Scrambling in Solitude

I couldn’t figure out which part was worse; the fact it was 8 o’clock in the evening and darkness was already beginning to fall or that there was now more than 1000 feet of elevation in between me and my sleeping bag. We had just hiked down from Summit Lake on the...

Expanding the Sustainable Trails Program in 2016

Phase II of the Sustainable Trails Program began in 2014 when CFI placed the first five TRAFx trail counters in the field. These compact, unobtrusive devices are buried in cairns or mounted on trees along the summit routes to help CFI gain a better understanding of...

Bear Hangs’ “Bare Necessities”

Yea, yea, yea. The Uncompahgre Wilderness isn’t exactly grizzly country, along with the rest of Colorado. But, despite their massive size, menacing strength and speed, and the colloquial diction pervading from grizzly’s Latin name, ursus horiblus, it turns out that...

A Little Insight on NEPA

Talking with a Botanist about the alpine flora on Mt. Elbert NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) analysis always takes place before any project proposal can move forward to build new re-routes along the 14ers. Having public opinions within these analyses are very...

Engaging Youth through Trail Maintenance and Stewardship

This season on the trail with CFI has produced many memorable and exciting moments with youth from across the country. This summer, many young men and women will spend their hard earned summer days giving back to the environment- and more specifically, to ecosystems...

With Each Trail Comes a New Challenge

The best part about trail work, is that you learn a whole bunch of rules – how to set rocks, where things should go, where they shouldn’t go – and then you get to break all of the rules.  Nature does what she wants, and doesn’t give a hoot about your so...