A Bigfoot Trail Alliance volunteer crew spent a week restoring remote trails in the southern Yolla Bollys while sharing camp with former Mendocino National Forest employee Vaughn Hutchins. His return to the mountains he helped steward decades ago became a powerful reminder that trails connect landscapes, memories, and generations.
Bigfoot Trail Alliance Launches First Seasonal Trail Crew
The Bigfoot Trail Alliance is proud to introduce its first seasonal trail crew. Working alongside Crew Leader Jacob Shinners, this talented team of trail builders, scientists, firefighters, and long-distance hikers will spend the summer restoring wilderness trails across the Klamath Mountains, expanding our capacity to steward public lands.
Youth Stewardship in the Marble Mountains
Youth and mentors gathered in the Marble Mountain Wilderness over Memorial Day Weekend to restore trails, build stewardship skills, and strengthen community. Crews cleared 7.5 miles of trail, removed 20 downed trees, and repaired tread while learning wilderness ethics, teamwork, and leadership through hands-on work in one of California’s wildest landscapes.
Fire and Fisheries in Forks of Salmon
The Klamath Mountains Workforce Training Network concluded its 2025–26 season with a two-day workshop in Forks of Salmon focused on fire ecology, forestry, fisheries, and cultural stewardship. Youth participants learned directly from Tribal practitioners and restoration professionals through hands-on field experiences rooted in the landscapes and communities of the Salmon River.
Lower Wooley Creek Trail Work
Each year we reopen the lower Wooley Creek Trail, cutting through brush, logs, poison oak, and ticks. This season, our crew cleared nine miles to Fowler Cabin—restoring passage through a once-lost corridor. Beyond lies deeper wilderness, where the trail fades again and the work continues, mile by mile, with care and commitment.
Third Annual Wilderness & Primitive Trails Summit Brings Regional Stewards Together From Across Northwest California
On January 8, 2026, regional trail organizations, land managers, and nonprofit partners gathered for the Third Annual Wilderness & Primitive Trails Summit, convened by the Bigfoot Trail Alliance. The event strengthened collaboration, aligned priorities, and built shared capacity to care for northwest California’s most remote and ecologically vital trail systems.
Restoring the Forks of Blue Trail: Perseverance in the Rain
Nine volunteers from the Bigfoot Trail Crew and College of the Redwoods braved a rainy weekend on the Forks of Blue Trail, contributing 192 hours to clear 15 downed logs and heavy brush along a half-mile stretch. Their work restored access, improved safety, and advanced stewardship on Six Rivers National Forest’s Orleans District.
2025 CCC Collaborative
In October 2025, a crew of recent CCC Backcountry Trails Program graduates joined the Bigfoot Trail Alliance to restore two rugged miles of the Ides Cove Loop Trail in the Yolla Bolly Wilderness—reviving long-lost tread, removing 102 fallen logs, and continuing a legacy of stewardship, resilience, and connection to wild places.