Liam Nyssen is a Trail Mix veteran who began working for the Juneau nonprofit at age 16. My wife Sandy and I have known him since the day of his birth 22 years ago. Liam put in five seasons of hard trail work. We witnessed his transition from a soft teenage boy with a computer gaming habit to a strong outdoorsman capable of lifting me off the ground like a sack of potatoes.<\/p>\n
Now living in Bellingham, Washington, Liam has been around, from New Zealand where his father Steve lives, to Maine where his mother Kathleen now resides. “Bellingham is famed for its trails,” Liam told me during a telephone conversation, “but it is a shadow compared to Juneau where I can walk out the door and be on a trail in minutes.” He laughs indulgently at his mountain biking friends’ enthusiasm for Bellingham’s trail system. “They have no idea.”<\/p>\n
Meghan Tabacek worked on the trail crew with Liam during her first year in Juneau. She is now executive director. Tabacek says Trail Mix maintains about 200 miles of trails. “We have more accessible trails within a few miles from where we live than any other comparable community I can think of,” she says. “And our use is super high — a recent survey indicates that over 90% of Juneau residents make some use of our trails.”<\/p>\n
Thanks largely to the Trail Mix workforce and volunteers, our trails have been remarkably upgraded over the last 15 years. The most impressive restoration work is the 14-plus miles of Treadwell Ditch Trail, which has included pathway widening, graveling and new bridge installations, the last expected to be completed in June of this year when a heavy-lift helicopter will lower a 52-foot span to cross over the “yellow rope ravine,” the only remaining obstacle along this evenly graded trail connecting Eaglecrest to downtown Douglas.<\/p>\n
Much of the credit for Treadwell improvements goes to a group of about 15 volunteers organized by David Haas that includes Jack Kreinheader, Marc Scholten, Tom Krebbiel, Mark Miller, Chuck Orson, Jeff Sloss and Peggy Feinman who I met with recently as they prepared to hike up Emerson Access Trail to widen a portion of Treadwell. I asked which trails they most enjoy. Eaglecrest ridge, Horse Tram and the Thunder Mountain Bike Park were mentioned, but unsurprisingly Treadwell was their collective favorite.<\/p>\n