work you get to do. You get to work in really cool places and do really cool things. And meet cool people. And have access to really awesome lands that many people don’t get to see. When you do trails, you gotta have passion and love for the job. Exercise, eat well, take care of yourself, and you’ll be doing this work for a long time.”