Project Videos: Pinnacles NP, Mojave NP, Pt. Reyes NS

Veteran Wilderness Volunteer Tom Coroneos has done more than 20 projects giving back all over the country! And beyond being an excellent volunteer, he's terrific at making movies, having put together many great videos, including several about his recent WV projects! Take a gander at Tom's excellent work below:

Pinnacles National Park 2015

Mojave National Preserve 2015

Pt. Reyes National Seashore 2014

Mojave National Preserve 2014

And Tom is currently out in the field at the Pt. Reyes National Seashore project, so we can likely count on another video coming our way soon. Thanks Tom!

Photos From the Field

Our 2014 photo contest had many wonderful submissions, such as the following great shots of the moon.

WV participant David Peters on two of his photos he took on the Continental Divide Trail building project in New Mexico's Gila National Forest:

I love taking photos of the moon, playing with exposures and focal distances and compositions. The photos are most special when I captured the moon juxtaposed against something distinctive in the place I’m visiting. On the Continental Divide trip, I had the advantage of a full moon and a clear sky at 8,600 feet above sea level. When the moon rose on the evening of the full moon, I thought I had missed the best opportunity because the divide ridge behind our camp obscured the moon until it was high in the sky. But I wandered around my tent site until I was able to place some ponderosa branches in front of the lunar image.

Then the next morning, as the moon was setting in the west, the rising sun illuminated the few clouds on the horizon, turning them a New Mexico pink and blue as ponderosa pines framed the image.

See more of these great photographer's works, as well as many more photos from our 2014 season at the gallery. And stay tuned for more information on the 2015 WV Photo Contest!

2014 Photo Contest Winners

We're pleased to announce the winning entries from the 2014 WV Photo Contest, sponsored by Mountainsmith, Sea to Summit, Crazy Creek and Ribz. We received more than 100 submissions, representing the majority of projects we had in the field in 2014. There were so many fantastic photos, picking a winner was very difficult for the sponsoring companies and WV staff.

The grand prize winner was Ulrich Boegli, who has won a place on a 2015 Wilderness Volunteers service project and a Mountainsmith Camera Bag. Ulrich took this photo on the Glacier National Park service project (we'll be back in 2015).

2014 Photo Contest Winner - Taken by Ulrich Boegli in Glacier National Park

Eric Mak was our first runner-up and he receives a prize pack from Sea to Summit and a Longback chair from Crazy Creek. Eric took this trip on his 2014 service project in the Superior National Forest's Boundary Waters Canoe Area.  While both BWCA projects are full this year, you can always join us in  2016.

Eric Mak's beautiful photo from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in 2014.

Our second runner-up, Randy Kahn, will receive a Ribz Front Pack thanks to his really lovely shot from the San Rafael Reef Wilderness Study Area. We'll be back to the San Rafael Swell area this spring with a a project within the Sids Mountain Wilderness Study Area. Spaces remain available, so come on out and bring your camera!

Randy Kahn's lovely photo from the 2014 San Rafael Reef WSA in Utah

You can see these photos and the other selected 2014 Photo Contest finalists on the WV gallery. There are also photo galleries for just about every service project we ran in 2014.  Take a look around and see what amazing wild lands you want to visit next. And take your camera - we will once again host a photo contest, featuring great prizes from terrific sponsors, in 2015.

Another Year in the Books!

Wilderness Volunteers wrapped up the 2014 season just before Thanksgiving with the Saguaro National Park service trip in southern Arizona. This was the latest trip that we've fielded, but it was a perfect time with great weather and we plan to do it again in 2015.

Thanks to everyone who participated in a project this year. We collectively maintained and repaired more than 106 miles of trail, built 3 miles of new trail, created more than 490 waterbars, cleaned 219 existing waterbars, placed 105 checkdams, removed 652 trees from trails, moved 97 tons of rocks, removed two and one/half miles of trail, 60 illegal fire rings, and 235 illegal campsites. We also maintained/improved 68 campsites, created 8 new campsites, took out 1/4 mile of closed road, removed 99,000 invasive weeds and planted 621 native plants. This list of work done in 2014 isn't complete - reports are still being collected for the last few projects.

We did all of this on public land in cooperation with some wonderful agency personnel who supervised and supported our groups across the country. We're especially thankful for our great volunteer leaders who give so much time to planning and making sure that the projects are successful, to mentor new leaders, to keep everyone safe in the field, to cook all those meals, and to be the face of Wilderness Volunteers to the world -- they are truly the heart of our organization.

We are thankful for our partners and sponsors who make the program possible, especially the National Forest Foundation who supports our work in national forests with matching grants, and to Keen for awarding us a Keen Effect grant. They make much of this work happen!

While we love to take stock of what we've accomplished, there isn't much time to look back as it's time to leap ahead into next year's projects. We are finishing the planning for 2015 and will post the summer and fall projects later this week. Stay tuned! Let's do it again!

