Dear *{{First Name}}* ,

Our performance trail crews have their boots on the trail and cross-cut saws in their hands — putting their time and grit into keeping the Pacific Northwest Trail open.

From multi-day logouts to excavating giant boulders, our five PNTA Performance Crews are now completing their third two-week hitches. Trail crews have covered several different sections of the PNT, ranging from the Pasayten Wilderness, Hannegan Pass, Elbow Lake and Bonaparte Mountain.

The Western Pasayten Crew (Marla, Spencer, Anthony, and Trevor) dance to the Little Teapot Song at Teapot Dome.

Every season, crews like these clear great lengths of trail — as you’ll read, sometimes upwards of 300 logs in a single hitch.  This season, cuts in federal funding have meant that we could only field five crews, instead of seven. They have four members each, instead of six. They may only be able to work four hitches, instead of the usual five or more.

Click on the button below to read more about what the crews have been up to:

The PNT needs your help now more than ever. Whether you’d like to help us extend the field season for these hard-working young folks with a financial contribution, or you’d like to pick up a tool and see what all the fun is about yourself, if you love trails and public lands, there’s never been a more important time to get involved. Please contact us to find out how. 

Isabel, Claudia and Emma from Mount Baker Crew traverse Bell Pass in the snow.

Thank You Volunteers!

Our volunteer program is in full swing for the season, with projects happening across the trail in all three states.

Earlier this month, several volunteers took part in the Baker Lake Trail Tally. Volunteers take on the role of field scientists, collecting trail data and getting an inside look at how land managers monitor trail usage. This information helps a joint study between the PNTA, USFS, and University of Montana. Ben, Gina, Glenn, Rachel, Shanna, Jeff, Maureen & Chris — thank you for ALL your help!

If you're interested in joining on a volunteering opportunity, SWITMO needs the help of some strong trail workers this week. They have been maintaining the PNT at Anderson Mountain this summer and are working on a tread project which involves moving large quantities of gravel. If you're interested in a unique trail work project, please join us on Wednesday, August 9th!

Our lovely volunteers, pictured from left to right: Carin, Ronna, Jason, Raj, Patrick, Ashley and Jeff (not pictured) helping out our Mazama PNTA Crew.

Volunteers helped our crews out with resupplies this month — our Western Pasayten Crew was resupplied by the Backcountry Horsemen and afterwards the Pasayten Crew was able to power through 95 logs and maintain 52 drains. At Mazama Camp in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, PNTA crew members were glad to see a group of our volunteers cresting the pass with a full four day resupply for them. The volunteers got to enjoy the awesome scenery of this off-the-beaten-path part of the forest — while helping out a trail crew! Now that’s a way to spend your weekend hike.

Once you get a taste of trail work, it's hard to stop. We were lucky enough to have some returning volunteers join our crews this month. Susan, Mark, and Tom helped with log out, brushing, and tread maintenance in Eastern Washington on Abercrombie Mountain and Horseshoe Basin. Our Western Washington crews appreciated working with Peter S. to log out and maintain the PNT near Mazama camp. Volunteers Alexius, Megan, Linda, Roger, and Jeff cleared 66 trees on the West Fork Pasayten, Holman Pass, and Devil’s Ridge trail! Thank you all so much!

Featured Volunteer Opportunity: Sword Fern Health Mapping

If you've ever wanted to volunteer with the PNTA but aren't available on scheduled volunteer days, we now have a flexible program where you can volunteer on your own schedule! Volunteers will hike and report on sword fern health. 

There have been several documented reports of die-offs in sword ferns throughout Western Washington, but the causes are not well understood. In order to help researchers get a better picture of what is happening to the ferns state-wide, we are asking our PNT community to report on any sword fern die-off they see while hiking. No prior experience is needed. Training will be provided before this volunteer opportunity. Pre-register to participate here!

If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail volunteer coordinator Seher at seherkhan@pnt.org or call/text her at 360-230-8247.

A view of Ruth Mountain from the climb up Hannegan Peak.

Hike of the Month: Hannegan Peak

Looking to elevate your weekend with a quick trip into the alpine? Take a trip out to Hannegan Peak! This peak is located along the PNT by a short side trail. It’s 10.7 miles out and back from the Hannegan Pass Trailhead, and features 360 views of surrounding glaciers from the peak — as well as scenic vistas of the surrounding mountains the whole hike up the mountain. Trail users can camp at the top of the peak to take in the sunrise and sunset, or enjoy a long out and back day hike, all while enjoying the wild scenery the PNT has to offer.

In the Media...

Jeff Kish, the executive director of PNTA, was interviewed by Ayesha Rascoe on NPR’s Weekend Edition on Sunday, July 27. The two delved into the impacts that recent staffing and funding cuts at the Forest Service have had on the PNT:

“There's been an underinvestment in trail maintenance for a very long time, so that's not new. But what we're seeing this year is significantly different than what I've seen in my entire career. We're seeing massive funding cuts, massive staffing cuts at the federal agencies, and that's impacting the work that we can do.”

Listen and find the transcribed interview on NPR’s website.

A High Country News article illuminated more funding troubles for public lands. This season, PNTA has lost $400,000 worth of trail work opportunities due to cuts at federal agencies like the Forest Service and National Park Service. Overall, PNTA’s shortfall has been equivalent to nearly a third of our annual budget, reducing our overall trail workforce from 60 members to 28. 

Emily, from the Eastern Colville Crew, celebrates a section of trail they brushed in Eastern Washington.

How You Can Help

With your donation, our volunteer program can continue to expand to more citizen science and field work opportunities — as well as keep our trail crews fueled with more hitches. The more work we can do on the PNT, the more recreational opportunities it can provide to trail users like you. Donating to the PNT isn’t just an investment in our trail operations — it’s an investment in the future of a National Scenic Trail that will protect our forests and provide access to the wilderness for generations to come.