Come and Help Finish the Final Connection of the New Shasta Trinity Trail

Date: August 2, 2009
Contact: Jim Milestone, [phone]

The National Park Service will be hosting a Volunteer Trail Day for individuals who would like to help construct the final connector of the new Shasta Trinity Trail within Whiskeytown National Recreation Area.   The location where the trail work will be completed is the Papoose Gulch saddle, deep into the forest of Whiskeytown. Adults and teenagers with a parent or guardian are welcome to participate and work for approximately four hours on trail construction on Saturday morning, August 8, 2009.  Rangers will lead the volunteers to the Papoose Pass saddle, a place which few have ever seen or visited on the slopes of Shasta Bally Mountain. 

Volunteers will meet at the park Visitor Center at 8:00 a.m. and then car pool to the trailhead. The volunteers will then hike into the woods to the work site, approximately ¼ mile into the forest. Participants should wear work boots, gloves and bring water and a snack. Work will continue until 12:30 p.m. The National Park Service will supply the necessary hand tools and additional water. All participants must call in by close of business (4:30 p.m.) on Friday, August 7, 2009, and register for this event. Please call 530-242-3410 to register.   

The new trail has been under construction since the summer of 2007, with work being primarily completed by the Student Conservation Association summer interns and volunteer workers. The trail will connect the East side trails of Whiskeytown NRA with the park lands on the West side. The trail is approximately 5 miles in length.  Grants to complete this project have come from the Redding Foundation, McConnell Foundation, and the Friends of Whiskeytown. About four miles of the new trail have been completed to date.  The trail is being constructed to accommodate hikers, equestrians and mountain bikes. A trail opening ceremony is scheduled for August 15, 2009, at Sheep Camp when the park will drive a spike commemorating the “Golden Spike Moment.” When completed, individuals will be able to hike from the Sundial Bridge in Redding all the way to the Trinity Alps Wilderness Area. Please join us in this morning of public service and work side-by-side with rangers and the Student Conservation Association summer volunteers.  For more information, call 530-242-3410.

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