Washington Trails Association youth program highlights upcoming regional trail projects

The Washington Trails Association is offering a youth volunteer work week at Mount Spokane this year, just one of several planned regional trail projects.

The program takes high school students throughout the state to maintain and build trails. The program has never been offered in Spokane. No prior experience is required although the work is physical.

Spokane native Kiera Wirt participated in the program in 2017 on the west side of the state. She said it was hard but rewarding work. Wirt is a freshman at Washington State University studying greenhouse management and agriculture.

“I really got into that stuff by learning about the trails,” she said.

The Mount Spokane volunteer vacation will focus on rerouting Trail 130 and 131. Sections of these trails are steep, subject to erosion and difficult to traverse in winter and summer.

“I’m certainly hopeful that we will get some volunteer high school students,” said Holly Weiler, WTA’s regional trail manager. “Local kids don’t really know about it.”

The Mount Spokane trail reroute is just one upcoming regional trail project.

Also on Mount Spokane, WTA volunteers will start building a new trail connecting to the Day Mountain trailhead on the southwest side of the park. When that trail is complete it will be a new loop trail connecting into the Kit Carson Loop road.

WTA will also help the Spokane Mountaineers build the new Flying L Ranch trail, Weiler said.

“The only way people get to see it is for people to come help dig on it,” Weiler said.

WTA will also dedicate at least two weekends of work to a new trail within Indian Creek Community Forest for the Kalispel Tribe, she said. That project will include a mile of new singletrack trail.

Finally, Weiler said the planning process has started for the Etter Ranch at Antoine Peak. That might be dig ready by next fall, she said.

“We’re going to be busy with all that, along with the usual maintenance work,” Weiler said.