E10: Talkin' About Trails with the Tahoe Rim Trail Association

On this episode of All Land is Beautiful, I find myself back on a landscape that needs no convincing of how extraordinary and magnificent it is. I’m talking about the jewel of the Sierra, Lake Tahoe. Around 15 million people visit Lake Tahoe each year, which is roughly three times the number of visitors to Yosemite National Park. Needless to say, this precious resource receives a lot of pressure and yet its beauty almost seems unwavering.

Now I’m just one person and I don’t have the capacity to research and investigate all of the good work within the Tahoe region, but I did have the great opportunity to sit down with Brooke Clayton and Anthony Porter of the Tahoe Rim Trail Association, or TRTA. TRTA helps manage and advocate for the preservation of one of the nation’s premier trail systems, the Tahoe Rim Trail, which also happens to be a portion of the Pacific Crest Trail. As a nonprofit organization, TRTA occupies a unique space within recreation and conservation, acting as a conduit between those who use the trail, and those who own and manage it, like the US Forest Service and State Park Agencies. They help to facilitate and add capacity for things like trail repairs, improvements, and habitat restorations, they educate and provide resources for recreationalists of all capabilities on how to respectfully use and preserve the trail, ensuring it’s continued use for generations to come. And what I can also really appreciate is that they recognize the role the organization plays within the greater community, as a player in both the economic and natural health of Tahoe.