Patti has been working with ITA since the very first project in 2010, first as a Forest Service trail leader and then as a volunteer crew leader. She has also helped as a crew leader teacher at our CLEM (Crew Leader Education and Mentoring) Training. Her long history working on trails and with crews (30 years!) in the Forest Service is a huge asset to ITA and we so appreciate her commitment to sharing her skills and experience by training leaders and volunteers! Thank you for all you do for Idaho’s trails, Patti!

What is your background in? What are some of the things you enjoy doing for fun?

I have an undergraduate degree in education. I taught for two years. Then worked in outdoor education for two years. Loved being in the outdoors. Found a volunteer job with the Forest Service in January 1983 and just never got back to teaching in the formal sense. Started volunteering in Wilderness with the US Forest Service doing visitor contact, school programs, trail maintenance, para-archeology, site cleanup and naturalization. Got hired to work in Wilderness in 1984 doing school and other public presentations as well as trail maintenance and visitor contact, backcountry ranger. Moved to Idaho in 1987 for a Wilderness Ranger position out of Selway Falls. January 1989 I started working on the Krassel Ranger District, Payette National Forest in Recreation and Trails and soon I was overseeing the trail program (force account crew, volunteer crews, youth corps, etc.) and the South Fork recreation program. I also worked on the district with the weed program (inventory, treatment and monitoring of noxious weeds). I love being in the woods, or the desert. Hiking, day trips or backpacking (spent a lot of time doing that for 30 plus years at work and on my own time. Large portion of it in Wilderness areas, but also in non-designated areas (National Parks, National Forests, some BLM lands and even a few Fish and Wildlife areas). I also enjoy knitting, reading, and traveling (US and internationally).

How and why did you first get involved with ITA? What are the different ways you’ve volunteered for ITA over the years?

First got involved with ITA when they started up in 2010 working with a crew of volunteers doing trail work on the Duck Lake and Hum Lake Trails on the Krassel Ranger District. I lined them out and showed them how to do the work. Mostly brushing and drainage, but we also did some crosscut work. Volunteered first as a crew lead in the Seven Devils, doing trail maintenance. When Pam Bond started up the Women Only crews, I got involved with her. It was and is great working with all women crews. I have also gone out with youth crews. I’ve been out on weeklong backpacking projects as well. I usually do a few projects a year, depending on my schedule and what looks interesting or is in a location I haven’t been in.

What do you like about volunteering with ITA?

I like the people, they show up not knowing what the heck we’re going to do and they just get to it. They smile, they laugh, they get dirty, they have fun, for the most part. I like the Women in the Wild program. I like that ITA gets out to all kinds of locations in the state. Doing all kinds of work, crosscut work, brushing (I really don’t mind, it enables you to see the difference right away), even some bridge work and drainage. The fact that they have weekend projects, weeklong and longer if you can commit, and even day projects. And that they work with all ages, reality is just about anyone can do something on a trail to help maintain it.

Most memorable backcountry or ITA experience?

Wildlife sightings: First Moose: cow and a calf, they are really big animals. First wolves: work the trail up from Campbells Ferry, saw two wolves just moving through the area. First cougars: Doing trail survey along the West Fork Monumental Trail, saw an adult and two young.

ITA project: Caton Lake WOW 2023: we had worked like heck to get the trail open and were headed out in the morning knowing we had about 2 miles at the top of the hill to finish. The crew were in their tents, just before sun down, I happened to glance up out my door and watched a tree fall. Hit another and another and realized the first tree down was across the trail that we were going to have to climb over to hike out in the morning.

Why are trails worth protecting?

I see trails as a way to get out into natural settings. Trails help protect areas by not having folks trample over fragile ecosystems. They make it easy to get someplace to a view point a mountain top, a lake. Without them a lot of folks might not want to spend time in nature, other than at city parks. And getting away to see the stars, listen to the wind the birds lets me relax!