Tales from the Tower

Jeff Padgett

Volunteer Lookout Host- St. Mary Lookout

Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness

The author at St. Mary’s

I have been an SBFC volunteer at St. Mary Lookout near Stevensville, Montana for eight summers. There are two current volunteers who have been doing it longer than I have.

What causes volunteers like us to come back summer after summer? One rather obvious reason is that St. Mary, at 9351 feet on the eastern edge of the Bitterroot range, has one of the most expansive views in the Bitterroots. However, this year, I finally realized that another equally important reason for my circling back to St. Mary annually is the interesting and sometimes inspiring conversations that I have with visitors. 

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a talker. I make a point of greeting each visitor to St. Mary as they reach the mountaintop. I sometimes miss a few on the busiest days, like Labor Day weekend, but I invite everyone that I do greet to come into the lookout. A substantial proportion take me up on my offer. 

Most visitors ask questions such as: how long do I stay at the lookout (usually for two weeks, but one year I only volunteered for a week), where is Trapper Peak (the tallest mountain in the Bitterroots), where do you go to the bathroom (there is a viewful little perch on the southwestern side of the lookout, mostly concealed from view), what kind of wildlife do you see up here (personally, I have only seen elk, black bear, Clark’s nutcrackers and chipmunks), and so on. Perhaps with every 10th visitor or so (St. Mary gets 1500-2000 visitors in its approximately 8-week summer season), I engage in an extended conversation about all sorts of topics, which enriches my day and hopefully that of the visitor as well. 

St. Mary Peak Lookout

Many visitors extend great kindness to me. Pretty much every season, someone brings me a beer (which I drink AFTER visiting hours). They are kept cool in a box that draws air from the basement of the lookout, and which keeps food cool as well. One visitor this year left me a sandwich and some beef jerky. I have had visitors bring fresh fruit (much appreciated), a packet of smoked salmon, and homemade cookies.

One little girl, Corinna, was with her dad. She was so excited to see the inside of a lookout. I don’t believe that many visitors to St. Mary have been in a lookout before. A lookout has been on the top of St. Mary since 1934. After 1977, the US Forest Service quit staffing St. Mary regularly. So for many years, people would trek up the mountain, and if they had chosen their day well, could soak up the expansive view to which I referred earlier. However, the lookout may or may not have been staffed and open to the public.

Here’s where SBFC steps in. At some point in the early 2010s, SBFC decided to sponsor volunteers to stay in the lookout at St. Mary for either one or two weeks. As a condition of opening the lookout, the USFS required SBFC volunteers to actively look to spot fires and to expeditiously report any that we do spot. However, if there are no fires in our viewshed, we are to greet visitors, welcome them to the lookout, and answer any questions that they might have. This allowed Corinna and her dad to enter the lookout, and the world had one happier little girl. 

One year during my stint, a couple came up with a group of about 6-8 others. They were wearing backpacks and hiking clothing, and the woman was carrying flowers. They were going to be married on St. Mary!! I let the bride-to-be use the lookout as her dressing room. Her mother, who was from Indiana, had never hiked to a 9000-foot elevation in her life, but she said she wasn’t going to miss her daughter’s wedding! They aren’t even the first to be married on St. Mary. I’ve had another couple come up to the lookout on the anniversary of their marriage on St. Mary. 

This year, a man brought his father’s ashes to the summit. An 80-year-old man recovering from shoulder surgery came up and we had an extended conversation about aging (I am 68). He has hiked the Appalachian Trail. I am currently in my third year of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail in approximately 500-mile segments. We spoke of the importance of squeezing all of the enjoyment possible out of life while we still have the health and mobility to do so. 

Many times, the conversation with visitors turns to a spiritual topic. I think that mountaintops bring that out in people, a sense of continuity in a transient world. St. Mary isn’t special in that regard. The ocean, the Grand Canyon, or a dark night sky full of stars evoke the same sentiment. People climb a mountain to experience something different from their everyday existence. A mountain gives them a spot to contemplate their place in the universe. It centers them and gives them a sense of peace, allowing them to face another day in a world that sometimes seems on the verge of falling apart. 

I firmly believe that trail maintenance should be SBFC’s primary mission. A cleared trail permits access to a quiet natural realm where the hum of mankind quiets. Yet I am grateful, as an SBFC volunteer and donor, that SBFC has had the courage and insight to try different avenues to allow its public to access the tranquility of the natural world. I believe that opening and staffing St. Mary lookout has been a public good. That is really my main reason for writing this “Tale from the Tower”. 

Thank you, SBFC!

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Jeff Padgett is an SBFC volunteer from Missoula, MT.

Oh To Be Back in the Selway-Bitterroot!

Olivia Hinds

Big Rock Trail | Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness

August 7th-10th 2025

Volunteer / 2023 Wilderness Ranger Fellow

Two summers ago, I was a Wilderness Ranger Fellow with SBFC under the great crew leader Connor Adams. Based out of Powell Ranger Station, I enjoyed spending more time getting to know the great state of Idaho's wilderness, learned the hard skills of reading the binds of trees and how to clear the trail of them, and creating many close relationships that I still have today. 

I have always been a dabbler in many aspects of the environmental world, in a story I wrote about my experience swimming with salmon as part of a snorkelling crew for Idaho Fish and Game, I said this about my time as a Wilderness Ranger Fellow:

“A year after this experience, I stand now frequently on dry land, working in another piece of Idaho’s wilderness. For 8 consecutive days at a time, I find myself immersed in the largest wilderness complex in the lower 48 states, spanning a total of 3.6 million acres. Today, I woke up at 3:45 am in pitch darkness to start boiling water for my new crew. As I sit and reflect in my solitude, I can hear wolves howling in the distance. I face different difficulties this summer, from hiking 24 miles in a single day to navigating over 2,000 logs in another. I am lucky enough to touch trees, using the traditional hand tools of a crosscut saw and ax to clear logs out of trails, sheltering in 100-year-old pine smelling wood cabins, and roaming rugged areas and gorgeous ridgelines in the Selway-Bitterroot. After a long and sweaty day of manual labor, I crave the post-work hot afternoons for the time I get to be in the water. I sit beneath it for as long as my body can withstand, feeding flies to the trout circling around my feet, singing to myself, and contemplating how lovely it is to feel the H2O molecules swirling on my skin.” 

