Thanks to the hard work of dedicated volunteers, sections of the Haypress and Let’er Buck trails in the Marble Mountain Wilderness are now cleared and fully accessible for hikers and outdoor enthusiasts.

The Ascend Wilderness Experience Crew restored 3 miles on the Haypress Trail, which includes a portion of the upper Let’er Buck Trail. Their work included clearing 69 logs, re-establishing .25 miles of tread, and rebrushing a full mile of trail.

Meanwhile, the Bigfoot Trail Alliance Volunteer Crew tackled 1.7 miles of the Let’er Buck Trail, which had been heavily impacted by a high-intensity burn. In total, the Bigfoot Crew removed 86 downed logs, .75 miles of trail tread was restored, and brushing on dense overgrowth was cleared. Several segments had become nearly invisible, but are now well-defined and free of obstructions.

Six volunteers contributed more than 85 hours to the effort from both teams, and the two teams conquered their goals in the short amount of time afforded to them. Totally AWEsome!

With these efforts complete, the trail is now open as a loop through Haypress Meadow, home to a rare grove of lower-elevation hemlocks—a unique natural feature worth the hike.

This collaboration wouldn’t have been possible without U.S. Forest Service – Six Rivers National Forest. They not only guided us on what was labeled a priority, but the USFS representative who joined us was a huge help with the trailwork; they worked very hard to make sure this project was completed. AWEsome all around.