Bitterroot National Forest, Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, MT – Volunteer Vacations 2023

Join this project in the heavily glaciated, rugged peaks of the Bitterroot Mountains! Volunteers will be clearing with crosscut saws, axes, and handsaws as well as cleaning drains and improving trail tread. The Big Creek Trail #11 threads through a scenic Montana canyon and offers a pristine Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness experience.

During the first half of the trip, volunteers will clear the Big Creek trail of fallen trees and overgrown vegetation from Big Creek Lake to Packbox Pass at milepost 13.8, on the Montana-Idaho border. There will be an optional day off in the middle of the Volunteer Vacation during which volunteers may choose to swim, hike, relax at camp, or bushwhack to help identify and define the route of the historic Big Creek Divide Trail #306. Time permitting, the crew may spend the latter part of the project clearing the South Fork Big Creek Trail #118, a 3-mile trail running along the southern shore of the lake.

Volunteers will camp at one of several campsites that are available, depending on group size and trail conditions. Volunteers will backpack in 8-9 miles. The trail is fairly flat with easy terrain for the first 7 miles, with gradual incline. Several footbridges aid with creek crossings. The 1-mile approach to the lake is steep with switchbacks. Total elevation gain about 2400 feet. This trail is well-traveled by outfitters with stock animals and backpackers.

There is no experience needed to join a Volunteer Vacation! Your expert hosts will provide detailed instruction, tool demonstrations, and project oversight throughout the week. All you need is a willing attitude and to be in good physical condition to participate in moderate physical activity for approximately 6-8 hours a day with plenty of breaks, at your own pace. Find out more about what it’s like to join a Volunteer Vacation and other frequently asked questions here.

AHS acknowledges with gratitude that this project takes place on the traditional lands of the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla, Ktunaxa ɁamakɁis, and Salish peoples past and present. We honor the land itself, the Indigenous communities who have stewarded this land for generations, their deep and sacred connection to these lands, and those who continue to steward these lands today. We offer this land acknowledgement as the first of many steps to stand as an ally and amplify Indigenous voices. We invite the American Hiking Society community to join us through continued efforts to support Indigenous communities and learn more about the history of the lands on which we live, work and recreate.