So early this summer, I was beyond excited to be invited to come volunteer for SBFC again with other volunteers! I was excited for a few reasons: 

1. During my season with SBFC, our crew did not have any volunteer projects. As someone who loves working with and teaching others, this was exciting to me! 

2. I have a deep connection to Idaho and after working in it, the Selway-Bitterroot. This was something I experienced when I climbed Grave Peak after my summer as a fellow, and found myself crying at the top from the emotion of seeing it so vastly. 

3. Project in the Selway Crags! I mean come on…

Here's how the project went down:  

Big Rock Trail #693

Thursday August 7th: 

Connor Adams smiles as he drives into an absolute downpour. (He hates the rain.)

At 12 o’ clock on August 7th, Connor and I met two of our volunteers in an intense rain storm at the Kooskia Wilderness Inn. Their names were Jackie and Rod. The Fog Mountain road leading up to the trailhead was not exactly what we expected. The road had been recently graded, so it felt like it was in good enough condition. Jackie was following behind us in a sedan while Rod followed behind her in his truck. As we go up the road, the rain becomes worse. We started to get concerned about Jackie's car's ability to make it and low and behold on a slippery muddy corner, she got stuck. Luckily we are able to tow her out and carry on to leave her car at the corner of the next bend.

The car was aptly named “Freebird”. That thing ripped. As we continued on the road we heard the radio go off saying that there's a weather alert in the area and that NICKEL sized hail was incoming. No kidding. We were off to a good start and these volunteers were so dedicated that they drove through a nickel-sized hail storm to get to camp! 

The plan was to potentially get some work in that afternoon. Setting up camp in the rain and hail was enough for us all to accomplish so we sat and chatted for the next few hours as it dumped on us. 

One of us was brave enough to face the weather, our fifth crew mate Dan. Dan was so motivated to help the trail that he arrived early that day, worked through the rain, and spent the entire day lopping. I am sure that those reading this newsletter have an idea of how difficult loping or clearing brush out of the way of the trail is. Now imagine it in a nickel sized hail storm as you’re volunteering your time. This guy was crazy, in an awesome way. He runs the Hiking North Central Idaho trail group that is looking for volunteers if you’re interested!

Friday August 8th : 

Dan captured this image that showed the fog perfectly from the first morning.

Yay work day one! It was awesome how quickly this crew just felt like a normal, experienced, and positive trail crew. We were all excited to work, curious, and had lots of fun relating about our love for outdoor spaces and trails. The morning was so foggy! It explained the Fog Mountain namesake. 

We got out the crosscuts, axes, and Katana boys and cut 23 logs! It felt so good to be back out there and we could tell as we walked that this trail needed some serious brushing help. 

Connor and Rod taking out a double topped tree with a crosscut. 

Jackie and Dan cutting a log further out of the trail to open it up to those with pack animals. 

Views coming back into camp. 

Jackie on day one— she was stoked to be out on the trail again! 

Saturday August 9th : 

This was our second work day, and to sum it up: we brushed, brushed, and brushed. We would leap-frog around each other to keep moving on the trail and keep where we were working interesting. Connor and Dan also accomplished a lot of drainage work together. 

We really got invested in this trail and wanted to accomplish brushing the whole thing. By the end, everyone agreed we had to have a reunion the next summer to finish what we had started! 

Dan was super amped about clearing the trail of the water that was building up on it. He and Connor spent the first half of the day putting in drainage after drainage. We saw even by the end of the day how much their efforts paid off in drying out the trail. 

An example of the trail brushed out behind us! Trust me, it looked like a jungle before.

Dan working on drainage.

The whole crew working hard at lopping together. 

Me, happy to be here! 

Sunday August 10th: 

Sunday was the celebrated wilderness appreciation day. We hiked out from camp to the top of Big Fog Mountain to get an excellent view of the Selway Crags. It was wonderful to see the views that we did. On our way up we figured out how much we had all learned as we discussed what kind of work we would do on this trail if we had had more time. 

Connor and me at the summit overlooking the Selway Crags! 

Dan and Rod exchanging wilderness stories with quite a view. 

For a short weekend volunteer trip, we accomplished a lot! 

Overall: 

• We cut 23 logs. 

• Brushed a mile and a half of trail. 

• Put in 38 drainages. 

Everyone was excited to work, knew when they needed to take breaks, and had great stories to share about times in the wilderness. When discussing how the trip went, one volunteer said “started out rough, ended up well.” I can't wait to return with the crew and see what other antics the crags bring!

The whole gang appreciated the wilderness after a few good days of work. 

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Olivia Hinds lives in Missoula, Montana and works for the University of Montana. She was an SBFC Wilderness Ranger Fellow on the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest in 2023.

Fir Creek Chronicles

Jim Heidelberger

SBFC Board of Directors

Sept. 12-14, 2025

Bear Valley Creek Trail | Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness

I just returned from a wonderful and productive weekend with the SBFC Board of Directors and families.  We gathered at Bear Valley Creek near the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness for our annual work project.  For most of us, this was a long trek, for some close to 6 hours.  Most arrived mid-day on Friday. We worked Friday afternoon, all day on Saturday, and a few diehards went out Sunday morning to get that one last tree; this one a big leaner that would have been impossible for someone on a horse to pass. 

