Growing up in New Hampshire, I was lucky to have access to trails my whole life. Throughout my childhood trails acted as a playground for me and my friends, provided a way for me to get out of the house, provided exercise, and looking back, helped spark the passion for protecting our natural world that ultimately led me to where I am today serving with the LRCC. While trails were a big part of my childhood, in recent years they have become the life blood of the outdoor lifestyle that I have been privileged to live. Whether through hiking, mountain biking, trail running, or backcountry skiing in the winter, trails, especially the trails of the White Mountains, have become a second home. They allow me to get outside and do the activities I love to do, have shown me some incredible places, and most importantly give me an opportunity to step back and connect with nature and realize how special the world around us is.
As an LRCC member serving with the White Mountain Trail Collective, I feel like I am giving back to the trails that have done so much for me. Most of our season has been spent performing level 1 maintenance on trails all over the White Mountain National Forest. This includes clearing blowdowns, clearing and reshaping water bars and clearing the trail corridor. This work ensures that the trails are in the most sustainable condition possible without making any significant changes to the design of the trail. Doing this work has shown me that trails really are a form of infrastructure that require maintenance and care. Trails are the infrastructure that allow us to travel through nature, just as roads allow us to travel throughout the developed world. Just like roads, trails need maintenance to keep them usable, and if we want people to be able to get outside and connect with nature then it is crucial that trails are maintained. As someone who believes that the most important way to get more people to develop a conservation ethic is for them to spend more time outside connecting with nature, I am proud to be helping to make sure that the trails of the White Mountain National Forest are in good shape and ready to provide memorable experiences for those who choose to hike them.
We have also had the opportunity to help on several higher-level trail work projects which has been great. We constructed a fence at the top of Mt. Willard to protect a rare species of alpine vegetation, helped construct retaining walls and staircases to protect areas of trails that are heavily eroded, and got to assist in building a trail relocation to create a more sustainable section of trail. This work has not only been fun and exciting but has shown me two important realities of trail work. The first is that trail work is important work in conserving trails and the environment around them. Without thoughtful and intentional trail work, trails become eroded and often lead to erosion of surrounding areas, they become unnecessarily wide and infringe on surrounding environments, and generally leave a larger scar on the landscape than necessary. Trail work helps ensure that the trails can withstand human traffic while minimizing impacts to the environment. Secondly, the project work we’ve done has shown me just how much work goes in to building a trail and has made me appreciate the amount of trails we have in New Hampshire so much more. I will never use a trail again without noting the way it’s designed and the features that were constructed, and I will always have so much respect for those who worked long hours so that we can enjoy that trail and the places it brings us to.
Serving with the White Mountain Trail Collective has been an amazing experience. I’ve learned so much about trails, explored areas of the Whites that I didn’t know existed, spent more time in nature than I ever have, and learned more about how higher-level land management agencies such as the Forest Service operate. I feel privileged to be able to spend so much time in the mountains, and I believe that all this time has deepened my love for the natural world and my passion for conserving it. It feels so rewarding to be helping to protect the trails that have done so much for me, and I feel hopeful that service I have done will allow more people to get out and experience all the magic that the White Mountains have to offer. The way I see it, protecting trails is a crucial factor in protecting a place and it has been an honor to be able to play a small part in protecting the place that means the most to me. At the end of the day, I believe that it is important for people to get outside for so many reasons, and my service this season has made me feel like I am helping that cause.
Gunnar is a half-term member at the White Mountain Trail Collective. He is a recent graduate of St. Lawrence University where he studied Environmental Studies, Economics, and Business. Learn more about Gunnar here.