Meet the volunteers who keep Western North Carolina’s trails safe and accessible

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Western North Carolina is one of the premiere hiking destinations in the country.

Just ask Sarah Jones, who hikes several times a week.

“You can’t beat this. The views are amazing, and it’s great to be outdoors and getting movement,” Jones said.

Finding the perfect trail can be as simple as clicking an app or glancing at a guidebook. But what many may not realize is how much work it takes to keep the trails accessible and safe. That’s where people like Rich Evans come in.

“We are Carolina Mountain group volunteers, better known as old people with tools,” Evans said.

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Chances are, you’ve seen them out working. You may have even passed by and said hello. On this day, Evans is not only working with his trail maintenance crew, he’s also showing some UNC Asheville students what they do.

“Everybody drop their tools and stuff, and I’ll tell you what we’re doing,” Evans said.

Made up of more than 1,100 members, the Carolina Mountain Club is mostly retirees like Evans.

“I turn 77 in two weeks, and I’m not even the oldest member on my crew. I have several that are older than me,” Evans said.

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They adopt one or more sections of trail and work in groups, typically, five to eight volunteers per crew.

• Clearing
• Digging
• Shoveling
• Hammering
• Cutting
• Moving dirt, rocks, debris and logs

Carolina Mountain Club Vice President Les Love said they can use all the help they can get.

“We take care of over 400 miles of trails. That’s about 96 miles of the Appalachian Trail and over 150 miles of the Mountains to Sea Trail.”

And according to volunteer Ken Hummel, their biggest challenge is?

“I just know the biggest factor is water.”

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And there’s no bigger reminder of that than what the remnants of Tropical Storm Fred did to the area nearly two years ago.

“The purpose of our job here is to keep hikers on the trail and water off the trail,” Hummel said.

Heavy rains have become more frequent, a result of climate change. And that’s altering how the Carolina Mountain Club approaches its work.

“We used to just make little cuts in the trail and let the water runoff, and then clean it up two or three times a year. Now, we’re focused on bigger, more effective water diversions,” Hummel said.

And they’re working.

“As water rolls down the trail, it gets diverted off pretty quickly,” Hummel said.

That limits the amount of erosion and gets hikers back on the trail safely and more quickly. And Elli Saraceno, who hikes several days a week, has noticed.

“I’ve seen them a lot after it rains and trees fall down, and they fix everything kind of right away. Sometimes, we get a lot of rain in the spring, and it messes up the trail a lot. Trees fall down over the trails and messes up stuff, and it seems it’s always fixed right away, so they are out here a lot,” Saraceno said.

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The Carolina Mountain Club crews typically work five-to-eight-hour shifts with a different crew working seven days a week.

The club will be celebrating its 100th anniversary in July with a celebration planned at the North Carolina Arboretum on July 16.

If you’d like to become a member of the Carolina Mountain Club, click here.