First let’s do the numbers: We cleared about 4½ miles of trail.  More than 130 trees were removed.  Some were small enough to cut with a one-person hand saw.  One-Cut-Kate (Strum) schooled the group on exactly where to cut so we could move the tree from the trail without cutting twice.  Many others required a two-person crosscut.  We did tread work on a couple sections near the beginning of the trail and cleared tons of brush.  As of Sunday noon, the trail from Fir Creek Campground to the hot springs near the confluence of Bear Valley Creek and Marsh Creek was clear. 

The work was hard but gratifying.  But the bigger reward for me was getting to spend time with the dedicated members of the SBFC board.  You get to know people a bit at board meetings.  But when you spend a weekend together in nature, the experience is much richer.  When two people work a crosscut saw together and clear a large tree from the trail, they  are doing the work that SBFC lives for. When you walk back to camp at the end of the day and the trail is clear and easy to traverse, there is a real sense of accomplishment.  And in the interest of full disclosure, I returned to camp earlier in the afternoon than most in an effort to pace myself.

The teamwork throughout the weekend was inspirational. Everyone did what they were capable of doing and helped each other every step of the way.  Together we were able to get some meaningful work done – and have a heck of a lot of fun!

Special thanks to our executive director Ryan Ghelfi for putting this event together and to Martial, an SBFC seasonal staff member who led this project.

Before

After

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Jim is an SBFC Board Member (past Board Chair) from Moscow, ID.

Youth Blog: Big Mountains, Big Thoughts on the Upper Selway River

Liam G.

Youth Wilderness Program Participant

July 16-23, 2025

Selway River Trail | Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness

When I signed up for the Big Creek Lake 6-day Youth Expedition in spring last year, I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into.  Before this experience, I really hadn’t gone more than five or six miles from the nearest road, let alone backpacked into a designated Wilderness area, where things like roads are few and very far between (or just nonexistent).  When my trip wrapped up last summer (2024), I was left wanting nothing more than to have a six-day break and haul that pack right back up into the hills.  

Big L!

One of many card games!

I finished my latest Youth Expedition just over a month ago, joining Abe, Berkeley, and Ian on the Upper Selway River.  And it reminded me, again, of just how amazing, how stunning, and I would go so far as to say how almost supernatural— in its harsh rugged cliffs and grassy meadows stilted with sun-bleached trees— this Wilderness area is.  I learned how to cut retread, got to swing a pulaski again, and got to know my crew, all amazing people.  I swam at the beginning of a river, met a massive bull snake (yes, Big L is real, and I have proof), played an insane amount of cards, and stayed up late watching sparks whirl into the sky like sparrows under the eye of a hawk.  

It was the highlight of my summer. I will never forget the sound of five people hiking with heavy backpacks singing the refrain of “Pepper” by the Butthole Surfers on repeat, nor that of the river as it clashes over rocks and logjams, nor the smell of “hitch-giving” (an Ian tradition) and Annie’s Mac ’n’ Cheese (a Berkeley classic) at the end of the day.  I am extremely grateful to SBFC and to my crew leaders for providing this opportunity to experience these things.  The ability to cut trails and have a deeper appreciation for land stewardship is by far one of the most important skills that I have gained through these experiences.  The opportunity to know the Selway-Bitterroot & Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness is one that I will always remember. 

The youth crew learning from Berkeley

Liam and Kestrel sawing

And this brings me to think of one of the questions that Abe and Berkeley asked us on this trip—do people belong in these Wildernesses?  I believe I said in the moment that, yes, I think that people do belong in this Wilderness.  Yet, as I sat beside the fire that night and thought more of it, I struggled with my conclusion.  People, including myself, will often want to have what they cannot or should not.  We drained the swamps of the midwest to create grids of corn and soy.  We cut more and more trees every day out of the Amazon Rainforest.  The vast majority of Americans live in expansive concrete jungles.  So when an area is set aside to be left untouched by people, the general desire, myself included, is to experience these areas, because they are untouched, untamed, and unwelcoming.  This is why organizations like SBFC are so important.  They keep the trails maintained, and the paths and campsites clear and defined so that people can concentrate their impact on the land to a single area.  Without these organizations, people would wander through the forests, and disturb the life that was blooming in fragile balance.  This is ultimately why I choose to join these expeditions, and this is why the protection and survival of these organizations is so crucial to the protection and survival of these lands.

The more I think on it, the more I keep ending up in the same spot: the experience.  It is the essence of our lives, and what we make of each of ours.  Our experiences are what makes each of us unique as humans.  We will all find ourselves at the end of our road eventually—this is one of the critical things that makes us human, alive, and brings beauty to that life—it’s like they say, ‘it’s not the destination that matters, it’s the journey’.  It’s our experiences, our love, hatred, kindness, spite, the places we go, and the places we want to go, the things we do and do not do—our overall humanity—that is what truly matters at the end of the day.  For me, that’s hiking miles into the mountains and meeting my trail crew.  

Liam and the crew on the trail

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Liam is 16 years old and is from Missoula, MT.

The SBFC Youth Wilderness program is made possible by donors and sponsors, including: the National Forest Foundation, the Lightfoot Foundation, Boise Cascade , Bass Pro Shops Outdoor Fund, Weyerhaeuser, Laura Moore Cunningham Foundation, J.R. Simplot Company Foundation, Lamb Foundation, Blackfoot Communications, Ravalli Electric Co-op, May Hardware, Missoula Electric Cooperative, Missoula Sentinel Kiwainis, the River Network, the Rapp Family Foundation, the Montana Department of Natural Resources, the Connie Saylor Johnson Wilderness Education Grant, and private donors!

Youth Blog: Boulder Creek Trail

Cecilia L.

