Join a Backcountry Response Team

Have you ever been five miles into the wilderness and wondered who fixes that nice trail that carried you in? It could be you!

Washington Trails Association, the state's most active hiker advocacy group, organizes Backcountry Response Teams (BCRTs) to maintain trails miles into the wilderness. By bringing volunteers out to maintain trails for three to four days, spending these nights in the woods, these teams can fix routine trail problems before they turn into maintenance quagmires that can ruin a backpacker's trip.

These trips are distinct from the frequent work parties that WTA hosts, as the daily work parties will just address the first few miles of a trail. Fallen trees and mudslides, of course, happen wherever they feel like and sometimes these problems lie out of reach of a trail crew that wants to be out before night falls.

In 2009, WTA will organize 19 Backcountry Response Teams. The schedule or weekend work parties, which begins May 1 and runs through September, includes stops on the Olympic Peninsula, on Mount Adams , on Mount Baker, and in the Cowlitz Valley among many more scenic locales. According to WTA Volunteer Coordinator Alyssa Kreider, "These trips are rewarding for the volunteer, as they'll bring you into amazing, beautiful terrain and you know its country that won't see much maintenance otherwise."

Intended for experienced backcountry hikers, these trips require each individual to carry his or her own provisions and trail tools. WTA's Backcountry Response Teams (BCRTs), trail crews consist of 4 - 12 people per trip.

Have more questions? Read these FAQs.
Ready to sign up? BCRTs are listed by date in WTA's Trail Maintenance schedule.