Hello reader,
Cooper in his tent before a day of trail work
My name is Cooper Webb-Knudson and I worked on GBCA’s Trail Crew in the North Fork district for the 2025 summer season. It was an incredible few months filled with hard work, amazing views, and fun people. On an average day, our crew wakes up around 5:30am pacific time, packs up food and water for the day then sets off to work.
Cooper prepping to cut brush with chainsaw
Since the North Fork of the Clearwater drainage receives lots of annual rainfall, brush grows very quickly. Often, our main objective was to clear the trail corridor of brush so trail users can more easily navigate the trail, and see where they’re going!
When we aren’t brushing, the crew is most likely digging in the dirt, creating new trail tread that is more comfortable to walk on and less strain on the ankles. The trail crew also completes tasks such as installing new trail signage, scouting and inventorying trails across the North Fork system, building and maintaining water drains so our trails are not a mucky, flooded mess!
Drain cleaning before and after
Cooper carrying saw and gear out of Hanson Meadows in the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest
We always start early in the morning, often before dawn breaks, and we work until the afternoon (4:30-5pm PST) finally getting to enjoy an evening off. Depending on where the crew is based and local fire restrictions, we often have a campfire to entertain us as we scarf down our dinners. In the evenings we also unpack and dry out any wet gear, pre pack anything we can for the next day, do some in-the-field tool repair if needed, and slink off to our tents for a short night sleep, ready to do it all again tomorrow.