Trail ambassadors step up as federal cuts threaten San Juan access
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SILVERTON, Colo. — On a sunny Sunday morning at the Ice Lake trailhead, John Mashburn stood by the sign-in post, greeting a group of first-time hikers. With a smile, he warned them that the lakes were still frozen and handed over free “go anywhere” toilet kits.
Video: Ziyi Xu, Rocky Mountain PBS
Fifteen miles away, along the rugged Alpine Loop Scenic Byway, Myste French and Adela Pizarro-Conte pulled their Jeep in front of a public restroom. Each grabbed four rolls of toilet paper from the back seat and restocked the facility as a line of visitors waited patiently behind them.
Mashburn, French and Pizarro-Conte are trail ambassadors with the San Juan Mountains Association, a nonprofit founded in 1988 that promotes exploration and protection of public lands in Southwest Colorado.
From May to October, the association partners with the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to place ambassadors at trails, where they educate visitors on responsible recreation and help keep fragile alpine ecosystems intact.
That work has taken on new urgency. This summer, federal budget cuts nearly forced the closure of 20 public restrooms across the San Juan National Forest. To prevent trailheads from being overwhelmed by human waste, the association, along with local counties and Purgatory Resort, raised $54,000 to keep the facilities open.
Ice Lake is one of the busiest trails in the region, attracting 600 to 700 visitors a day on summer weekends.
“One very important part of our job is education,” Mashburn said. “Part of what I love about this job is the impact I’m making on these mountains. When you see 700 people a day, that’s a lot of people, and having me educate these people on how to recreate in a sustainable way makes me feel good about my job.”
Mashburn on the trail. Video: Ziyi Xu, Rocky Mountain PBS
In the afternoons, when the rush of hikers slowed, Mashburn patrolled the 8.5-mile loop. Along the way, he cleared fallen trees with a handsaw, reported larger obstacles to the Forest Service, dug drainage channels to fight erosion and blocked “social trails” with rocks or branches to discourage hikers from straying from the designated paths.
“We want to keep the trails on the trails only,” he said. “That’s also a way to help prevent erosion and anyone from trampling on our fragile alpine ecosystems.”
Meanwhile, French and Pizarro-Conte bounced along the Alpine Loop, where an estimated half a million people visit each year. At Animas Forks, a historic mining town of weathered wooden buildings, they restocked restrooms before sweeping through the ghost town to collect trash.
Inside one cabin, French picked up a Reese’s wrapper.
“I think people don’t understand how little things add up to the big things,” she said. “If everybody just has a tiny, tiny little piece of trash, that’s still huge bags of trash we’re hauling out at the end of the day.”
One day in June, the two hauled out 95 pounds of trash.
On their rounds, they also warn visitors about hidden hazards. Spotting two bikers eating snacks roadside, French cautioned them about lead in the dust.
“I guess it’s also not a good idea to drink from the water here?” one biker asked.
“Probably not a good idea, unless you have a really good filter to filter out those heavy metals,” French replied.
The pair ended their shift checking campgrounds, reminding overstayers of time limits and shoveling out fire rings filled with trash.
Trail ambassadors also serve another crucial role: data collectors.
“Because the Forest Service is so spread thin, they need people like us to help get numbers on trails,” Mashburn said. “We collect data such as usership. How many people are there? How many horses? How many mountain bikes? How many dogs? We’re trying to get the best picture possible for how these trails are being used so that we can accommodate them.”
Video: Ziyi Xu, Rocky Mountain PBS
For French, the work carries a deeper meaning.
“For me, these mountains are like a symbol of the strength and fortitude that it takes to live here. To climb a mountain, to go on a big hike, to go exploring out in the wilderness — it takes strength. It takes courage,” she said. “The Ute people were the original stewards of these lands, and they took really good care of them. We’re literally following in their footsteps. We’re looking after the same land that they looked after. We all have the opportunity to be stewards of the land.”
Type of story: News
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. To read more about why you can trust the journalism of Rocky Mountain PBS, please visit our editorial standards and practices page.
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. To read more about why you can trust the journalism of Rocky Mountain PBS, please visit our editorial standards and practices page.