Smith Lake Trail Daze Recap

On June 7th, 62 volunteers answered the call to help celebrate National Trails Day by helping with the reroute of the Smith Lake Trail, located near the Gray Eagle Lodge just off Gold Lake Road. The event was sponsored and organized by the SBTS, which is rerouting erosive sections of both the Smith Lake Trail and the Mt. Elwell Trail. The SBTS is working extensively throughout the Lakes Basin region, including last year’s restoration of the popular Bear Lakes Loop. These projects are a result of Secure Rural Schools grants funded through the local Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) as well as contributions from the Forest Service for environmental studies and review.

The focus of this volunteer Trail Daze, was the beautiful new Smith Lake reroute trail. The old trail around Smith Lake, and over to Jamison Creek to the west was seen as a high priority for the region, due to the extremely steep grade and wetland areas crossed by the old trail. The new trail avoids all these problems, by using an alternative route on the ridge top north of the lake. When complete, the route will feature extensive vistas, and a much longer season as it avoids all the stream crossings and late snow pack of the old route.

During this Trail Daze event, which is just one of an ongoing series, volunteers first received a safety talk, lunch fixings, and even Trail Crew T Shirts. (If you see these T Shirts around town, be sure to thank the wearer for their contribution to your community!) Volunteers then headed out on the new alignment to remove brush, roll rocks, and start the new trail bed. SBTS trail experts had already flagged the alignment, and worked side by side with volunteers to assure a safe, fun and productive day.

Nearly 6 hours after starting, 4000 feet of future trail had been cleared of brush, and hundreds of feet of trail had been built. Volunteers returned to a lakeside barbecue, prepared by SBTS members and crew. The SBTS Trail Crew will continue working on this trail over the next few months, before moving on to the Elwell reroute. The SBTS has established an ongoing volunteer plan for this project and invites interested parties to contact them. Volunteers can even stay at the SBTS backcountry camp at Smith Lake, and if you bring a group, they will even help out with extra food and beverage for your stay. The idea is to work hard, contribute to your community, and have fun.

In addition to the important RAC grant funding mentioned above, numerous other contributors helped make this event a success. Contributors included Quincy Natural Foods, Pangea Restaurant, Graeagle Market, and the Forest Service. Local Forest Service representatives Judy Schaber and Mary Kliehunas were singled out as being particularly helpful and supportive.

The SBTS has also partnered up with the Gray Eagle Lodge as their most prominent sponsor in the Lakes Basin. Thanks to Bret and Lynn Smith, owners of the Gray Eagle Lodge, their lodging and dining guests now have a way of contributing directly to local trail projects managed by the SBTS. In addition, the Gray Eagle Lodge has recently adopted the popular Gray Eagle Creek Trail. This adoption will assure improvements and maintenance continues to happen on this incredible trail. SBTS Director Ron Heard stated that “…the Gray Eagle Lodge, and our other sponsors have set a great example of how local businesses can get directly involved in projects that benefit the community, the environment, and the local economy. These donations leverage grants and volunteer days, and this multiplier effect makes their contributions so much more effective.”