Youth Wilderness Program Participant

June 17-22, 2025

Boulder Creek Trail | Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness

The steady sound of the cross-cut sawing through wood stopped, and the dark, grey morning went silent. The clouds hung low and a few raindrops hit my head as I stood up from my seat on the edge of the trail, and went to help my new friends move the freshly cut tree. It was our fourth day in the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness, and I had started to love it there. On the three mile hike back to our camp, we were spaced out, and so I felt like I was alone walking through the dense foliage of the wilderness, thunder sounding in the distance, and the damp leaves brushing against my pack. The trail finally opened up a little ways before camp, and the peak that towered above us showed itself, covered in low hanging mist. Here, on the trail, with a small weight from the tools strapped to my back, soaking wet jacket and jeans, surrounded by wildflowers and aspen trees and giant rocky peaks, I couldn’t stop smiling. 

Four days ago, I was sitting in my hotel room, ready to go meet the people I would be spending the next week with. I knew absolutely no one, and I had little to no idea on how this week was gonna play out. Now, after steep climbs with what felt like a million pounds on our backs, jumping in freezing cold rivers and lakes, card games, clearing trees, late night talks, and adventures around the campsite, the people who had previously been total strangers were now my little group of friends. The last few days had been hard work, but the jokes of my friends, the encouraging words of our two amazing leaders, and the beautiful scenery around me made it impossible to have a negative thought. Being there, standing in front of the mountains and dark storm fronts, surrounded by my friends, and knowing I just helped clear miles of wilderness trail was the best feeling. I never wanted to leave. I’m so glad that I had that experience with SBFC, and I would love to do it again.

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Cecilia is 16 years old, from Boise, Idaho.

The SBFC Youth Wilderness program is made possible by donors and sponsors, including: the National Forest Foundation, the Lightfoot Foundation, Boise Cascade , Bass Pro Shops Outdoor Fund, Weyerhaeuser, Laura Moore Cunningham Foundation, J.R. Simplot Company Foundation, Lamb Foundation, Blackfoot Communications, Ravalli Electric Co-op, May Hardware, Missoula Electric Cooperative, Missoula Sentinel Kiwainis, the River Network, the Rapp Family Foundation, the Montana Department of Natural Resources, the Connie Saylor Johnson Wilderness Education Grant, and private donors!

Youth Wilderness Vlog

April Eling

Youth Wilderness Expedition Leader

W Fork Camas Creek Trail #4128

Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness

April chose to make a video blog about her work as SBFC’s Youth Wilderness Expedition Leader. Check it out!

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April Eling, Youth Wilderness Expedition Leader

April grew up in Eastern Kentucky. After graduating high school, she moved to Utah and spent a year with a conservation corps doing trail work, invasive species removal, and more. She then spent four years as a wildland firefighter with the Forest Service in Arizona, California, and Montana. Next, she went back to Kentucky to get a degree in Natural Resources and work as a backcountry ranger. She graduated in spring 2024 and moved to Missoula to work for SBFC as a crew leader. After an inspiring season, she is returning in 2025 to lead our Youth Expeditions hitches. She loves Wilderness because it represents nature in its truest form and provides mental and physical well-being to all who access it. She is passionate about maintaining these places for ecological health and access for all people.

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The SBFC Youth Wilderness program is made possible by donors and sponsors, including: the National Forest Foundation, the Lightfoot Foundation, Boise Cascade , Bass Pro Shops Outdoor Fund, Weyerhaeuser, Laura Moore Cunningham Foundation, J.R. Simplot Company Foundation, Lamb Foundation, Blackfoot Communications, Ravalli Electric Co-op, May Hardware, Missoula Electric Cooperative, Missoula Sentinel Kiwainis, the River Network, the Rapp Family Foundation, the Montana Department of Natural Resources, the Connie Saylor Johnson Wilderness Education Grant, and private donors!

Whispers on the Breeze

Mary Schneider

Wilderness Ranger Fellow

Summer 2025

During the 4-day drive from Tampa to Missoula at the start of my season, I passed the time imagining myself out in the field, wielding saws and swinging axes, caked in dirt, rain, blood and sweat. I saw myself barreling down trails and letting out summit war cries. These imaginings were, however, constantly interrupted by stops for gas and my feeble attempts to keep my blood flowing. Breaking a sweat after a handful of push-ups never fails to keep me humble. Although I am confident in the functionality of my strength, physical finesse and spatial awareness generally fall low on the list of things I am proud of. This is precisely why I found myself on that drive to Missoula: I felt called to Montana and to SBFC because I knew that there were lessons to be learned out here. It offered an opportunity to level up, in a sense.

Mary with a crosscut!

In my training at Powell Ranger Station, I knew that I had come to the right place. The tools and the tasks felt thrillingly foreign and intimidating, and I came home to camp each day breathless in anticipation for the next. At night, chatting over dinner in the yurt, the other fellows expressed such joy about being dirty and working hard that it filled my heart and caught me off guard. At my past job in the Florida marsh, everyone did revel in the slop but expressed it only sarcastically. Here in the Selway, everyone wore their dirt and sweat with unfiltered pride. Inspired as I was by this, I still deep-cleaned myself every night and wondered anxiously about what my sleeping bag might smell and feel like on showerless day 7 of hitch.

On my first couple of hitches, we lopped and dug the days away and camped by rushing rivers and creeks at night. The gift of the cold, refreshing water at the end of the day made the time seem to pass so comfortably. My nervous energy was quickly redirected to the trails we were working and the way we couldn’t seem to make it to the end in time. I expressed this to one of my crew leads, Noah, and he gave me the advice that trail work is just about making a dent. There will always be more trees and more tread and more trail, and even when you think you’ve cleared it, another tree will fall tomorrow. All you can do is the best you can do.

Tents at camp

This advice carried me through the middle of my season, especially my fourth hitch. I spent multiple entire days working just one enormous tree, took detours and climbed the wrong mountain, choked on a constant cloud of mosquitoes and marinated in my freezing cold, forever-wet gear.  We were tasked with 20 miles of trail but moved 8, and it took everything in me to fight off the brutal discouragement. I reminded myself of the dent we made and focused on the fact that the next crew would have easier work on that stretch because of us.

