STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

Pack a handsaw in your pack and a chainsaw in your Audi. And, whatever you do, don’t forget the toilet paper and a WAG bag.

“But use the trails. Use the c-p out of them this year to show how valuable they are,” Sara Gress told a standing room-only audience packed into the Sawtooth Brewery in Ketchum this past week.

Gress, the executive director of the Wood River Trails Coalition, held a Pub Talk this past week to relay information about what to expect on hiking and mountain bike trails this coming summer following cuts to the workforce of Forest Service and other agencies managing public lands.

It costs $6,000 a year to maintain an outhouse like this $20,000 Sweet Smelling Technology vault toilet that the Ketchum Ranger District installed at the end of the Corral Creek Trail in 2018.

Gress cautioned that the information she had was correct as of that evening, but she warned that it might not be correct 24 hours later given how fast things have been changing since the Trump administration took over.

Gress said that the Forest Service had no plans to hire new seasonal workers this year even before the current administration made sweeping cuts to Forest Service staff. As of now, there is no road crew on the Sawtooth National Forest to remove deadfall on the road, and the cuts have affected visitor center staff, wilderness rangers and other positions, she said.

The operational budget does not cover pit toilets, although the Ketchum Ranger District has vowed to do the best it can to maintain outhouses. It does appear that concessionaires will be maintaining restrooms at Redish Lake.

It costs about $6,000 to pump an outhouse for the season, Gress added in response to someone asking how much it would cost to adopt an outhouse.

The Wood River Trails Coalition, which helped with the trail reconstruction in lower Greenhorn last summer, may not be able to proceed with Phase 2 on the Greenhorn Trail this summer.

While a judge ruled that fired staffers could return to their jobs, it’s unclear how many plan to return to work and how long they might last before they’re cut again. And there are rumors of more cuts, this time involving office workers, putting agencies in  constant flux, confusion and chaos, said Gress.

The lack of road crews may mean that recreationists may find Baker Creek Road or Warm Springs Road blocked by a downed tree this summer when they want to hike Red Warrior Trail or the trail to Baker Lake, Gress said.

You may arrive at the Fox Creek trailhead to find the pit toilet full.

“Be prepared to pack in, pack out and leave no trace, she added, advocating that people carry a stash of toiler paper, along with WAG bags. WAG bags, which stand for Waste Alleviating Gel, have a gel that disinfects solid waste in a plastic bag, which can then be put in the trash.

Sara Gress became the executive director of the Wood River Trails Coalition after having worked for the Forest Service.

Gress said the nonprofit Wood River Trails Coalition will have a trail crew. But, because the Forest Service has no road crew to clear the roads, their work clearing trails could potentially be slowed down should they have to clear roads to get to the trails.

“The Forest Service is going to do their best. But, when you’re down staff so much…”

Gress said that the layoffs mean that there will be fewer support staff to work forest fires. Consequently, recreationalists might see bigger wildfire closures that make no sense. But they’ll be doing that, she said, because there’s no support staff to change signage in the event a fire grows. Fire crews are also going to have to be self-sufficient longer than in the past.

Last year the Wood River Trails Coalition trails crew had five trail workers and one U.S. Forest Service employee.  They covered 243 miles of trails, removing 984 downed trees and repairing 1,119 drainage problems. This year the crew will not have that Forest Service employee.

“The Ketchum Ranger District will be one of only a few places with a trail crew because they’re our employees,” she said.

The trail crew will work from Bellevue to Prairie Creek. But Phase 2 of the Greenhorn project covering the upper three miles is on hold right now because of budget uncertainty.

“So, we don’t know if it will happen,” said Gress.

The Wood River Trails Coalition entered into a partnership last fall with the Bureau of Land Management Shoshone Field Office to develop and construct between 30 and 40 miles of new trails in the Bellevue and Hailey areas through 2028. The project uses funds from  Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act recreation permit fees, an Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation grant and Wood River Trails Coalition fundraising.

“We have that funding so we’re moving forward.”

The WRTC plans to build 6.5 miles of trail in Lee’s Gulch just outside Bellevue this summer. Currently, the 5-mile loop Belle and Vue trials in Slaughterhouse Canyon are the only single-track trails near Bellevue.

Last year 230 volunteers worked on The Trails Coalition’s 21 work parties, and those parties  will be unaffected, Gress said.

“There are some work parties where you smash rocks, and it’s awesome!” she quipped. “Don’t be a vigilante. If it involves moving dirt, do it with us. And, if you do clear a trail, let us know so we can deploy resources elsewhere rather than head to a trail to find it’s already been cleared.”

Trail reports can be submitted to the Trailforks app.

In addition to the Wood River Trails Coalition, Gress said there are other organizations helping to maintain local trails:

…The Sawtooth Society has work parties for volunteers, and it’s trying to raise money to grow its paid trail crew to eight, according to Executive Director Kathryn Grohusky.

…The Idaho Conservation League trains Wilderness Stewards to educate visitors about Leave No Trace principles. Stewards also perform light duties, such as cleaning illegal campfire rings that they run across while hiking.

Blaine County Recreation District maintains trails around Galena Lodge.

…The Idaho Trails Association offers weekend and weeklong work projects throughout the summer on trails in the Sawtooth Mountains and other areas around the state.

…The Pulaski Users Group (PUG) organizers volunteer trips to maintain and reclaim trails deep into wilderness areas.

Gress encouraged trail users to be kind this summer, especially to Forest Service workers who she said will be stressed out.

“Be flexible. Call an audible when you encounter a roadblock. Pick up litter on the trail. Do what you can to build community while out there, especially this year. Leave wherever you are better,” she said. “And go to Mackay and Stanley and spread the wealth. Some of these communities may not come out of this unscathed.”