The Fourth of July weekend is commonly the busiest of the year. We have visitors from everywhere, including many from the Front Range. With the lower-elevation’s soaring temperatures, escaping to the mountains during mid-summer days makes sense. Up here we have rushing streams, wildflowers and scenery with remaining green and snow on the high peaks. Anyone can pop onto social media or reliable websites and find out where to go hiking in our National Forest lands and wilderness areas. However, they are likely to not understand where the trail may lead, what safety equipment may be needed, what those wildflowers are, why there are so many dead trees, the name of that mountain peak — the list goes on.

For many years, on one of the busiest days of the summer, local nonprofit Eagle Summit Wilderness Alliance has teamed up with Friends of the Dillon Ranger District to have our volunteer rangers out at the most popular trailheads to give people information. 

This year our joint trailhead hosting day is July 5. With volunteers at all our major trailheads, this is a special opportunity to educate more people than any other day of the year. Volunteers commonly encounter scores of folks heading to our trails who know little about the area, where they are heading, what a wilderness area is or what it means to follow Leave No Trace practices. It is a great opportunity to educate visitors at our trailheads.

Common questions include:

• My dog? Dogs are required to be on leash in the Eagles Nest, Ptarmigan Peak, and Holy Cross wilderness areas. This is to protect people and the natural environment and to protect your dog. Wildlife, including moose, see dogs as predators, and will attack and kill, stomping those large, strong hooves on a dog — and sometimes turning on the dog’s guardian, too.
• What are those beautiful wildflowers?  Lupine, penstemon, paintbrush, mariposa, monument plant, and yes, our beautiful state flower the Colorado columbine are abundant this year. It is against state law to pick our state flower. Leave No Trace principles ask that you do not pick any flowers — leave them for others to enjoy and to successfully reproduce.
• Why are there so many dead trees?  The pine bark beetle epidemic in the late 1990s and early 2000s destroyed millions of acres of our forests. Many have been removed, or burned, but we still have numerous dead downed trees in our forests.
• Can we have a campfire? Stage 1 fire restrictions are in effect for all of Summit and Eagle counties, including in towns and the White River National Forest. They prohibit open fires anywhere except in campgrounds with established fire rings.  Fireworks are prohibited, and smoking is restricted to designated safe areas. Any spark can start a fire.
• What wildlife could we see? Elk, deer, moose, bears, and more. Wildlife mothers are especially protective of young ones, so be sure to give them plenty of space, so they don’t become aggressive or abandon their young.

There are laws and fines for forbidden activities. As volunteers, we try to explain the values of protecting our precious lands for us and for future generations.

Both our local nonprofit groups have volunteer rangers at trailheads and hiking on trails all summer long. Volunteer rangers provide information, pick up trash (including dog poop), clear out illegal campsites and remove fallen trees from trails.

Thanks to our many volunteers, we hope that trail users are becoming more knowledgeable about Leave No Trace principles, safety practices and the myriad joys of observing the natural world.

“Get Wild” publishes weekly in the Summit Daily News. Karn Stiegelmeier is a volunteer wilderness ranger for the Eagle Summit Wilderness Alliance, an all-volunteer nonprofit that helps the U.S. Forest Service protect and preserve the wilderness areas in Eagle and Summit counties. For more information, visit Wild4ESWA.org