On my most recent hitch, my final one, I got to help lead a youth crew in the Frank. It was a challenging hitch for everyone, including myself. We bumped camp multiple times deep into the wilderness, and the difficulty sometimes seemed to overwhelm the trail work. The kids expressed disappointment in themselves, saying that they wished we could’ve made it to the end of the trail, wished the cuts would go faster, that things would just work better. So, I tried to pass on the same perspective that Noah had enforced to me. It’s important to want to finish and improve, but rather than carry the disruptive weight of discouragement, allow yourself to be lifted and propelled by the progress you’ve made. 

Mary with SBFC’s Youth Expedition Leader, April, and youth program participants

My final hitch with the youth granted me a lot of time and prompting for reflection. In the youth, I saw myself in training at Powell. I heard the same lessons reiterated to their fresh ears, saw in them both the hesitancy and raw eagerness that I’m sure my instructors saw in me, too. I was surprised by how distant I felt from that training. Only in the position of teacher did I realize how confident I had become in comparison.

I then thought about my drive to Missoula, and the person and worker I thought I’d be by now. I certainly am no unstoppable force – in truth I crawled to the end of my season with a thrown-out back and a burnout head cold – but nonetheless I completed the season. It doesn’t matter that I needed heroic doses of ibuprofen at the end, because I genuinely relished in the squish of my boots under rain, hail, and creek crossings. I forgive myself for the tears of frustration I shed during my fifth hour of non-stop katana boy, because I kept sawing. I don’t care that I’m not the ripped lumberjack I saw in my dreams because what I lost in body mass, I gained in tolerance of pain and discomfort.

Wild-harvested berries

I know I am leaving many lessons still unlearned out here, but I am so proud of how far I’ve come. I am so grateful for the beautiful, pure thing that I got to be a part of this summer. I had never been around so many incredible, strong, scrappy dirtbags in my life, and I feel so lucky to have crossed this path. Although the wind now blows me elsewhere, I hope I stay downwind of this place for a long time. May the laughter of the crews, the sweetness of the sagebrush, and the hum of the crosscut forever come to me in whispers on the breeze.

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Mary Schneider

Tampa, FL

University of Florida- Environmental Science

Mary grew up in the city in Tampa, Florida, where her love for the outdoors was nurtured by backyard oaks and rocky runoff creeks. In college, she studied environmental sciences, and the distant mysticism of the natural world became tangible. Her work as a research tech sent her to conduct experiments deep in the mud of the marsh, under the Salish Sea, and across African savannas. She also joined her school’s backpacking club, which led her to climb mountains and explore the backcountry with new friends and strangers. She has come a long way from her backyard, and is very excited to experience wilderness in a new way on the trail crew!

A Summer to Remember

Jack Whitney

Wilderness Ranger Fellow

July 30-August 6, 2025

Black Butte Trail | Gospel Hump Wilderness

The fact it is August already is something else. This season passed so quickly and it feels like it's already over. 

South facing view from the summit of Cha Pa Qn Peak. The final hike I did off hitch for the season.

The last hitch I was lucky to be a part of was in the Gospel Hump Wilderness on the Black Butte trail. The trail we sought to clear was about ten miles, traveling through the alpine ridges and meadows and ending with a lookout tower. Our first day was mostly the drive from Missoula to the Gospel Hump, taking about seven hours to arrive at the trailhead and work began upon arrival. We worked the first mile and settled in for the night. Day number two began and we started bumping camp up to Porcupine Meadows. Working up the ridge was challenging with a backpack with over half my body weight packed, but I felt rather sad thinking about how it would be the last time I was hiking with that much weight for the foreseeable future. We settled into camp and rode out an evening rainstorm, shivering in my worn-through rain gear until I settled into my tent for the night. For the next couple of days we worked further and further down the trail, eventually bumping camp onto the ridge and finishing the trailwork on the end of day six. On the hike out I was very fatigued but felt very proud and happy to have completed such a challenging season– perhaps being the hardest thing I have ever done in my life.

View from Porcupine Meadows in the Gospel Hump Wilderness on Black Butte Trail.

Looking back at the first hitch of the season it becomes apparent how much I have grown. The first hitch ended with me longing for the relief of civilization and it's luxuries. And by this last hitch I was honestly sad to be leaving the wilderness for the time being. I left Rhode Island in early May, scared to spend such a large amount of time in the wilderness. I leave this season confident in my ability to exist in the wild for a prolonged period of time. I left home months ago, worried about meeting new people and having new experiences, and I return with newfound friends and appreciations for what I've gone through and what lies ahead. 

This summer was perhaps the most influential summer I have ever had. I have grown so much and feel as if this opportunity with SBFC has provided me with the skills I need to continue work and recreation in the wilderness. With that I am returning home soon to enjoy the simple luxuries of refrigeration and air conditioning, but I will undoubtedly look back at these moments of discomfort with admiration. And I will never forget what these wilds have provided me going forward.

Subalpine meadow on North Butte in the Gospel Hump Wilderness area.

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Jack Whitney

East Greenwich, RI

University of Rhode Island- Environmental Science

Jack grew up in the suburbs of Providence, Rhode Island and had worked on organic farms in southern New England and abroad for a number of years. Having worked with poultry and livestock season after season, Jack grew to appreciate the fields of biology and environmental science. He had spent the larger part of his childhood and early adulthood exploring the White and Green Mountains to the North while also enjoying the rich Narragansett Bay coast. Jack thinks that the wilderness is an irreplaceable piece of all who seek its beauty.

Thumb Through My Digital Diary With Me

Sophia Evans

Wilderness Ranger Fellow

2025 Wilderness Ranger Fellowship Recap

I write this blog shortly after completing my final hitch of the 2025 Wilderness Ranger Fellowship season. It is hard to put into words what runs through my mind as I transition from life on the trail back into my “city” routine. 

