100 Miles of Trail Clearing

Let's face it, we all like to enjoy the great outdoors on a clear crisp summer day. The last thing you really want to do is hard manual labor when you're trying to enjoy a day in the backcountry. But each year 100's of miles of trails here in Northwest Montana must be cleared and maintained in order for everyone to enjoy, and importantly to reduce user impact from folks going off trail to get around fallen trees.

A group of off-road motorcyclists I ride with clear literally 100's of miles of trails each summer. It's hard work but richly rewarding to be able to contribute to the community in this way. This past Sunday six of us cleared more than 50 miles of trails on the Swan Range of the Flathead National Forest. We worked hard but enjoyed the quiet escape of the backcountry, tremendous scenery as well as a challenging ride. There are miles and miles yet to clear, but nearly all the trails in the Swan Range north of Strawberry Lake are clear and ready for hikers, horsemen, bikers and motorcyclists to enjoy!