Trail Crew Spotlight: Tackling Big Projects with Overnight “Hitches”
Some trail projects are too big to knock out in a day. That’s when our Trail Crew gears up for an overnight “hitch”—packing in food, tools, and camping gear to stay close to the worksite and put in multiple days of effort. These hitches allow the crew to reach remote areas and take care of the bigger, harder jobs that otherwise pile up year after year.
One recent hitch took place in the Prairie Creek drainage, where the crew spent several days working a full loop from the Prairie Creek Trailhead. They headed up Norton Prairie, around the lakes, and back down Miner Canyon—maintaining well-traveled sections.
What They Accomplished
Norton-Prairie Trail (134): 5 miles total (2.5 basic, 2.5 intensive). The crew knocked back a 20-foot slough and berm, rebuilt 50 drains, and cleared 17 downed trees.
Miner-Prairie Trail (132): 2 miles of work, with 2 new drains installed, 1,000 feet of brushing, and 6 trees removed.
Miner-Canyon Trail (135): 1.7 miles tackled, including 1 new drain, 28 drain rebuilds, and the massive job of clearing an avalanche pile with nearly 50 downed trees.
Thank You Sawtooth Society
This section of the Prairie Creek network doesn’t get regular maintenance, which means water damage, vegetation growth, and treefall had started to overwhelm the trail. While these trails lie on the Wood River Valley side of Galena Pass, they are maintained by the SNRA crews. With funding support by the Sawtooth Society, we are able to put our crew to work on these SNRA trails - lessening the burden to the already strapped Sawtooth National Recreation Area crew members, and ensuring these trails are ready for action!
The Prairie Creek hitch is just one example of how much our Trail Crew can accomplish when they commit to several days in the backcountry. It’s also a reminder that some of the most meaningful progress on our trails comes from the willingness to dig in, stay put, and work until the job is done.
