“It was the very first National Trails Day, and Kevin O’Brien and David Hamilton and I went to the Forest Service – we knew they couldn’t possibly take care of all the trails around here by themselves – so we offered to do some trailwork on just that one day in June. And we had a great time! But there’s only so much you can do in a day...
So a couple years later, and after Michael Thompson had joined our original group of three, we founded Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers. That was 1995. And for our first public trail project, we chose the Boy Scout Trail in Glenwood Springs. I’d like to think it was instant success! I was a crew leader that day, and the first volunteer and of my first RFOV crew enjoyed the experience so much that she became a crew leader the next year, and joined our board the year after that. Thanks Suzanne!
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From the very beginning, we tried to build and maintain trails that would have the greatest impact on our community. As the population of the Roaring Fork Valley grew – and as people’s tastes changed – RFOV adapted. Me, personally, I moved to Basalt in 1973, and I grew up in the valley and I raised my children here. In that time the amount of trail use has exploded, and mountain bikes, which didn’t even exist in the ‘70s, have become tremendously popular. Take the Government Trail for example. My wife and I used to ski it, all the way from Buttermilk to Snowmass, and it definitely wasn’t built for bikes! So on one of our first partner projects with Volunteers of Outdoor Colorado (VOC) we brought the trail up to modern standards of multiuse.
Though if I had to pick, I’d say the work RFOV did at Hanging Lake over the course of two years is the most memorable. We partnered with VOC on that project as well, and together, we recruited a couple hundred volunteers. The amount of work you can accomplish with that many people is pretty incredible! We built around 2,500 stone steps, and my group created a curved rock staircase. It’s the kind of project that’ll not only stand the test of time, but given all the people that hike Hanging Lake in a typical summer, I’m sure the work RFOV did there is important to our community.
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I know this summer is going to be a bit different than usual, but I’ll still be out leading a crew, just like I’ve done every year for the past 25 years. So please, stop on by and say hello! I might not be out doing trailwork for another quarter-century, but with continued support, I’m sure RFOV will be celebrating its 50th anniversary in style!”
– Michael Hutton, RFOV founding member, former board member, longtime crew leader
