The Dirt on Trail Operations

The “new” normal does not just apply to the COVID-19 pandemic, but also wildfire season throughout the Lake Tahoe Basin. Sadly, in recent years, our trail by Tommy Rosenbluth construction and Director of Operations maintenance season has coincided with a new recordbreaking wildfire season. Unfortunately, the 2021 season was no different, preventing a lot of planned trail construction and maintenance on the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT). Three major wildfires close to the TRT and nearby communities caused hazardous air quality, damage and destruction to structures, and eventually led to lateAugust public land closures across the entire Lake Tahoe Basin. Tragically, many public workdays scheduled for the summer months were canceled. Unlike COVID-19, there is no vaccine for the current climate crisis. Our Trail Operations program is evolving and working with the landscape to find natural and sustainable solutions to trail construction and maintenance so that future generations can enjoy the TRT and the beautiful flora and fauna it offers. This means planning around times of the year when the TRT is likely to be impacted by wildfire season.

On National Trails Day in June, 2021 a volunteer at Van Sickle Bi-State Park helps remove overgrown brush to widen the trail corridor.

Despite the great challenges this trail season, our trail operations volunteers and staff accomplished a ton. Our team of volunteer Crew Leaders, supported by our small paid trail crew and hundreds of community volunteers performed essential maintenance from Tunnel Creek to Mt. Rose, in Van Sickle Bi-State Park, Mott Canyon, Brockway Summit, Ward Creek, Desolation Wilderness, Echo Summit, and Painted Rock. All told, maintenance happened in every corner of the trail and the entire TRT system was assessed. Additionally, we were thrilled to bring back multi-day backcountry work camps after COVID cancellations in 2020, running five in and near Desolation Wilderness this summer; two at Middle Velma Lake, two at Fontanillis Lake, and one at Richardson Lake.

Major Project Updates

As difficult as the 2021 trail construction and maintenance season was, it’s important to celebrate the victories:

• At the Brockway Summit West

Trailhead, steps were installed to stabilize the hillside and provide better access to the trail from parking areas. • Approaches were built for the Echo

Lakes Conduit Bridge using eight by eight pressure-treated lumber, creating a six-tier staircase to reduce erosion and reduce the approach grade for trail users. • Over 2,000 feet of trail was built at

Painted Rock, roughly .4 miles of this 1.2 mile trail reroute we aim to complete in 2022. • At Ward Creek, we added seven steps, 100-feet of turnpike, and performed essential maintenance to strengthen tread and address water flow in this perennially wet area of the trail. • Significant work took place in Desolation

Wilderness to improve tread, add steps, restore camping spots, and remove overgrown brush near Richardson Lake,

Middle Velma Lake, and Fontanillis Lake. • Overall 178 trees were cleared from the trail tread, 85 steps were added, and 29 signs were installed throughout the TRT system.

As we look ahead to the 2022 season, we have critical projects planned including 175 miles of trail maintenance and

Steps were built to more safely approach the Echo Lakes Conduit Bridge. The PCT/TRT crosses the conduit near Johnson Pass Road. Humboldt-Toiyabe and TRTA staff work together to install the Horse Meadows Trailhead sign near the parking area.

assessments, reroutes, trailhead kiosks and sign improvements, campground facility enhancements, water accessibility and infrastructure improvements, and wildfire rehabilitation on damaged TRT sections including rehabbing dozer lines and structures. We also look forward to collaborating more with our partner organizations like the Tahoe Area Mountain Biking Association and Pacific Crest Trail Association, helping them rehabilitate damaged trails and creating stronger connections to the TRT system.

Since late May when I was appointed Director of Operations, I have been amazed and inspired by the commitment and enthusiasm of our trail operations volunteers that generously donate their time to ensure the TRT remains one of the premier trail systems in the world. I have been fortunate to work in some of the most treasured public lands in the United States including Yellowstone National Park, but the devotion to community-based conservation in the Tahoe Region is something that sets it apart. Fulfilling the dual mission of providing recreational enjoyment and finding sustainable solutions to maintain a trail for future generations is a challenge, and requires inclusion and collaboration of multiple stakeholders, along with a willingness to adapt to an ever-changing landscape. I have felt welcomed and included by volunteers, staff, and partners who were up for that challenge the moment I started working here.

Painted Rock volunteers work together to move rocks to strengthen the trail tread.

A TRAIL OF RESILIENCY

One word comes to mind when thinking of our trail operations volunteers and the TRT System: Resilient. This October, we were granted permission from the Forest Service to assess the dozer lines and extent of fire damage from Mott Canyon to Star Lake. This was my first time on this section of the trail, and I am happy to report no damage from wildfires. It also contains one of the largest western white pine trees I’ve ever seen. It is a tree that has withstood the test of time, surviving the Comstock logging era and proximity to Heavenly Ski Resort, greeting trail users and reminding them of the majestic beauty ahead that includes a dense forest of large red firs, old-growth junipers, white pines, breathtaking views of the Carson Valley, and Hemlock-ringed Star Lake nestled at the feet of the highest mountain peak in the Tahoe Basin, Freel Peak. The biodiversity found on this short stretch of trail is a sterling example of why the TRT is both “a trail like no other” and has a committed “volunteer base like no other.” Our volunteers and the landscape we work in are resilient and that is what helps remind people why Mark Twain described Lake Tahoe as the Jewel of the Sierra, words that ring true today.