Have you ever been out hiking in a new area and had a question about something unfamiliar to you? Maybe you wondered about a specific flower or the name of a peak.
I’ve been asked multitudes of questions over my years of working in uniform along the trails of the San Juan Mountains. A couple of my favorites have been “What kind of bird poops blue?” (Answer: one that eats blue berries) and “How far does this trail go?” (The questioner was 1 mile into the 486-mile Colorado Trail).
Do you enjoy sharing your knowledge of the San Juan Mountains with others? Are you looking for a way to give back to this incredible landscape and its native flora and fauna? It’s not hard to understand why so many people want to visit this place.
Maybe you should volunteer as a trail ambassador.
The San Juan Mountains Association (SJMA), in partnership with the San Juan National Forest (SJNF), has offered volunteer experiences such as these since 1988.
The beginnings of what is now known as the Trail Ambassador Program began in the early 1990s in the popular Chicago Basin area of the Weminuche Wilderness. The presence of volunteers has helped to minimize damage to fragile alpine vegetation as well as curb potential conflicts between the animals that live there and the people and pets who are merely visitors.
Over the years, volunteers have shared their knowledge of backcountry best practices in dozens of locations to thousands of visitors.
The overwhelming majority of these visitors are grateful for these interactions with trail ambassadors and walk away feeling better about how to minimize their impacts in nature.
Most people don’t want to do the wrong thing. In many cases, they honestly don’t know any better. Maybe they live in an area where vegetation has a long growing season. Or, they might be city dwellers where there is always a trash can or a bathroom close by.
For 2026, the SJMA will partner with the San Juan Outdoor Club to fulfill the request of the Pagosa Ranger District to increase trail user education.
The SJOC has many folks who have been volunteering at local trailheads for the past several years. They have really laid out the groundwork for a successful trail ambassador program in the Pagosa area. The SJMA is excited to join this partnership. The SJOC’s expertise is critical to ensure the continuation of an already important volunteer project.
Volunteer trail ambassadors will be located at the Piedra and Fourmile trailheads (possibly more), where they will have an information table and be available to chat with people out on the trails.
If this sounds like an opportunity you’d like to join in on, there will be a training session June 10 on the back patio of the Pagosa Ranger District office from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Please contact Brooks Letchworth from the SJMA (bletchworth@sjma.org) with any questions.
Together, we can all make a difference in our little corner of the world, one question at a time. Let’s share our knowledge and wonder with others and protect these incredible San Juans for generations to come. We hope to see you out there.
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