The trail through Granite Chief Wilderness that we use on race day stretches for 6.5 miles. The western portion of the trail was rehabilitated several years ago when it was accepted into the wilderness. The eastern portion was developed long before modern trail building standards were set, and is being re-routed to improve user safety, avoid environmentally sensitive areas, improve sustainability, and provide commanding views.
We have actively been working on this project for the last two summers (only 10-12 weeks are snow free each year). Work has been performed by USFS employees, a 20-person California Conservation Corp trail crew, and our volunteers. The work has been funded by the Great American Outdoor Act ($1.2M), designed to cover most of the project. Although $0.5M in funding remains, and the USFS was poised to complete contracts to engage a trail crew for this summer, the funding for the project has now been frozen by DOGE and inaccessible, and we cannot hire a trail crew for 2025.
The USFS and our volunteers still plan to work on the project this summer, and we hope to complete enough of the re-routed trail that we can use about 2 miles of the new trail for our event in 2026, which will get us up and out of the bogs. But to get there we need your help. To date our four scheduled trail work weekends are only about half full, so come join us on the weekends of July 26th/27th, August 16th/17th, September 6th/7th, and/or September 20th/21st.
To signup please visit https://www.wser.org/volunteering/trail-stewardship/trail-work-opportunities/
