My Volunteer Trail Projects

Most projects were through American Hiking Society   (Updated August, 2021)

--1997 Bob Marshall Wilderness of the Flathead National Forest in Montana (AHS)

--1998 Gallatin National Forest of Montana (AHS)

--1999 Manti-LaSal National Forest of Utah (AHS)

--2000 Columbia River Gorge in Washington State's Beacon Rock State Park (AHS)

--2001 The Colorado Trail above Copper Mountain Resort (AHS)

-- 2001 Hiawatha National Forest of Michigan (AHS)

--2002 Superstition Wilderness of the Tonto National Forest (Sierra Club project)

-- 2002 Cumberland Trail Conference in Tennessee (AHS)

--2002 Pine Mountain Trail Conference in Virginia and Kentucky (AHS)

--2002 Buffalo National River in Arkansas (AHS)

--2003 The Palmetto Trail in South Carolina's Wateree Swamp (AHS)

--2003 Mt. Rogers National Recreation Area in Virginia (AHS)

--2003 Apache Sitgreaves National Forest on northern Arizona's Mogollon Rim (AHS)

--2004 The Florida Trail in Osceola National Forest along the Suwanee River (AHS)

--2004 Goat Rocks Wilderness of the Pinchot National Forest in Washington (AHS)

--2005 Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts (Sierra Club Trail Project)

--2006 South Carolina's Palmetto Trail in the Francis Marion National Forest (AHS)

--2006 Independence Grove in Illinois (2 trails for Forest Preserve District of Lake County)

--2007 Spring Valley Trail in Arizona's Hell's Canyon Wilderness (AHS)

--2009 Acadia National Park in Maine (Appalachian Mountain Club project)

--2010 Buffalo National River in Arkansas (AHS)

--2010 Manti-LaSal National Forest of Utah -- bridge construction (AHS)

--2010 Rafting Canyonlands NP & Cataract Canyon/Tamarisk removal in Utah (Sierra Club project)

--2011 Boardwalk Reconstruction for US Fish & Wildlife Service in South Carolina (AHS)

--2011 Manistee National Forest Boardwalk and Bridge Construction in Michigan (AHS)

--2013 Ocala National Forest in Florida (Sierra Club Service Project)

-- 2013 Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (Superior NF) in Minnesota (AHS)

-- 2015 Everglades National Park in Florida (AHS)

-- 2017 Natchez Trace State Park in Tennessee (AHS)

-- 2017 Chattanooga Audubon Acres in Tennessee (Sierra Club Service Project)

-- 2017 Shawnee National Forest in Illinois (AHS)

--2018 Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area in Kentucky and Tennessee (AHS)

- 2019 Gulf Islands National Seashore in Florida and Mississippi (AHS)

--2019 Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado (Sierra Club Service Project)

-- 2020 Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area in Florida (AHS)

-- 2021 Pike National Forest in Colorado (AHS)


I just finished my 36th volunteer trail project. When I began these projects in 1997, I was always among the youngest participants, but now I find myself as one of the oldest. It also has been taking me a bit longer to recover after each trip!  It's wonderful seeing young people participating, but I have to remember to pace myself and not try to keep up with the youngsters. I sometimes wonder if the older volunteers back in 1997 felt that way about me back then?

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I've put together a slideshow/primer here on how a trail is built, using photos from various projects.

Here's a promotional video I made showing what AHS projects are like.

Six of my projects involved building bridges.

I strongly encourage you to consider volunteering for a project if you can spare the time. (Maybe you'll get to have a supper of deer, elk, and moose with the crew of the long-running PBS series "This Old House" as we did in 1997! See my photo of Steve and Norm.)

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