Volunteer Vacation - Moab, Utah Trail Maintenance

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Join American Hiking Society for a week of building & maintaining trails in exciting locations across the country. Volunteer Vacations foster public land stewardship and provide volunteers the opportunity to give back to the trails they love, meet new people, and have a great time doing it! Crews consist of 6-15 volunteers accompanied by a crew leader. Volunteer Vacations involve backpacking or day hiking and accommodations vary from primitive campsites to bunkhouses or cabins. Tools and supervision are provided by the host agency or organization. Experience nature up close. Travel to new destinations. Meet other outdoor enthusiasts. Take a vacation that nourishes your body & your spirit. Get Out. Give Back.

Project Specifics:

Join this project, camp on top of a scenic plateau and repair a steep trail that was impacted by some heavy rain events last year. Located in the heart of the Colorado Plateau, the Moab Field Office encompasses 1.8 million acres of stunningly scenic canyon country. Carved by the Colorado and Green Rivers, Moab’s public lands include a vast variety of arches, natural bridges, mesas, and spires. The Moab Field Office is a mecca for recreation, including off-highway vehicles, mountain biking, climbing, base jumping, hiking, horse-back riding, and river rafting. In addition to supporting millions of visitors and hundreds of recreation related jobs in the local communities, Moab also supports a wide array of land uses such as oil and gas production, mining, and livestock grazing. The Field Office is known for evidence of dinosaurs and features the Mill Canyon Interpretive Track Site and Bone Trail. These canyonlands are home to many types of desert wildlife and the area supports a healthy population of big horn sheep, and can provide great opportunities for wildlife viewing during the fall.

On this project, volunteers will be working on the Trough Springs trail. This is a steep strenuous trail that has frequent blowouts during heavy rain events like we have had in the summer of 2022. Volunteers will hike 5-6 miles each day, descending over 1,000 feet into the canyon. At the end of the day the hike out will be 1,000 up hill. The team will work on steps, retaining walls and drainage structures. The drive to access the project site from the campground is about 15 minutes down gravel and dirt roads.

AHS acknowledges with gratitude that this project takes place on the traditional lands of the Diné ikéyah and Núu-agha-tʉvʉ-pʉ̱ (Ute) peoples past and present. We honor the land itself, the Indigenous communities who have stewarded this land for generations, their deep and sacred connection to these lands, and those who continue to steward these lands today. We offer this land acknowledgement as the first of many steps to stand as an ally and amplify Indigenous voices. We invite the American Hiking Society community to join us through continued efforts to support Indigenous communities and learn more about the history of the lands on which we live, work and recreate.

Accommodations: Volunteers will camp at Hatch Point Campground, in the Canyon Rims Recreation Area. Hatch Point Campground is located 56 miles southwest of Moab. The campground is situated on a mesa top which offers fine views of the surrounding area. The remote and quiet location guarantees excellent star-gazing opportunities. Pit toilets are onsite and water will be supplied by the hosts. Volunteers need to bring their own tent and personal camping gear, sleeping bag, towels, personal cup / bowl / mug / eating utensils. Please contact volunteer@americanhiking.org for assistance with gear needs.

Trip Cost: $425 per person

Volunteer Experience: While trips do not require prior trail maintenance experience, all of our projects require participants to be in good physical condition and will involve 30-40 hours of physical labor during the week.

Find More Information & Register Here: https://americanhiking.org/volunteer-vacation-trip/moab-ut-volunteer-vacations-2023/