Fundamentals of Trail Maintenance - Southern Utah

If you are excited to help take care of your local trails, but need some knowledge and skills, this training is for you!

The purpose of the training is to elevate your ability to identify common trail maintenance issues, understand the underlying causes of these issues, learn about and propose a viable maintenance solution, and practice implementing the solution on a real trail, with real tools, in real time. The training is an immersive, field-based, hands-on experience that will connect you with content experts and fellow trail enthusiasts.

The training will be held Monday November 17th to Tuesday November 18th from 9:00am to 4:00 each day at the Hidden Valley Trailhead in Moab, Utah. The training will consist of instruction given at the trailhead and additional instruction provided as the group traverses the Pipedream and Hidden Valley Trails on day 1 to identify and develop a maintenance plan for the trail. On day 2 participants will be coached by instructors as they implement thier maintenance plan on the trail.

Please note, this training is field-based and hands-on, and will require participants to hike several miles each day in rough and uneven terrain with thier own light backpack and carrying hand tools.

Participants will be responsible for their own lodging and personal equipment during the training. Several hotels and short term rental options are available in the general area as well as dispersed and reserved camping. A boxed lunch will be provided during the first day of the training but all other meals, snacks, and drinks are the responsibility of the participant. Trail tools and personal protection equipment will be provided for participant use during the training.

Training Agenda:

Tuesday, October 21st:

• 9:00 am- Meet at the Hidden Valley Trailhead

• 9:00-12:00 - Learn about and conduct a trail assessment on the Pipe Dream and Hidden Valley Trails

• 12:00-1:00 - Lunch at the Hidden Valley Trailhead (provided)

• 1:00-4:00 - Finalize and present your trail assessment, and develop a maintenance work plan.

• 4:00 - Depart

Wednesday, October 22nd:

• 9:00 am- 9:00 am- Meet at the Hidden Valley Trailhead

• 9:00-12:00 - Learn about and in small groups, implement trail maintenance work plan from the day before

• 12:00-1:00 - Lunch (participant responsibility).

• 1:00-3:00 - Complete and review other group's maintenance projects.

• 3:00-4:00 - Review and reflection.

• 4:00 - Depart

The maintenance project this course will use as a learning labratory was developed in partnership with the BLM Moab Field Office and Grand County Active Transportation & Trails (GCATT). This training features trails expert Mark Loseth from Raven Trails and the concepts, terminology, and techniques presented in this training are derived from current industry best practices and standards and align with competencies supported by the American Trails Association's Trail Skills Project. Participants in this training will learn skills relevant to the Trail Technician Level 1 exam.

This training is being offered by the Utah Trails Forum in partnership with Utah State University Extension, and the Utah Division of Outdoor Recreation. This training is made possible, and affordable thanks to the fiancial support of Utah's Recreational Trails Program. If the registration cost is a barrier to your participation please contact Jake Powell (jake.powell@usu.edu) to discuss available options.

We appreciate the public land managers and those trail professionals that work to maintain the trails we all love. If you are a public land manager or work for a public land management agency please contact Jake Powell (jake.powell@usu.edu) for a registration discount code to help make this training accessible for you and as a thank you for your efforts.

Prior to the training you will be contacted by the organizer and provided detailed attendance instructions related to exactly what to bring, and how to come personally prepared to be safe and gain the most out of this training!