Local 4X4 club is seeking Eagle County volunteers to help clear trail on Old Fulford Road June 1
New sponsors mean some volunteers can win a new chainsaw
Eagle County 4X4/courtesy photo
Eagle County 4X4 is looking to grow by being useful. The group, which started on Facebook, currently has roughly 1,300 members, but member Wesley Renner said most aren’t particularly active.
Renner said a few years ago the group became a nonprofit social club and started holding monthly meetings and working with other area groups of four-wheel-drive enthusiasts. The group started working with Hi Country 4 Wheelers in Glenwood Springs, and communicating with the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management about trail maintenance projects.
What: Eagle County 4X4’s annual trail maintenance day.
Where: Old Fulford Road
When: June 1, with volunteers meeting at 9 a.m. at the Eagle Visitor Center and 9:30 a.m. at the Sylvan Lake State Park Visitor Center.
What you need: Gloves, hand saws, hedge trimmers, loppers, water and snacks, long pants and closed-toe shoes.
What you get: Breakfast and lunch, and participants will receive a free year of onX Offroad Elite membership.
There’s a bonus: Every 10th volunteer has an opportunity to win a chainsaw.
To register: Go to the event page at onxmaps.com.
The group has conducted a joint project with the Glenwood Club, and the local club has also tackled a cleanup on Wearyman Road near Red Cliff.
Beyond cleanups, though, Renner said the club operates under the “core values” of responsible off-roading, which means primarily staying on designated trails. In addition, the group also participates in yearly classes in off-road recovery and off-road driving skills.
The skills classes have been real eye-openers, Renner said.
Support Local Journalism
Eagle County 4×4 is open to just about anyone, Renner said. Instead of specific machinery, all that’s required is a rig with recovery points, he said
The June 1 cleanup effort got a sizable boost recently from onX Offroad and Toyota, which recently added Eagle County 4X4 to the Trail Revival Project. Through that effort, one in every 10 volunteers at the Fulford Road cleanup will win a chainsaw.
Renner said he hopes the sponsorship helps grow the club so it can help federal agencies do work that staffing often can’t accomplish.
Without those efforts, “we’ll lose access to those trails,” he said.
