The Field Programs season along the Continental Divide Trail has continued to be a bustling success! As we reflect on our progress in this month’s update, we’re excited to share our highlights — as well as look forward to future projects! Want to get involved? Join us at an upcoming project or event!

By Kylie Yang and Morgan Anderson, CDTC Field Programs

Overview, by project

Sycamore Canyon – Trail Maintenance

March 18th – 21st | Gila National Forest, NM
Experiencing the Gila Wilderness in May can give a trail user a taste of winter, spring, and fall — and the recent field project experienced them all! Over the course of a couple of days, local volunteers honed and re-invigorated the popular CDT alternate near Sycamore Canyon. Folks focused on clearing overgrown brush and removing pine needles off of the trail. Trail users can now confidently traverse this area without second guessing where the trail is! We are so grateful for the opportunity to work with Backcountry Horsemen – Gila Chapter and New Mexico Volunteers for the Outdoors for a shared stewardship approach that keeps thriving! This project was funded by the New Mexico Economic Development Department.

• $14,855 in volunteer labor as in-kind
• 1.8 miles of tread maintenance
• 15 drains installed
• 2.5 miles corridor cleared
• 54 cairns built
• 4 stepping stones installed

Grand Lake Community Stewardship Event

CDTC and the CDT Gateway Community of Grand Lake came together to support the efforts of Westgate Community School of Thornton, CO, while their students re-established a community garden that lies along the Continental Divide Trail in Grand Lake. Westgate Community School specializes in service-based education, with a motto of “Mind, Body, Community.” A group of junior-level students was involved in this environmentally-friendly service-learning project. An Environmental Education Specialist with the school assisted the class in researching vegetation, ordering plants, and planning the design of the garden — all as an educational process for the project. This group was able to breathe life back into the Grand Lake Gateway Garden!

• $5,555.73 in volunteer labor as in-kind
• 200 feet of tread maintenance
• 200 feet of trail rehabilitation
• 3 drains installed
• 1 sign installed

Rawlins Community Stewardship Event

June 4th | Rawlins, WY
In just one day, a small group of volunteers officially marked the CDT through downtown Rawlins, WY! In collaboration with the city, an official CDT Gateway Community, we teamed up during the annual Rawlins clean-up event to bring education, stewardship, and civic engagement to the forefront. When stopping by Rawlins, check out the brightly colored CDT markers that designate the official CDT route down sidewalks and roads. Thank you to the community for embracing the trail and continuing to educate and advocate for the CDT! This project was funded by the Round Up Riders of the Rockies.

• $748 in volunteer labor as in-kind
• 1.25 miles of CDT marked
• 10 CDT blazes painted

Junco Lake – Trail Rehabilitation

June 24th – 26th | Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forests, CO
Junco Lake is a popular trailhead to access both the CDT and Indian Peaks Wilderness. We had a wonderful group of motivated volunteers who completed drainage and corridor maintenance at both Junco Lake and Devil’s Thumb. Participants installed many stepping stones in boggy areas to help people keep their feet out of the mud. Not only do we love working in these areas because of the amazing views and frequent moose sightings, but working alongside Headwaters Trails Alliance is always a treat. This project was funded by the Laura Jane Musser Fund and Grand County Open Lands, Rivers, and Trails.

• $7,430 in volunteer labor as in-king
• 32 drains installed
• 30 drains maintained
• 115 downed trees cleared
• 5.7 miles of corridor cleared
• 1 cairn built
• 2 waterbars installed
• 31 stepping stones set

HiLo/ Devil’s Thumb 1 – Trail Rehabilitation

July 9th – 10th | Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forests, CO
In just two days, we worked diligently with volunteers from across Colorado to construct and install a 15.5-foot single-stringer bridge that allows people to cross a stream safely as they work their way up to Devil’s Thumb on the CDT. We were happy to work alongside our partners at Headwaters Trails Alliance to complete this project. The massive blowdown of trees in this area has greatly impacted the trail through this area as well, so we also worked on building a large retaining wall to support the trail surface and cleared away tons of debris. We worked with 9 volunteers and 4 crew leaders to make this magic happen. Thank you to all the hard work from this wonderful group! This project was funded by the Laura Jane Musser Fund and Grand County Open Lands, Rivers, and Trails.

• $5,170 in volunteer labor as in-kind
• 3 miles corridor cleared
• 15.5 ft single-stringer bridge built (it’s beautiful)
• 2 large rock retaining walls

Butte, MT Adopter Training

June 11th–12th | Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, MT
A two-day adopter training was hosted outside of one of our newest Gateway Communities, Butte, MT. We were so grateful to collaborate with the Forest Service and Annual Pete Sorini’s Trail Days to teach trail maintenance concepts to local volunteers. Based out of Highlands Camp, the Forest Service worked with volunteers to clear downed trees while CDTC staff addressed basic trail maintenance needs like corridor clearance, drainage, and tread work along the CDT. Check out our work on bike, foot, or hoof! (Insider scoop: wildflowers here are flourishing in mid-June!).

• $3,170 in volunteer labor as in-kind
• 450 ft tread maintenance
• 35 drains maintained
• 5 downed trees cleared
• 200 ft corridor cleared
• 6 new CDT Adopters

Lincoln, MT Adopter Training

June 14th–15th | Helena & Lewis and Clark National Forest, MT
We hosted a 2-day trail maintenance training with the Oboz footwear staff (and two amazing volunteers) to get their trail eyes in shape and tools in the dirt. Despite the wintery mix looming over our camp, we had a blast getting to know everyone. Upon completing their training, Oboz adopted 4 miles of CDT east of Rogers Pass. Two additional volunteers committed their time to learn trail skills and officially adopting parts of the CDT in MT and WY. This project was sponsored by Oboz Footwear.

• $5,870 in volunteer labor as in-kind
• 489 ft in tread maintenance
• 100 ft in tread rehabilitation & naturalization
• 3 drains installed
• 21 drains maintained
• 1,200 ft corridor cleared
• 15 waterbars cleaned
• 10 new CDT Adopters

CO Native Adopter Training (Private training)

July 7th–8th | Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forests, CO
Thanks to a generous donation from CO Native (a subset of Coors), we hosted a trail maintenance training at the popular Herman Gulch Trailhead! (Maybe you saw us out there?) We taught all the basics to a handful of volunteers and also made some time for fun too: after a fruitful lesson, we had time to hike to Herman Lake and see some stellar views.

• $1,590 in volunteer labor as in-kind
• 44 drains maintained
• 5280 ft corridor cleared
• 50 ft social trails closed

Steamboat Springs Community Stewardship Event

July 14th | Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest, CO
The CDTC partnered with the local non-profit Yampatika, whose mission is to inspire environmental stewardship through education. The organizations co-led an exploratory hike along the Continental Divide Trail at Dumont Lake, where participants got to hike along the wildflower-dotted Divide. Yampatika’s naturalist, Lexi Stine, helped teach participants about the flora along the Trail and about the many edible and medicinal uses of local plant life. CDTC staff discussed local projects in the area, why the CDT is so popular with locals and thru-hikers alike, and how the geology of the Continental Divide relates to Steamboat Springs.

• $2,006.65 in volunteer labor as in-kind