A huge thank you to our Youth Trail Crew Volunteer, Andie Link, for bringing her energy, creativity, and love for the outdoors to ITA! Since her very first youth trip to Loon Lake, she’s jumped in on projects like Copper Creek and Taylor Ranch, always ready to work hard, problem-solve, and have fun along the way. For Andie, trail work isn’t just about clearing trails—it’s about connecting deeply with nature, caring for it, and sharing that experience with others. From memorable bear encounters to late-night laughs under the stars, she reminds us why trails—and the connections they create—are worth protecting.

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

I grew up in a really outdoorsy family. We were always camping, hiking, fishing, hunting, gardening, and looking at cool bugs. Now, I still enjoy all of those things, and I like playing the guitar, welding, sewing, going for drives, doing trail maintenance, and hanging out with my dog.

How and why did you first get involved with ITA? What volunteer trips have you been involved with?

I first got involved with ITA because my friend, Kellan Reagan, had done some trips prior and was telling everyone how cool it was. I decided to try them out and have been going every year since. My first trip was the second youth trip to Loon Lake. Then last year I did Copper Creek. And this year I did Taylor Ranch.

What do you like about volunteering with ITA?

I have always loved the outdoors, but doing trail work adds a whole other level of meaning for me. It allows me to connect more deeply with my surroundings. I’m not just hiking through the space; I am caring for it, and I am listening to what it has to say. I enjoy being in a group and working hard and thinking critically together, and also goofing around and having fun when we are not working. I like problem solving and coming up with creative solutions. Whether that’s for a tricky log jam or building a teepee to hang our water pot from. I love living out in the woods and getting all dirty and walking around camp in my socks and sleeping under the stars.

Most memorable backcountry or ITA experience?

It was my first ITA trip ever. It was the last day. We were done clearing the trail. We were just hiking out. The group had gotten a bit strung out. The fast walkers were probably about a mile ahead, my friend, Sam Walker, and I were in the middle, and the rest were about another mile behind us. We were plodding along when out of the corner of my eye I saw some movement in the bushes to the left of the trail. We stop walking and wait for a few seconds, and then about 5 yards in front of us a bear walks out onto the trail, stops and turns its head to look at us, and then turns back and walks off the other side of the trail into the woods. Holy hecking geez my knees were shaking like pom poms. My friend and I turned to each other and we couldn’t even get any words out. That was my first time seeing a bear ever and it has stuck with me just as clear as it was that day.

Why are trails worth protecting?

A trail is an invitation to a world from which we have removed ourselves. The days of humans being considered a part of nature are long gone, but having the ability to breathe in the smells of the forest or stand in a river and watch a fish swim by don’t have to be. The world that we live in is full of rules and games and things to worry about. It is overwhelming and most people are lost in it. They are taking it too seriously and it is literally killing them. We have an epidemic of chronic stress, and because of what? Money? Jobs? Social Media? These things are all things that we created. We are living in a game of unnecessary obstacles that we put there. Of course, they’re not going away, but sometimes you just have to disconnect from that and remind yourself that there is a whole world out there that doesn’t care a lick about your grades. There is something about standing next to a three hundred year old tree that changes your perspective on life. A trail can take you to that perspective changing moment. It can take you to a waterfall, to a thousand year old tree, to a viewpoint, and even to a different state of mind. Trails are worth protecting because our land is worth protecting. And as long as we want to be protecting our land, we need to be protecting people’s connection to it.