It feels disingenuous to me to try and write about just this one hitch, as this one hitch was much more than 8 days of trail work. It was the culmination of many hard days and nights on the trail, and many pensive days thinking about my place in the world, the woods, and my path forward after the summer ends. 

As a photojournalism student, I remember in photos, and inversely they help me remember as well. I would like to share some of my favorite photos of the summer with you all and relay anecdotes and musings along the way. Come along with me as I take you on a visual tour of my summer! 

Wilderness Skills Institute, Powell Ranger Station, Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest, 5/19-5/23

After a week of getting to know each other and the organization we were about to start work for, my coworkers and I were finally released into the woods! We traveled about an hour out of town to spend a week at the Northern Rockies Wilderness Skills Institute. 

We took classes on trail work and crosscut fundamentals, working on local trails as part of our training. This really felt like adult summer camp though. We shared meals together and laughed late into the night as we got to know each other through storytelling and long walks along the Lochsa River, and I was lucky enough to run into folks I worked with during my Montana Conservation Corps season and learn from them further!

May 20- I stumbled upon Kara, Abe, Jack and Raegan all journaling simultaneously after work one evening in the yurt that functioned as our living and dining room. 

May 22- One of the first times I carried, and used, a crosscut saw. Look at how clean that work shirt was!

Hitch 0, Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, Salmon-Challis National Forest, Middle Fork of the Salmon River Trail, 5/26-5/31

Shortly after the skills institute, we geared up to be flown into the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness. I flew in the copilot's seat over the Big Horn crags and Salmon River, following the tiny shadow of the plane over the ridges and peaks in nervous anticipation of the week to come. After the short flight, we found ourselves deep in the Frank, hiking through the deepest canyon I had ever been in. This week challenged me mentally and physically in ways I had not prepared for. I lost my phone just a few days in and picked hundreds of ticks off my clothes. I felt weak and insecure in my abilities, as I had never done trail work while carrying all of my supporting gear on my back. 

These feelings of doubt quickly turned into feelings of pride and strength by the end of the week. I reveled in the fact that I completed something that felt so unattainable, and I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed myself and had a silly time with my crewmates, despite the pain and hardship. 

May 26 9 AM- Josie, Sam, Noah, Bryce and myself prepare to board our flight into the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness. 

May 26 10 AM- The crew shelters their faces and plugs their ears as the plane prepares for a dusty takeoff. We were dropped off at the Flying B ranch and then walked 20 miles to the airstrip we were picked up at. 

May 29- One of many, many dirt naps I took this summer. Again, admire how clean that work shirt is at this point in the season!

May 30- After a long, hot day on the trail we discovered that the camp we had planned on staying that night didn’t have enough room for our tents. Lucky for us, there was a cave a short distance down the trail that us fellows had dinner and cowboy camped in for the night! We were all in agreement that it was one of our best nights of sleep that hitch. 

Hitch 1, Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest, Main Salmon #96, 6/4-6/11

We traded in the airplane for a boat! From the skies to the river, the adventure continued. We were put on a jet boat and taken nearly 50 miles upstream to work again in the Frank. The boat rides there and back had us giddy with laughter like children while we clung onto the railings of the boat and “surfed” the rapids upstream. 

We were lucky enough to be joined by Josh Thompson from the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest to construct a rock wall along a section of trail that had been wiped out by a landslide post wildfire. Josh brought rigging equipment so we could more easily maneuver large rocks into the precise place we wanted them. Seems like all of our lego filled childhoods paid off! 

We were camped above a popular boater camp and were generously and kindly given a few dinners from different groups of rafters. Although, one night of copious amounts of lasagna and bread has some disaster consequences for a select few of us… 

We spent many nights giggling our hearts out after dinner, although at this point in the season I had a bad case of laryngitis, so my giggles were more like squeaks. It’s hard to stay on vocal rest when you have so many funny and entertaining folks on hitch with you. 

I spent nearly every night of this hitch trying to patch back together the seat of my only pants, which seemed to rip more and more everyday. In addition to these holes, I also lit my pants on fire with my pocket rocket and singed my hair off in a separate pocket rocket incident. I am happy to report those pants have been all put back together, with an awesome new addition of a lizard my crew lead, Berkeley, taught me to embroider! On the last day, we were picked up by the boat and spent the two hours back to the boat launch dancing and singing our hearts out to Weezer, courtesy of the boat's stereo system and bluetooth capabilities (again, not great for the laryngitis…)

June 6-  A highlight of this trip were the swarms of butterflies that would enjoy any remnant of salt, or stink, left behind on the trail, our backpacks, our dirty work shirts and our socks. 

June 9 1PM- My crewmate Nick and our project partner Josh and myself enjoy a post-lunch siesta. 

June 3 PM Myself, Serenade, Nick, Berkeley and Josh Mendoza sit atop our newly constructed rock wall at the end of the hitch. 

June 10 The last night the hitch we cowboy camped on the beach together. A millipede crawled across my face in the middle of the night, but it was well worth it to be greeted by the sunset over the canyon walls. 

June 11 Josh Mendoza and Berkeley are all smiles as we jet boat down the Salmon river and back to civilization. 

Hitch 2, Sawtooth Wilderness, Sawtooth National Forest, 6/18-6/25

I think it is safe to say we were enchanted by the people and places we visited in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area. SBFC was contracted to do burn area relief as a result of the 2024 Wapiti Fire. We spent a few days clearing out the burnt remnants of a punchin, which is similar to boardwalk and is used to keep hikers out of marshy areas, replacing signage that had burnt and installing check steps and drains. 

Later in the week, we worked to log out fallen burnt trees and widen tread for stock usage. We also rangered a few very popular backcountry lakes. 

Our biggest day of logout we did amongst 6 inches of fresh snow, a welcome sight for myself, as I am always enchanted by summer snow out west. Some of us spent the day chopping logs to stay warm, as opposed to cutting them, and we were joined later in the day by our new friends with the forest service and MCC’s individual placement program. 

