Joey Lancia
As yellow leaves start to appear in the high country and that itch only snow can scratch sneaks into many of our minds, CMC's Stewardship Trail Crews are beginning to wind down like many things do this time of year. The 2026 season has been incredibly productive so far, and I wanted to share a brief update on some of the accomplishments from the season.
One of CMC's crews roamed throughout the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest, working on clearing trails in northern Colorado's Mount Zirkel Wilderness, and southern Wyoming's Encampment River and Huston Park Wildernesses. Much of their work involved cutting out fallen trees. By the end of their 11th week, they had cleared 1,237 fallen trees, averaging over 110 each week! And because their work was done exclusively in Wilderness areas, they could only use hand tools: no chainsaws allowed! Their season concluded in late August, however, a few crew members have joined forces with our Gunnison-based crew for the remainder of their season.
This week, CMC's Gunnison-based Crew finished their last hitch of the season. Since June, they have completed various multi-week projects throughout the Gunnison National Forest and beyond. They spent four weeks on the Skyline Trail in the La Garita Wilderness, three on the Colorado Trail (CT)/Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (CDNST) in the La Garita, three on the Throughline Trail in the West Elk Wilderness, three on the Alpine Tunnel Trail/CT/CDNST on the San Isabel National Forest, and one on the South Texas Creek Trail/CT/CDNST in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness. They've done all kinds of trail work from building new sections of trail to erosion mitigation to sign installation!
CMC's third crew has been based at Brainard Lake Recreation Area and has two more weeks of operations. Their first project was to build an entirely new section of the Little Raven Trail, so trail users can avoid using Left Hand Reservoir Road. Beyond that, they built an extensive set of reroutes on another section of Little Raven to make the trail better for mixed-use recreation. Additionally, they have even conducted maintenance on trails within the Indian Peaks Wilderness adjacent to the recreation area. The Brainard Crew has been hosting community volunteer workdays each Wednesday since July. There are only two more volunteer days this season, so don't miss your chance to come out and contribute to keeping our public lands accessible! Click here to sign up for volunteer days on 9/16 and 9/23!
As our Stewardship Trail Crew Program wraps up this fall, look out for more reflections on the season as well as announcements on winter operations from CMC's Conservation Department. And as always, keep sticking up for Public Lands!
