From Anacortes, Washington, Elly McFarland first came to trail work in 2020. That summer, following her freshman year of college, she did AmeriCorps. “I’ve been doing trail work every summer since,” she says. Elly worked on the BTNF’s Pinedale District last summer. Before that, she did trail work in the Sawtooth National Forest, the Caribou-Targhee National Forest, and the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, one of only two national forests in the Lower 48 states that is bigger than the BTNF (it’s 3.8 million acres to the BTNF’s 3.4 million acres).
Elly’s parents planted the seed of outdoor recreation. “They gave me the idea that we could go hiking and camping and then I became the one in the family who was like, ‘let’s do this hike,’ and ‘let’s go here,’” she says. The closest public lands to where Elly grew up weren’t a national park or forest, but community forestland. “It wasn’t huge, and it was city-owned and -managed, but it was direct access to the outdoors,” she says. “I love the BTNF for how big it is, but you don’t always have access to places like it. I love any place where I can get outdoor time.”
The BTNF first landed on Elly’s radar thanks to her boss during her second job with the Forest Service, on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. “He had worked on the BTNF in Pinedale and said it was one of his favorite places he had worked,” Elly says. “I knew I wanted to see it myself.”
Like any responsible recreationalist, Elly doesn’t geotag or name her favorite spots in the Winds, the mountain range that makes up the heart of the BTNF’s Pinedale District. “Generally I like being up high—scrambling above treeline,” she says. “I like to do big trail runs and the Winds are good for that.”
While it is Elly’s job this summer to help take care of trails across the BTNF, caring for public lands isn’t something she only does when on the clock. “Whenever I go out, if I see little pieces of trash on the side of the trail, I pick them up,” she says. “Every time I’m on the forest, I want to leave it better than I found it.”
Favorite piece of Forest Corps gear: “One of my favorite tools is the Pulask! It is my go-to for digging tread in areas with a lot of roots and rotting logs that need to be dug out, but where it really shines is digging the perfect cathole. For that reason it’s always a favorite while out on backcountry hitches!”
Favorite piece of personal gear: “My mini (500ml) nalgene is my vessel of choice for morning coffee. On chilly hikes to the worksite I keep it in the pocket of my puffy to keep me warm.”