We explored Stanley when we had down time, which led us to a long night at Redfish Lake, where we went for dinner and stayed for sunset due to some battery issues with our work rig. Despite this, we had a night full of impressions and giggles and were wooed by Sam’s juggling talent! By the time Berkeley, Emma and myself made it back to Stanley, John Craige had taken the stage at a music festival in town and we got to listen to part of his set from Berkeley’s car, a memory I will cherish for many years to come. 

We ended our hitch devouring breakfast sandwiches and pastries at Stanley Baking Co. with our Forest Service project partner Bryce, who we all became very fond of. 

Jun 22- Emma, Sam and myself on the trail during a small snowstorm! The forest was transformed into a winter wonderland for one day of the hitch. 

Jun 23 3:07 PM Emma and Sam pose for a photo during a hike up to Sawtooth Lake. We were on the lookout for fire rings to disperse, but the residual snowpack made it challenging to find anything at that elevation. 

Jun 23 3:59 PM A small portion of Sawtooth Lake. 

Jun 24 10 AM Berkeley and I working on clearing a large log from the end of a section of trail we were working. We had been looking forward to cutting this log, as it was the largest we cut on this hitch. 

Jun 24 12 PM A group of hikers passed us and informed us they had found an old crosscut saw along the trail. It turned out one of the hikers had been a wilderness ranger in the area in the 1970s. Here is our crew lead Berkeley posing with the weathered saw. 

Hitch 3, Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, Salmon-Challis National Forest, Langer Lake, 6/29-7/2 / Gospel Hump Wilderness, Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest, Moores Lake 7/9-7/12 

Well this part of the summer was a blast from the past! This summer was my second season of trail work, because last summer I led youth trail crews for the Montana Conservation Corps. I was given the opportunity to work with SBFC’s budding youth program this summer, and it was an absolute delight to work alongside April for two mini youth hitches. 

The first took place in the Frank and we taught the youth how to cut and chop fallen trees out of the trail. We also took them up to Ruffneck Peak to see an old fire lookout tower, where we took time to enjoy the solitude of wilderness and journal. It was a joy to watch the youth overcome hardship on the trail and feel proud of themselves for harnessing their inner strength. They even, lovingly, gave April and I trail names. April’s was Ruffnut, from the movie How to Train your Dragon, and mine was “unc”, which I later learned means old (I was 23 at the time).

My second mini youth hitch was in the Gospel Hump Wilderness. We had the pleasure of cutting some big trees on this hitch. This hitch we also taught the youth how to brush, in addition to cutting. The scenery was beautiful and rugged, and there was no shortage of mosquitoes. However, the youth snapped branches off trees and used the leafy portions to swat at the pests, similar to a cow or a horse tail. 

The hike out was challenging, and I found myself nearly being overtaken by the youth’s speed and energy! It must have been the many packs of oreos consumed on this hitch. 

Jun 30 Two youth program participants, Wyatt and Hudson, admire their chopping skills. 

Jul 1 12PM The view on the way up to Ruffneck peak. 

Jul 1 1PM Our little crew, led by April and assisted by myself, celebrates making it to the top of Ruffneck Peak. This fire lookout was built in 1932 and was swarmed by ladybugs. 

Jul 11 3 PM April teaches our crew how to read a USFS map. 

Jul 11 4PM Our youth participants act out wildlife encounters after learning best practice for different animal encounters in the backcountry. Can you guess which animal they are practicing for here? 

Jul 12 7 AM April gives the crew a mini lesson on tying knots on the last day of the hitch. 

Hitch 4, Sawtooth Wilderness, Sawtooth National Forest, Baron Lakes, 7/16-7/23

 What a treat to be back in the Sawtooths! This was a really special hitch for me, as I turned 24 in the middle of it! We spent our first night of the hitch with many horses that got loose and trotted amongst us as we cowboy camped. I woke up the next morning to our crewmate Bryce wrangling them and tying them back to the hitching posts.

We had the pleasure of being packed in by Bryce, our beloved project partner, allowing us to stroll in the four miles to our basecamp. Many affectionate and grateful pets were given to the mules that carried our loads.  We were camped on a cool, rushing creek that provided ample opportunity to rinse our sooty faces and clothes throughout the week. On our first day of cutting up the trail, Emma, Kara, and myself worked as a saw team and cleared about 30 downed trees in one day. Kara and Emma inspired a lot of strength in myself, especially when Kara would suggest we “just move it,” when coming across large logs. 

The first portion of our hitch we worked seven miles up the trail to Baron Lake. We saw many thankful backpackers and outfitters along the way. On the day we reached the lake I turned 24 years old. I spent the morning collecting wildflowers on the outside of my backpack and ended the day with a warm beverage at camp, shared among my friends, but not before putting in 15 miles on the trail that day. 

We got jammed up by a few pinchy trees and a massive pileup to end the hitch, but we had a joy of a time solving binds and making jokes on the trail. We, of course, had to end this hitch one last bakery date with Bryce. 

Jul 18 Kara and Emma saw in a less than ideal position. 

Jul 19 Myself at Baron Lake. I turned 24 on this day!

Jul 21 Bryce, Brendan and Emma pose with a log that ended a section of a massive pileup we worked on for a couple days.

Hitch 5, Gospel Hump Wilderness, Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest, Moores Trail #312, 7/30-8/6

We’ve come to the final hitch of my 2025 Wilderness Ranger Fellow season. I worked on the smallest crew I had been on this season, a grand total of four of us. We worked a 12 mile stretch of trail, ending at an unmanned lookout tower. 

This hitch was mostly cut and run, and some days each saw team would clear 50 downed trees. We stumbled upon more huckleberries than I had ever seen, a welcome treat as I had yet to find any ripe ones all season. 

