Rocky Mountain Conservancy celebrating 20 years of making Colorado enjoyable to all
David Boord certainly is not bored. He's got a lot of work to do at 11,000 feet about sea level.
"Days can be long and hard, but it's really rewarding work at the same time," he says while digging a hole on the Longs Peak Trail.
He and his teammates are digging up boulders to make the ever-popular trail more accessible.
"We want to make it so that people who are older or who have physical disabilities are able to get up to the boulder field," said Boord.
"It's kind of like walking on a sidewalk. Just incredibly pieced-together boulders, really intricately measured and pieced together. It's like a puzzle," said Nathan Morrow, the field manager with the Rocky Mountain Conservancy.
David and his team are part of the Rocky Mountain Conservancy's Conservation Corps; a summer program for young adults where they work on projects all around Rocky Mountain National Park to make the great outdoors safer and enjoyable for all.
The Conservancy has been doing this for 20 years thanks to generous benefactors and in that time has Improved over 3,000 miles of damaged trails, removed more than 11,000 hazard trees from trails, installed over 18,000 check steps, drainages, steps and other trail infrastructure elements and restored more than 150 backcountry campsites.
This summer alone they have improved 194 miles of trail, removed 307 downed trees, cleared 130 acres of invasive plant species, removed six illegal campsites and fire rings in wilderness areas, built four staircases from all-natural materials, constructed seven bridges and freed and maintained 855 drains.
"It's hard to hike on any trail in Rocky Mountain National Park and not see evidence of the Rocky Mountain Conservancy," said Morrow.
The National Park Service says their work is invaluable.
"RMC does a really good job of hiring people who are really excited and capable and eager to learn. So just having those personalities here in general makes work go a lot faster," said Asia Lederer the Trail Crew Leader at Rocky Mountain National Park.
She says that while the park grows and changes over the summer, she can see the workers growing right along with it.
"You get people from all different backgrounds. You know, some people who've never worn hiking boots are gone outside, and by the end, they're extremely capable and confident. And it seems like they take a lot of the skills and also transfer them to other aspects of their life," said Lederer.
That's true for David who is on his second summer program and two years ago didn't know what he wanted to do with his life.
Now he is planning to start law school in the fall to study environmental justice. He says this program is a great way to find yourself and help everyone enjoy the outdoors. He recommends it for everyone.
"Dude, just give it a shot," he said.
