In late August, a group of 11 teenagers spent 16 days on the Pacific Crest Trail. Sixteen days on the trail is impressive enough, but for most of this trip, the teens weren’t only hiking. They were working. Hard.
The trip was part of a Washington Trails Association work party and the volunteers, 15 to 17 years old, spent the time improving drainage, clearing brush, improving tread and rehabbing sections of the trail.
They camped near Indian Pass, about 35 miles from Stevens Pass, and worked north from there.
The food and communal gear like cooking equipment were carried in by pack horses, but the volunteers carried all of their personal gear, including their tents.
The work did have certain payoffs. WTA prides itself on feeding its volunteers well, said Andrea Martin, who led the trip for WTA. The crew ate steak, salmon, burritos and pulled pork sandwiches — food that any hiker would give their left boot for.
The crew earned it, though. Martin said she was really impressed with how much they were able to get done. They put in about 90 drainage structures over three miles. And they even got to see how their structures were working during a couple days of heavy rain.
“We were able to reevaluate some of the stuff we had done. I think that helped us to do a better job as the trip continued on, making sure the structures we created were going to be sustainable and long lasting,” Martin said.
Martin said the remoteness of the trail was a challenge; it was hard, for instance, to get out on a radio so communication was extremely limited. The crew, though, was able to get several miles of trail improved, and have a good time while they were at it. The trip ended with four days of backpacking south on the PCT.
“For several of the volunteers, that was the longest backpacking trip they’d ever done and it was really cool to give them the opportunity to just hike on the trail that they’d just spent so much time working on,” Martin said. “I think they all really enjoyed ending the trip that way.”
Logan Urrutia, a junior at Kamiak High School, was one of the volunteers on that trip. He’s already logged about 25 days of trail work with WTA but this trip was special.
“This is my favorite outdoor trip that I have ever gone on,” he said. “I enjoyed it more than anything I had ever done outside. You began to get into the swing of things after being out there for 16 days.”
Urrutia wants to hike the entire PCT eventually and plans to hike the Washington section next summer. He enjoyed chatting with the through hikers that came by. The hikers were grateful for the trail work and were happy to pass on suggestions, Urrutia said.
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