The trails in Hatcher Pass and elsewhere are loved to death. Many are in need of serious repair. Alaska Trails and other organizations have stepped up to help. With volunteers.
The volunteers come in as hikers. They leave as trail stewards.
That’s how Caitlin Frawley of Alaska Trails describes what happens when volunteers pick up a rock bar.
Alaska Trails wrapped up its volunteer season with 32 events across Southcentral.
One event in the Mat-Su stands out to Frawley.
On a sunny Sunday in early August, 12 visitors on a corporate stretch expedition put on gloves and got to work on the Gold Cord Lake Trail in Hatcher Pass. Palmer-based Revel Treks and Tours brought them there in partnership with Alaska Trails.
The visitors came with the Prouty Project. This leadership firm has run stretch expeditions since 1999. Bethany Krueger led the trip for the company. She said the expeditions stretch people in mind and body.
Revel planned eight days from Seward to Talkeetna for the expedition. Two Revel guides led the way. The trip included talks by guest speakers, stops at local farms and small businesses, and trail work.
Few in the group had been to Alaska. None had ever built or repaired a trail.
On that August day the crew hiked half a mile up from Independence Mine to build a rock causeway on Gold Cord Lake trail. A causeway lifts the trail out of the mud. It needed microwave-sized rocks. The crew were stunned at how heavy the rocks were.
The 12 volunteers and two guides moved an incredible amount of rock in five hours. They got a ton done – no pun intended.
One woman joined the group on the first day of the trip. She found her place on the crew. She named herself the rock placer. The others hauled the stones to her, and she made sure each one was set and sturdy.
One man was 84 years old and on his twelfth stretch expedition. He broke rock with a sledgehammer.
Little kids, older hikers, and one very pregnant woman passed the crew. Many stopped to thank them. It was great to see so many people enjoying their backyard. The crew could see the value of their work.
Krueger said the group walked away with a deep sense of accomplishment. She now notices every rock set with intention on the trails she hikes.
“Carry the heavy lightly,” became the motto for the group. Krueger said the words fit the rocks. By the end of the trip, they fit life.
Volunteers who see what trails need become trail advocates. Land managers like Hatcher Pass State Park are underfunded. Many have no trail crew. Volunteers fill that gap.
Alaska Trails started its volunteer program in 2015 with a single event. Volunteers have since worked on over 200 events. They have built or maintained nearly 100 miles of trail. Their 15,000 hours are worth about $460,000 in labor.
Alaska Trails also organizes the Alaska Long Trail. This planned 500-mile trail system connects Seward to Fairbanks. Alaska Trails also hosts a storytelling series at the Anchorage Museum called Trail Tales. The next Trail Tales is November 10.
Alaska Trails volunteer events run June through September. Email office@alaska-trails.org to sign up.
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Emily Forstner reported this Page Two article and yours truly, Lee Henrikson produced it. If you have an idea for a Page 2 topic, please email us at page2@radiofreepalmer.org.
That’s it for today and the news on Page Two on Wednesday October 14, 2026.
Photos courtesy of Revel Treks and Tours
