Ahhh, summer in the San Juan Mountains. I’ve lived all over the country, and there really is no better place to be in the summer. San Juan Mountains Association’s (SJMA) Forest Ambassadors can attest to the popularity of our region as numbers of visitors to popular trails have swelled in the past few weeks.
Working in partnership with the San Juan National Forest (SJNF) and all the other land management agencies that have a role in caring for the vast public lands in this area, those of us at SJMA have watched visitation and recreation reach record levels in the last four years. We often wonder if those numbers will reset. Anecdotally, based on what I have seen as I have traveled around the San Juans this summer and heard from our Ambassadors, volunteers, and land management partners, that certainly doesn’t appear to be the case this summer.
It’s been somewhat of a slow start to the summer, with an unusual amount of rain impacting June. At SJMA, we have routinely adjusted our itineraries for our summer camps and worked with our volunteers and partners to reschedule events impacted by rainy weather or Mother Nature’s shenanigans – like the recurring rock slides impacting access into and out of Chicago Basin (and Silverton, too) via the Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.
This past holiday weekend was glorious, and based on reports from SJMA staff and volunteers across the region, everyone wanted to be outside. Unfortunately, one trend that we see is the unrelenting determination of visitors who simply must experience a particular trail when they want to, regardless of natural or crowded conditions.
SJMA Forest Ambassadors reported well over 1,000 visitors at the Ice Lake Trailhead over the weekend, with accompanying parking infractions. Our Alpine Loop Ambassadors encountered more than 1,200 motorized users over the holiday weekend. Those are just two locations where SJMA has a regular presence. All told, SJMA’s ten Forest Ambassadors were spread across a total of ten different locations over the holiday weekend, and cumulatively, they engaged with more than 3,800 visitors.
It’s tough to determine the exact point at which we are “loving a place to death.” There are clear rate-limiting factors, like available parking spaces at trailheads or train tickets that deliver backpackers to Needleton – but even then, some determined folks want to push the boundaries. Other times, our plans are simply interrupted by natural conditions – like the aforementioned rockslide along the tracks between Needleton and Elk Park – or more recently, the series of mudslides that have severely impacted the Animas River Trail between the
Cascade Wye and Needle Creek. Sometimes, it’s a little more difficult to determine when to change plans – for instance, how muddy does a trail have to be before we all should give it a couple days to dry out?
Therein lies the challenge for all of us as stewards of the land. I would guess that most of you reading this column treasure our public lands – and probably moved here to enjoy them. We all know the joy and excitement in planning for our next outing. It is a bummer when things don’t go according to plan, but the reality is that there are factors that impact our plans all the time. We encourage everyone to incorporate contingency plans into your recreation schedule if your primary destination is already at capacity or the weather has impacted trails. We are blessed with a wealth of recreation opportunities in the San Juans, and sometimes wejust have to be willing to pivot and go with “Plan B” (or C or even D).
Our public lands will benefit if we collectively adopt a mindset that we are here to care for these lands that we love in addition to using them for our own personal satisfaction. Managers of public lands don’t arbitrarily impose limits to impact your fun. When policies and regulations go into effect, it is done to care for these places for the long term or – in the case of parking restrictions – to ensure access by emergency responders if the need arises (and it already has multiple times in some of our more popular destinations).
While it may not be apparent that these wild lands are managed, there are a great number of organizations that work in partnership with the SJNF and our other land management agencies to help care for the San Juans. Consider giving back to help care for these lands you love – whether it’s by joining or volunteering with SJMA or one of the many other organizations that help care for the San Juans. Take care out there, and continue to enjoy the most amazing of places – responsibly, of course.
