Across the United States, and especially in the Northeast, hiking challenges have become extremely popular. These challenges require you to complete a list of summits, hike in to specific locations, paddle certain lakes, or have certain adventures. Once completed, you can apply for a commemorative patch by filling out the respective paperwork and sending in a small fee to cover production and shipping costs.
While these challenges are a lot of fun, they always focus on getting people into the outdoors. Hiking more, doing more, seeing more. With so many of our public lands struggling with overuse and understaffing, this puts undue stress on our favorite places. Overly worn hiking trails, trash accumulation, vandalism of sites, and unkept campsites, privies, and other high-use locations are all signs of stress on our public lands.
Introducing: The Trail Steward Challenge
The Trail Steward Challenge was designed to be different! This challenge officially began on June 21st, 2021. Our three-part challenge focuses on cleaning up and giving back to our public lands. We will award the first patch for cleaning garbage off the trails, the second for cleaning recyclables off the trails and bringing them to the proper facilities, and the third for volunteering your time on the public lands. These commemorative patches, when lined up together, create a mural of public lands and outdoor recreation.
The Challenge
This challenge was designed with everyone in mind. Our country is very diverse, and so are our people. From the mountains, to the seashores, to the open plains or high deserts, everyone has some sort of public land near them. All public lands will count towards this challenge. National parks, state parks, and city parks are all eligible. Additionally, all types of outdoor recreation will count. Challenge participants can hike, walk, paddle, or bike their way to completion. Like fishing, geocaching, or bird watching? You can work on this challenge while you do those activities too!
Previously, almost all trails and challenges were created with the able-bodied in mind. Accessibility is becoming a major focus in the outdoors, and the Trail Steward Challenge is no different. By allowing all public land to count towards this challenge, you can choose what you are able to do. Public parks, local bike paths, and many state parks all try to have flat, level trails. These will all count for anyone who needs to travel on more even surfaces.
The Rules
Trail Clean Up
We will award the Trail Clean Up patch to participants who remove 150 pounds of garbage from the trails. Anything counts towards this patch. Keep an eye out for small bits of plastic that can’t break down or produce scraps that are not natural to the area. Apple cores, banana peels, pistachio shells, sunflower seed shells, and orange peels can all take several years to break down in most wilderness environments! Any trash removed can not count doubly towards the Trail recycle patch. Please count it as one or the other. Let’s get those trails clean!
Trail Volunteer
We will award the Trail Volunteer patch to participants who volunteer 150 hours of their time to public lands. Look for tree planting opportunities, conservation events, or volunteer as a front desk worker at your favorite park! Many parks may need help with fish restocking or invasive species removal. In wilderness areas, you can volunteer to be a summit or trailhead steward, help maintain and repair lean-tos, help build trails, or place ladders and steps. Volunteers are so hard to come by, and our public lands could really use your help! All work must be unpaid and affiliated with your local public lands.
Trail Recycle
We will award the Trail Recycle patch to participants who remove 150 pounds of recyclable waste from the trails, and return it to the proper disposal facilities. Plastic bottles, glass bottles, and aluminum cans may be exchanged as returnables if you live in participating states (this is a great way to get some extra cash for that post-hike meal!). Terracycle has many online options for recycling oddball items like dehydrated meal pouches and energy gel or bar packets. Tires and electronic waste can be recycled at many community facilities, too! Any recyclables removed can not count doubly towards the Trail Clean Up patch. Please count it as one or the other. Let’s get those trails clean!
Be Mindful
As always, be mindful of the public lands you are working to protect! Make sure you follow the 7 principles of Leave No Trace and follow smart practices online to protect our public lands on social media. With this being said, feel free to use #TrailStewardChallenge to track your progress and get others inspired to help our public lands!
Also, please use common sense and put safety first while completing this challenge. We highly recommend wearing utility gloves and carrying hand sanitizer when removing trash, as items can be unsanitary or pose an injury or infection threat. Some items like glass or metal may cut you. Wildlife could have made a home in that tire you’re trying to remove and may bite or sting you. And items like medical waste, toilet paper, or doggie bags can be unsanitary or infectious. While you do not need to remove items like these to complete the challenge, please use common sense if you do choose to clean them up!
How to Complete this Challenge
To complete this challenge, please track your progress on the downloadable documents below. Be sure to take photos along the way and share them to your social media with #TrailStewardChallenge to inspire others. Once complete, mail the documents and patch fee of to the address below. If you have any questions, please reach out to us on any social media messaging platform or email Hello@ExpeditionAlpine.com.
Be sure to check back frequently, as we are a military family and move often, so our address may change. Participants who complete all three parts to the challenge will receive a roster number that will be tracked on Expedition Alpine website.