We were excited to kick off our 2022 Wilderness Stewardship Project on July 16th at the Butler Fork Trailhead in Big Cottonwood Canyon. Last season, we spent two different work days, over 10 hours, and covered around 8 miles of trail in this area and were thrilled to pick up where we left off.
Not only does this particular trailhead see a lot of use, but it also is a prime connector for many other trails and lakes in the canyon. With that being said, the trail is steep and runs for miles and miles. We are lucky to say we have contributed to the beautification and maintenance of about 15 miles of this trail in the last year.
On July 16th, we were determined to hike about two miles through the amazing wildflowers and aspen to an area that had become extremely overgrown. We were working on areas in the Mt. Olympus Wilderness. When trail sections become overgrown, it causes trail users to stray off the trail to avoid having brush in their faces. This causes the trail to widen over time. The reason we try to avoid trail widening is two fold: we want to create as little impact as possible on the environment and when trails lose their integrity or initial build, problems can occur - wash out, run out, and so on.
With the work of six incredible SOC volunteers and the US Forest Service staff from the Salt Lake Ranger District, we covered 3.5 miles of trail, removed brush and overgrowth, and created a better flowing trail section. There is nothing more satisfying than knowing that the work we do with the help of our volunteer community is bettering these wilderness areas for many more seasons to come. We are excited to host our next trail work day on August 20th! If you are interested, please RSVP https://saveourcanyons.org/resources/wilderness-stewardship-project or contact Claire Parsons at .