We had a few soggy days, but lucked out at the end, being far enough away from the weather to enjoy watching evening lightning storms amid the skies turning pink and orange. Our crew lead Enzo gave me my second trail name of the season, “stinkbug,” I’m sure you can use your imagination to find the origin of that one… 

Many nights were spent doing impressions and leaning hard into the bit, and I was grateful to end this season the way I started it: laughing. 

Aug 2 There was no shortage of huckleberries on this hitch. We would feast on them until our stomachs hurt.

Aug 3 Myself, Bryce and Jack taking a huckleberry break during a brushing session on the trail. If you look close enough you can see our lips turning purple. 

Aug 4 10 AM Our crew lead, Enzo, single bucked this leaner. 

Aug 4 4 PM The view from the end of the section of trail we worked. This was at the Black Butte lookout tower.

Aug 5 Bryce, Enzo, Jack and myself in front of the wilderness boundary on our way out of the Gospel Hump. 

As I end this blog I want to highlight why I chose to highlight so many photographs. This work may seem place based and focused, but more importantly, it’s people based. Every single person I had the pleasure of cutting and digging and brushing and giggling and sweating and crying with has a fire lit inside them, and they are hell bent on protecting and stewarding wild places. I am still in awe of all the brilliant, hilarious, strong and kind folks that SBFC found to staff their organization. I want to thank them for teaching and uplifting me through the hardest and the goofiest times. Now go forth and advocate for our public lands!

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Sophia Evans

Missoula, MT

University of Montana - Journalism 

Sophia’s work in conservation began early in life, when she would volunteer with her dad on community trail builds. Growing up in Southern Illinois, the two were avid climbers, cyclists, and backpackers, leading Sophia to later move west to attend college and be closer to the mountains. After two years at the University of Northern Colorado, she left to pursue the seasonal work life in rural Montana and Utah. Now, Sophia attends the University of Montana School of Journalism, although education is her true passion. When she’s not chasing seasonal jobs, she is a preschool teacher at a Montessori school in Missoula, and has previously worked as a youth expedition leader with the Montana Conservation Corps. In her free time, she enjoys skiing, camping, hiking, climbing, and cycling.

Closing Out The Season

Jacquelyn Bouchard

Wilderness Ranger Fellow

Bighorn Crags | Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness

July 30-August 6, 2025

My final hitch with SBFC took me to the Bighorn Crags in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, working alongside an all-women’s volunteer crew. It was the perfect way to close out my summer of trail work- sharing the wilderness with a group of people who poured their time and energy into caring for it.

Pack animals bringing our supplies to camp (Photo Credit: Shannon Anderson)

Our project focused on repairing a washed-out, rocky section of trail that challenged both hikers and pack animals. We built check steps and water bars, moved in loads of dirt, and crushed rock to fill and level the tread- turning a rough, uneven stretch into a safer, more accessible path.

With only a couple weeks of rock work experience under my belt, I’ll admit it was a little intimidating to give instruction and advice to the volunteers. Rock work can be slow and meticulous. It’s like a puzzle where each piece has to fit just right, and we were all figuring it out together. On the first day, I sensed a bit of discouragement from the group, but once we got the first check step in place, the energy shifted. They began to understand the rhythm and expectations, and soon we were working steadily, swapping stories, and soaking in the views.

Crew discussing course of action to build a check step (Photo credit: Samantha Birch)

There’s something special about being in the wilderness with people who haven’t spent the whole summer doing this kind of work. Coming from Florida, I’ve been surprised by how quickly I got a bit desensitized to the scenery here. For them, though, the mountains and forests were fresh, and seeing their excitement reminded me to slow down and appreciate it all over again.

On a typical hitch with the other fellows, everyone is on their own for meals. For me, that usually meant a steady rotation of beef jerky, lentils, and peanut butter. All summer, I’ve bounced between the backcountry and a campsite near town, and the most notable culinary upgrade was simple but glorious: eating my chicken from a can instead of a packet.

Volunteer hitches are different. Meals are shared, and fresh food in coolers rides in on pack animals. We happened to have a professional chef in the group, who casually mentioned cooking for Eddie Murphy and working with Martha Stewart. Needless to say, we ate well. Meals included risotto, pancakes, and curry. Everything tastes better in the woods, and as one volunteer put it, “the best seasoning is hunger.” Not that “seasoning” was needed- I would have happily eaten those meals in a house, unlike my usual cold-soaked lentils and chicken packets.

Ship Island Lake, only a short hike from our camp site. (Photo credit: Samantha Birch)

I was lucky to spend my last hitch with a great group, and knowing it was my final one, they kept asking about my season. I told them about my new backwoods routine of waking up early to enjoy my book for a while in my tent- something that my usual night-owl self would never do outside of the woods. I shared stories of hard work and quiet reflection, but I also confessed to the more unexpected ways my mind wandered- like hiking with one line of a song playing over and over in my head, lying in my tent staring at the bugs running around on the outside of the screen to distract myself from my own smell, wondering why my toenail is gone, or finding myself way too engrossed in the nutrition information on my protein bar at lunch.

Wrapping up my last hitch, I appreciated the work we did and the company I kept. It’s the small moments and the unexpected ways they have stuck with me that I will remember the most.

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Jacquelyn Bouchard

Bradenton, FL

University of Florida- Natural Resource Conservation

Jacquelyn grew up with a strong connection to nature, spending her childhood camping, hiking, and exploring the outdoors. Her passion for conservation led her to work with the Virginia Youth Conservation Corps, where she gained hands-on experience in trail maintenance and park infrastructure projects. Jacquelyn further honed her skills during backpacking trips with the University of Montana, combining outdoor adventure with research. Her time as a raft guide on the Ocoee River taught her valuable leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills, while her training in fire ecology provided practical experience in high-stakes, physically demanding environments. These diverse experiences deepened her commitment to preserving natural spaces, which ultimately brought her to SBFC, where she will continue to grow and contribute to the protection of wilderness areas.