For nearly five decades, Ken Graves has ridden into the wilderness with horses at his side and purpose in his heart. As a seasoned horse packer on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Ken has spent most of his career navigating the rugged beauty of the Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness — hauling tools, gear, and stories into the backcountry.

In our latest podcast episode, we sit down with Ken to talk about his remarkable journey. He shares memories from a lifetime on the trail, reflections on the changing nature of public lands, and his commitment to training the next generation of packers — people who will carry on this vital, behind-the-scenes work that makes modern trail stewardship possible.

Horse packers like Ken are the unsung heroes of trail work. Machines aren't allowed in wilderness so it's the hoofbeats of mules and horses that bring in what’s needed to get the job done. Their contribution to trail conservation is quiet, powerful, and essential.

We invite you to listen in, be inspired by Ken’s story, and consider how you can support the trail — not just by hiking it, but by helping care for it.

The Bigfoot Trail Alliance offers opportunities for all skill levels to get involved, whether on remote volunteer vacations deep in the Klamath Mountains or weekend work trips near the trailhead. Every hand, hoof, and heart counts.

👉 Listen to the episode and learn more at bigfoottrail.org/podcast

We are excited to announce that our 2024 Volunteers of the Year are Sylas Kauffmann and Oliver Bullwinkle. They each volunteered 118 hours doing trail work across two week-long trips. The first trip was into the Siskiyou Wilderness where they worked on the Bigfoot Trail from Poker Flat toward Young's Valley. Their second trip of the summer was to the Russian Wilderness where they worked on five miles of the Pacific Crest Trail -- after our Marble Mountain trip was rerouted due to the Shelly Fire.

In this episode of the Bigfoot Trail Tales, proud dad Michael Kauffmann interview Sylas and Oliver about their adventures working and exploring along the Bigfoot Trail. They share tales of food, tools, and friends made along the way.

For this episode we spoke with Eva Pointkowski who solo hiked around 200 miles of the Bigfoot Trail this summer. Eva grew up in the San Francisco area and nurtured her love of the outdoors in the Sierra Nevada. On a hike in the Marble Mountain Wilderness last year she learned of the Bigfoot Trail when she met one of our Trail Crews. In June 2024 she set out to do the southern half of the trail from the Yolla Bollys to the Marble Mountains. On her trip she encountered California Conservation Corp crews out in the backcountry, overgrown sections of the trail, high river crossings, snow fields in the high mountains, and even a too close rattlesnake encounter. She also discusses conifer highlights and the impact of fires along the trail.

Eva also came out in the fall to join on a volunteer trail work trip on Wooley Creek. This particular trip was a 13 mile hike to camp with work being done beyond that. She discusses working with the tools and crosscut saws, and how much work goes into maintaining these trails. She wanted to give back and become a part of the “Bigfoot Family." We are happy to have her as an addition to the family and thank her for bringing her passion and great attitude to the trail.

We are re-launching our podcast here at the Bigfoot Trail Alliance with a redux of one we recorded in 2015. Mary Kwart, now a board member, ended her adventure in August 2015 and sat down with Michael Kauffmann to tell her Bigfoot Trail Tales.

In this episode we explore details of Mary's hike and the affects of fire on the long distance hiking community.

Mary's PostHoler Report

Michael Kauffmann and Cliff Berkowitz spoke with Scott Herriott about his adventures last summer on the Bigfoot Trail and His creation of a Bigfoot Trail Film. He hiked the entire trail, shooting about 30 hours of film which turned into a 75 minute documentary called "Asquatchalypse Now." Scott will be in the region for two screenings. Monday February 13th at the Arcata Playhouse and on Thursday February 16th at the Trinity Alps Performing Arts Center in Weaverville.