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- 5723 Concrete Way, Juneau AK 99801
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The Volunteer Trail Maintenance Team (VTMT) consists of about 30 mostly retired individuals with a range of trail building experience. The 13.3 mile Treadwell Ditch is the group’s adopted trail. They also assist with other projects when called upon by Trail Mix, land management agencies or user groups.
Contact Dave Haas at 907-209-3322 or Bill Janes at 907-321-0203 if you are interested in joining the team. A Trail Mix waiver must be completed annually.
The team works 4-6 hours twice weekly from early April until the first snow flies. A typical session brings out 5-10 volunteers. VTMT Leadership Team will add you to a email list and you can participate as much or as little as your schedule allows. VTMT crew members typically volunteer anywhere from 6 to 400 hours in a trail season.
In 2017, Juneau trail enthusiasts Dave Haas, Jack Kreinheder, and Marc Scholten started a volunteer team to fix the Treadwell Ditch Trail. Their goal was simple: take care of one trail and keep it in good shape. They picked the Treadwell Ditch Trail because of its local history and convenient location in Douglas. The project quickly grew into a big job! The Volunteer Trail Maintenance Team has helped rebuild the trail from the ground up.
The team replaces bridges, levels the trail, and carries heavy bags of gravel, often by hand. Even though their name says ‘maintenance’, they do much more than just repairs.
The team has grown to about 30 volunteers who love being outside, biking, and working hard. People from all kinds of jobs and backgrounds have joined in.
As one member, Peggy Feinman, recounts, “I signed up to be outside and to learn new skills. Could I do it? Could I stick with it?” For many folks involved, just showing up and working together is the best reward of all.
Being a part of VTMT is also intentionally joining one of Juneau’s most dedicated trail communities. When one member was recovering from cancer, the crew cut his winter firewood, and he visited them on the trail, sometimes bringing cinnamon rolls for his friends. The crew shares skills, stories, and support, both on and off the trail. Many bike in to work and ride home along the very trail they help build.
In 2024, when the last bridge was finished, connecting the trail from South Douglas to Eaglecrest, VTMT had logged more than 18,000 hours of work on trail. Being a member of VTMT is being a part of community trail care in action.
