Above: Views from the PNT in the Purcell Mountains in Northwest Montana.
Summer 2020
In This Issue

  • Our Field Season Begins
  • Get to Know: Kelly O'Neill
  • Guidance for Visiting the PNT in 2020
  • 2020 Mapset Update
  • NEWSTART Survey
  • Getting Involved in 2020
PNTA crew leaders pose for a socially-distanced group photo on the Blum Creek Bridge.
Our Field Season Begins

Before summer officially begins and visitors return to the remote reaches of the Pacific Northwest Trail, PNTA staff come together for our annual crew leader training event.

Learn more about how this year's training was different , and the many steps PNTA is taking to help protect our Performance Trail Crews and our gateway communities with new Covid-19 safety protocols, at our blog.

We are pleased to welcome back crew leaders  Forest Reeves, Kameron Walton, 
Matthew Stenger  and  Sean Miller  and to welcome many new faces to the organization. 2019 crew members,  Aubrey Smith, Nathan Mark, Kat Anderson  and  Slade Powers  have also returned for a second year with the organization. Mark served as a member of our Mt Baker Trail Crew in 2019. This season, he will return as an Assistant Crew Leader and work with  Kelly O’Neill  to help manage the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie NF-based crew.

The Association would like to express our gratitude to BCHW Saw Program Coordinators, Tom Mix and Tony Karniss of the Backcountry Horsemen of Washington - Peninsula Chapter for joining us at Baker Lake for two days of saw instruction and certification. Rob DeBoer of the Skagit Chapter also volunteered to help make the event a success!
Meet a Trail Crew Leader

Meet Kelly O’Neill, our Mt Baker-Snoqualmie trail crew leader! The Association is thrilled to have Kelly join us for our 2020 season where her considerable outdoor leadership skills will serve her Western Washington-based crew well.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in biology from Baylor University, Kelly joined her first trail crew in Colorado. The experience inspired nearly a decade of service across six states. She has supervised youth crews for the  Utah Conservation Corps  and coordinated trail stewardship programs as the Lead Wilderness Steward for the  Selway-Bitterroot Frank Church Foundation , in Idaho. Most recently, she served as the Program Coordinator for the  Arizona Conservation Corps , based in Flagstaff.

This season, Kelly is looking forward to reconnecting to the work she loves and spending time teaching trail stewardship skills to the next generation of outdoor leaders.

Her crew will spend the summer helping to restore the PNT among the old-growth forests, spectacular mountain meadows and glaciated peaks found in Washington’s North Cascade Range , on one of the most visited National Forests in the country.

Kelly finds trail work rewarding in its own right, but finds deep satisfaction in the relationships forged by the challenging and meaningful experiences shared by the trails community.

“In my mind trails represent freedom, said Kelly. They present the opportunity to experience the glory of our public lands for little to no cost. The more we can create access to these public spaces, the more people will engage with those spaces and be moved to help protect our unique resources!”

When not clearing trails, Kelly likes rock climbing, drawing, playing with her dog.
Special Guidance for Visiting the PNT in 2020

As more trails and businesses carefully reopen across the Northwest, the PNTA has prepared some resources for those planning to visit the Pacific Northwest Trail during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Visit our website to find up-to-date information on which areas of the trail are open and closed on our Covid-19 Updates webpage . We have also put together some special guidance for those planning long and short trips on the trail this year, at our blog.

In 2020, it is clear that traveling outside of our hometowns involves greater risks to ourselves and others.

While we are all united in the fight against COVID-19 , we must recognize that each county along the 1,200 mile trail corridor may be at a different phase of the crisis, and may have different measures in place to keep their residents safe and healthy.

While many areas along the PNT have reopened, other areas remain open to day-use only, and some areas of Glacier and Olympic National Park remain closed to all access.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we ask every PNT visitor to  #RecreateResponsibly .

Check the status of the place you want to visit before you go, be flexible with travel plans if conditions change, and be prepared to take extra care to help us protect the trail — and the trailside communities that make it so special.
2020 Mapset Update

The 2020 edition of the PNTA mapset is available now for digital download at PNT.org!

The PNTA mapset is produced in part with the support of people like you. If you find these maps useful, please make a donation in support of this project.

The Association offers maps and other trip planning tools for free to the public in order to improve access to our public lands. Our mapset helps fulfill our mission to protect the Pacific Northwest Trail with easy-to-read page notes that promote responsible trail use and Leave No Trace Outdoor Ethics .

Our staff produce annual revisions to the PNTA mapset to reflect the latest changes to the dynamic trail corridor of the Pacific Northwest Trail.

The digital download includes two sets of maps as well as a Resupply Planner that shows distances and mileage between resupply points. The 16-page set of Overview Maps represent the PNT at a scale that is suitable for trip planning and choosing between the primary route and many official alternate routes along the trail corridor.

For field navigation, the 144-page set of Strip Maps are designed to be printed and carried out on the trail. These maps show the primary route of the PNT and all official alternate routes. Each page has been carefully cropped to minimize the overlap between pages to save carried weight while stowed in a backpack and contains supplemental notes to aid in navigation and anticipate conditions in hazardous and rugged areas of the trail.

If you are planning a trip on the Pacific Northwest Trail, please take the latest version of our mapset with you. You can learn more about navigating the PNT online at PNT.org.
NEWSTART Survey

If you love the Pacific Northwest Trail, please take this survey created by the Northeast Washington Sustainable Tourism and Recreation Team (NEWSTART).

For the past several months, PNTA staffer Kristin Ackerman has been working side by side with a diverse group of trail advocates and land managers to develop a strategic plan for trail development and stewardship in Northeast Washington.

This wild and remote part of the country features the iconic Kettle Crest and Shedroof Divide portions of the PNT, and many other cherished scenic trails.

So let your voice be heard! This survey provides a great opportunity to advocate for a wild, connected and protected Pacific Northwest Trail.
Getting Involved in 2020

Earlier this year, the PNTA cancelled or postponed all volunteer and in-person events for the 2020 season to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

In June, we rescheduled volunteer trail work parties for Phase-3 approved counties along the Pacific Northwest Trail. You can learn more about our modified volunteer program and sign up to get updates about events near you on our website. Please note: all volunteers must pass a COVID-19 screening and follow our COVID-19 Field Manual to participate.

For those not able to join us out on the trail, there are many ways that you can show your love for the PNT that do not involve trail work.

Becoming a PNTA member or sustaining donor is also a great way to make a difference in the future of the PNT and in all of the lives it touches! Your gift can help empower the next generation of trail stewards that serve on our Performance Trail Crews.

The PNTA performs over 80% of our annual maintenance and construction on the Pacific Northwest Trail with youth and young adults from trailside communities and schools near the trail corridor.

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