Available Summer Adventures

There are still spaces remaining on WV service projects in several outstanding wild places. Here are a few of the places that have spots available to give something back:

Mission Mountains Wilderness, Montana, July 19 - 26

Photo by Tammy Rinaldi, WV Service Project in 2010

The Mission Mountain Wilderness, with its rugged peaks, pristine glacial lakes and mountain streams, is frequently called the American Alps. The Missions feature 225 lakes and its clear waters hold native trout, a high-bred "Cutbow" (which is a cross between the Cutthroat and Rainbow trout), and pike. Its high peaks tower 7000 feet above the valley floor, up to 9280' McDonald Peak. The slopes and valleys are heavily forested, rocky and lush with undergrowth.

This a great trip for everyone, including beginner backpackers, as it's fairly level and we have terrific pack stock support. Our service project will be very useful in helping maintaining these scenic mountain trails after a particularly late snow season this year.  See the project page to learn more and join us in America's Alps.

Frank Church - River of No Return Wilderness, Bighorn Crags, Idaho, August 17 - 23

Photo by Caroline Williams, WV Service Project 2013

Located in west-central Idaho and below the Montana state line, lies the 2.3 million acre Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Area - the largest wilderness in the United States outside of Alaska. Cutting through it with ferocity is the Wild and Scenic Middle Fork of the Salmon River, called the River of No Return by pioneers. High above the river is the remote, jagged Bighorn Crags area, with outstanding opportunities for hunting, hiking, primitive camping, fishing and whitewater rafting.

Please join us on our service project in this undeveloped and wild land, assisting wilderness rangers from the North Fork Ranger District with trail maintenance on the Ship Island Lake Trail. Our work will include erosion control, reroutes, brushing, and maintaining campsites following a 9 mile backpack to a picturesque base camp at Airplane Lake in the Ship Island Lake basin. 

Mt. Hood Wilderness, Oregon, September 7 - 13

Located twenty miles east of Portland, Oregon, and the northern Willamette River valley, the Mt. Hood

Photo by Sharon Pilot, WV Service Project 2012

National Forest extends south from the strikingly beautiful Columbia River Gorge across more than a million acres of forested mountains, lakes and streams. At its heart lies the imposing figure of Mt. Hood, a dormant volcano with 11 active glaciers, forested slopes and alpine meadows. The Mt. Hood Wilderness follows river drainages to lower elevations, concealing waterfalls and valleys that support an understory of Oregon grape, salal, rhododendron, huckleberries, and an overstory of towering cedars and other moss-covered conifers.

The service project is working with the Mt. Hood NF Fisheries Biology team on a continuing collective to restore and aid salmon habitat recovery along Still Creek and the Salmon River. We'll spend the first part of the week working on stream banks restoring riparian habitat, wetlands and stream-side vegetation by planting native Red cedar, and removing illegal campsites and fire rings as they are encountered. The second half of the week we'll be gathering seeds and berries for direct sewing or later propagation. Opportunities abound for day hiking to area waterfalls and taking in the sites of this classic Pacific Northwest temperate rainforest. This project is great for all experience levels including beginners to car camping and service work.

Find more info about these projects and more on our website.

Thanks for giving something back with Wilderness Volunteers!

Newest National Monument - Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks

Organ Mountains as seen from the east.

Nearly 500,000 acres of beautiful New Mexico wild land are now protected with the declaration of the new Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument. The work in managing the monument only begins once the land is designated. The agency will likely need volunteers in managing the area - let us know in the comments section if you'd like to go on a service project there next year!

If you want to be a part of setting the direction for a recently declared New Mexico National Monument, you don't have to wait for things to get rolling in the Organ Mountains. You can join WV for the service project at the Rio Grande del Norte NM this summer! Designated in March of last year, the RGDN is more than 240,000 acres in Taos County. Our project will be on the north side of Ute Mountain, helping to site and plan a single well-managed trail. Come join us and make an impact - more info on our website.

WV's 2014 RGDN project will be on Ute Mountain, seen behind the Rio Grande gorge in the photo above.

Cool Adventures Towering Above Hot Moab

Join Wilderness Volunteers on our second annual project in the La Sal Mountains of the Manti-La Sal National Forest, July 27 - August 2, 2014. The La Sal Mountains are the second highest range in Utah and offer miles of trails, great wildlife viewing, abundant fields of wildflowers, comfortable temperatures and astounding views of the slick-rock deserts below.

Photo from the La Sal Mountains out to the Red Rock Desert, Taken July 2013 by P. Goldberg

Our service project for 2014 is conducting maintenance of heavily used trails in the Geyser Pass area of the central La Sal range. The Manti-La Sal National Forest struggles to keep a myriad of user types all satisfied and trails delineated for specific purposes. We'll improve drainage and increase the stability of the trail tread.  We'll set up a car camp around 10,000' elevation for the week, and day hike to the work sites with tools.  Nearby peaks top out in the range of 12,000', so come prepared for some free day hiking with unbelievable views...and don't forget your camera!

