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.

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