Thanks to Our Volunteer Docents!
A docent-led hike heads up Mt. Lola. Photo by Herb Hwang
It’s been another incredible year for our free docent-led hiking program, and we owe it all to our wonderful volunteer docents.
Forty six docents have taken more than 650 hikers onto Truckee Donner Land Trust properties this summer – exposing the public to amazing places like Royal Gorge, Lacey Meadows, Coldstream Meadow & Mount Lola, Frog Lake Cliff, Donner Summit Canyon, Elizabethtown Meadow, Johnson Canyon, the Truckee River Canyon, Waddle Ranch and the Donner Lake Rim Trail.
Each of our dedicated volunteers guided an average of 4 hikes – with one intrepid trekker leading 16 hikes this summer! While many docents have been with us for a few years, 10 new docents joined this year, and we’re always looking for more.
Our docents tried new trips in 2019, leading cross country skiing into Lower Carpenter Valley last winter, and mountain bikers on Royal Gorge trails this summer. They hosted a children’s hike, and we’re looking at a guided trail run for next year.
Each hike brings an average of 15 hikers along – our biggest group this summer was 36 – and the Land Trust works with our docents to provide stories and information about the flora, fauna, geology and history of the land.
“We are so grateful to our amazing docents for sharing our work with the community,” said Linda Slattery of the Land Trust. “If you’re interested in joining the team, it isn’t a huge commitment, but it is a ton of fun.”