The Flume – September 3 2025
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he beginnings of the Crooked Trout Trail wind up through the Pike National Forest below Silverheels Mountain, offering aspen-framed views of the valley below. In addition to the chattering of squirrels and Steller’s jays, the emerging trail has also been host to the bustling activity of the dedicated crew members with Wildlands Restoration Volunteers (WRV) this summer, who have been hard at work doing what they do best: crushing and rearranging rocks.
Over several weekends of trail-building this summer, the organization has been laying down tread and stabilizing the new trail with rock siding. Working in areas inaccessible by machines, the team has been tackling the construction of the trail across fields of small to medium-sized talus. In the several volunteer weekends organized so far this summer, over 100 feet of new trail have been constructed.
Once completed, the Crooked Trout Trail will connect Fairplay to Breckenridge, linking the nearby mountain towns through a seven-mile backcountry route. While still in the works, the new trail has been made possible through not just WRV, but the combined efforts of multiple agencies, youth corps, professional crews and volunteer groups.
With several volunteer days held this summer, Audrey Wright, WRV Seasonal Projects Coordinator for Summit County, said several dates would be added at the end of September to continue the work they’ve put in so far. “It can be a challenge to find volunteers for these more remote locations,” said Wright. “We typically get more down in the Front Range.”
While gathering the personnel can be a challenge, there is no shortage of projects WRV has on its docket. WRV organizes thousands of volunteers each year to complete more than 150 conservation projects throughout Colorado. With a growing gap between the stewardship needs of Colorado’s wild spaces and the ability of agencies to address them, volunteer stewardship organizations like WRV proved to be an important piece of the puzzle. “Anywhere there’s wilderness in Colorado, we may be working,” said Nate Boschmann, WRV Program Director.
Volunteer days range anywhere from a few hours to the multi-day campouts like this summer’s Crooked Trout Trail project. With several work weekends scheduled throughout August, volunteers were invited to camp the nights in between working with volunteer cooks providing meals for the multiday event.
“It’s not just hard work moving boulders; there’s a whole volunteer community experience that goes along with it,” said Boschmann. “Community building is a big aspect of our programming.”…