La Sal Mountains loom behind Fisher Towers - July 2013, photo by P. Goldberg

Read more about the area in our interview with Brian Murdock - Recreation, Wilderness & Trails Manager for the Monticello/Moab ranger district of the Manti-La Sal National Forest. 

Superstition Wilderness, March 2014 by Elaine Gorman

Sarah & I left Modesto at 8 AM on Sat. 3/21, eagerly anticipating our week on a trail crew with Wilderness Volunteers. The most boring part of the almost 1000 mile drive is the stretch along highway 99, but we spent the time catching up from the last time we backpacked together, about 7 years ago. After many stops (shout out to Kohnenos German Country Bakery in Tehachapi), we arrived in Golden Shores, Ariz., where sister Leanne had created a scrumptious dinner for us. The perfect weather allowed us to eat al fresco, and we enjoyed a great night's sleep.

After breakfast, we headed southeast, and as we approached the mining towns of Superior, Miami and Globe, we saw some of the results of copper mining activity, mainly the steep walls formed from digging and reconstructing the land. The grazing cows on these steep slopes were comical, how were they able to stand up straight, legs longer on one side? In Globe, we visited Besh Ba Gowah Archeological Park, a 700 year-old Pueblo ruin. The museum and gift shop are worth a stop if you are traveling in the area. Early dinner at LaCasita, a family-owned restaurant since the '40's. We happened to sit next to members of the family, who recommended the machaca and the green chili, yum!

On Sunday at the Globe Forest Service office, we met the Wilderness Volunteer leaders Jane and Bill, the other 8 trail crew volunteers, and ranger Pablo. We carpooled to the Haunted Canyon trailhead in the Superstition Mountains Wilderness, part of Tonto National Forest. We drove through an active mining area, 10s of square miles of pits, tailing ponds, and huge mounds of earth covering the landscape. A seemingly sacrifice area for all of our metal needs, depressing. And then suddenly we were in the beautiful forest.

We hiked about 4 miles to our campsite, hiking in and out of the Haunted Canyon's mostly dry streambed, admiring plants from riparian, mountain, and desert habitats -- black walnut, cottonwood, sycamore, poison ivy, yucca, agave, alligator juniper, and several types of cacti. Lots of organisms with thorns and spines, toxins, or ghostly white bark.

The previous day, volunteers on horseback had brought in camp gear and tools. After setting up camp for the next 6 days (I was on latrine-digging duty) we enjoyed a scrumptious meal of veggie chili, cornbread, and fresh strawberry shortcake with whipped cream. Most of us were tuckered out from the activities of the day, and we all hit the sack by 8:30 PM.


We had 4 days of work, mainly clearing brush on 2 miles of trail. We also built cairns at junctions/stream crossings, dug out rocks, constructed water bars, and fixed "tread". Cat claw acacia grew thick in some areas, and its curved thorns would tear at our clothing, hair, and skin. My shirt soon became polka-dotted with my blood. Since this plant, and many others, root sprout, we had to dig out the thick root clumps with the pick-matic. I would shout "die!" as I hacked out a gnarled root.

On our day off, we split into groups, with some people hiking and others staying close to camp to relax. Our campsite was near the Toney Cabin, occupied by the Toney family from 1913-24. This family of 10!! shared 2 small rooms and raised wheat, apples, vegetables, chickens, and livestock. People were really tough back then! The cabin and surrounding land is now owned by a conservancy.

Our last morning was spent packing up camp and heading back to the trailhead. Two volunteers with the Forest Service were waiting for us with made to order root beer floats! After hugs and farewells, Sarah and I paid another visit to LaCasita, then onward to Tempe for a shower and hotel bed.

Favorites of the week....

Desert Penstemon

Wildflower -- Desert Penstemon, Penstemon psuedospectabilis

Tree -- Arizona Cypress
New recipe -- Munch n crunch -- mix together equal parts p-nut butter and cream cheese, add diced apple, celery, and green olives, spread on bagel/bread
Morning sky objects -- venus and the waning moon
Evening activity -- singing with the uke, everyone picked a song
Bird -- Cardinal

If you haven't fallen asleep yet, this Haiku might do it:

Ocotillo red
flames on stickery green stalks
Beauty sears my eyes.

Check out www.wildernessvolunteers.org for future trips. Join me in Desolation Wilderness in August?

WV Auction Currently Awaiting Your Bids!

The Wilderness Volunteers Online Auction is happening right now! Check out the auction site to see all the great items donated by these amazing supporters. Please spread the word and feel free to bid generously, as every dollar bid supports Wilderness Volunteers!

Karen Martin, Rick Volpe, Al Ruhl, Ruth Rosenstein, Carolyn Williams, Ed Leonard, Tim Peterson, Susan Alcorn, Richard Johnson, Margaret Fahey, Michael Leonard, Bob Leonard Horseshoeing, Jason Masi, Michele Burkett, Leslie Leonard THANKS!