Found a cool stat about trail maintenance on the PCT

I was reading a report from the Pacific Crest Trail Association and found out that volunteers put in over 60,000 hours of trail work in 2023 alone. That blew my mind because I always figured most of it was done by paid crews or the Forest Service. Has anyone else stumbled on surprising numbers about how trails get maintained?

2 comments

2 Comments

charles_wilson21d ago

Buddy of mine hiked the JMT last summer and met a guy who'd been clearing blowdowns on the same five-mile stretch near Reds Meadow for over a decade, just himself with a handsaw. Said he never knew the guy's name, just that the trail was always passable.

vera_sanchez21d ago

Whoa, I never thought about the volunteer hours that way! But here's something wild I just realized - all those hours of trail work actually save the government way more money than the numbers show. Like, the PCTA's report probably counts volunteer labor at minimum wage or something, but those are highly skilled people with specialized gear who know exactly how to cut a fallen tree without messing up the soil. Plus they're out there during peak hiking season when paid crews might be stretched thin on other projects. It's like the Forest Service gets free expertise they couldn't afford to hire, and the trails stay open because of it.