Kasey and Eric are rockstar ITA youth leaders, having led not one, but two weeklong youth projects this year alone! It takes a unique mix of skills, patience, and sense of adventure to guide a crew of 14-18 year olds through the backcountry, and we’re beyond grateful for their dedication. Kasey and Eric, thank you for bringing so much fun and passion to these projects and for inspiring the next generation of trail stewards!

Questions answered by Kasey:

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

My background is being a farm kid who found wildland firefighting. I grew up working on dairy farms: milking cows, bucking bales, mucking stalls, getting dirty. I’m the second of eight kids so I also was always part of a pack! We lived outside of town, gardening and working; work was never done!

After high school, some friends found wildland firefighting and as soon as I heard about it, I was in; then, when I heard about smokejumping, my immediate response was, “I want to do that!”

I love working hard and being outside. I love having a mission and working on it with a crew. I have always had athletic endeavors, but I particularly enjoy getting my fitness in while accomplishing something worthwhile. I also love a day in the berry patch and keep aspiring to align my ITA assignments with a good harvest!

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

I got involved with ITA because Mel asked. I have taken four separate weeklong youth trips over the last three years. We have a teenage son who has joined us on our trips, a nephew joined for one and a cousin for two others. I value this time spent with young members of my family. I have also found the time spent with other teens enriching for all of us. One teen commented, “This trip has been very impactful”; I like being part of that.

Most memorable backcountry or ITA experience?

Baron Creek 2024: Midweek a fantastic thunderstorm rolled in on us. We had moved camp, then set off to do some trail work for the afternoon. A couple of us put up our tents before heading out because that’s what you do, but most of the kids opted out and left their gear scattered. Our other crew leader came through camp some time later, and being aware of what the extra hot and humid afternoon indicated, piled all the gear and covered it with a tarp. The kids came back to camp after work and rescattered their gear, then scattered themselves in all directions to nearby swimming spots. Then the storm hit: sideways rain and hail, temperatures 20 degrees lower, winds whipping. The crew leaders sheltered from the storm as the kids scrambled back into camp and wrestled tents up, threw already wet gear into puddle filled tents, then connected phones to bluetooth speakers and started dancing in the rain! (Note: three days later as we departed the project, we drove by a new fire that had started out of that storm which became the Wapiti fire of 2024 which proceeded to burn up the entire area we had just worked, plus some!)

Why are trails worth protecting?

I am passionate about movement. Walking is a required movement for a healthy human body and I do enjoy a good saunter along a trail. I also deeply value and my body benefits from a good parkour up and over and under and through the jim jam, rocks, and forest debris of a high mountain slope. So I appreciate the trails that get me there and protects the wildness of the untrampled ground.