The park is moving forward with plans to refurbish the popular ascent trail on the Longs Peak trail, Colorado Front Range’s most prominent 14’er. Technical rockwork is planned on this iconic trail to support a large volume of visitor usage, custodial operations and SAR operations – and help protect the sensitive tundra ecosystem.
This first season is part of a multi‐year project to refurbish the trails on the mountain above tree line. The high volume of users each year widens the trail which encroaches ever more into the delicate tundra. The RMNP Trails crew hopes the improvements will not only provide users with a better outdoor experience, but guide hikers through the landscape in a more sustainable way.
Much of the work in 2020 will be trail construction from native rock. The goal is to create a beautiful and sustainable trail system to guide users up the mountain. Next year, in 2021, trail crews will be focusing on building European paver‐style trails – an elegant and long‐lasting solution – from Granite Pass to the Boulder Field. Two trails crews will spend much of the season at elevation, living and working on the trail.
This trail project will have a lot of logistics and heavy stonework, but the extensive project will serve to represent the area’s status as one of the most prominent backcountry trails on the Front Range. Thanks to the generosity of long‐time Conservancy supporter Richard Hoffman of Denver, Colorado, the Conservancy was able to provide $50,000 to help fund labor, logistics, materials and equipment toward this incredible backcountry project. The entire project is estimated to be a 3‐5 ‐year venture.
Jeff
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