To help our Volunteers prepare for our trips, we have some tips that may be helpful.
Please read the USFS Volunteer Orientation Guide:

- We recommend that you use Water Hydration Systems like Camelbak, Osprey or Platypus that lightweight and make it easy to stay hydrated when backpacking.
- A Sea to Summit or another brand collapsible bucket can be a real convenience – you can use it to filter water from, to clean up and or rinse clothing.
- Mosquitoes and ticks are present for spring and into summer months and can carry serious diseases. Treating your clothing with permethrin reduces the risk of tick-borne infection, and - DEET for exposed skin, a head net, long sleeves and long pants (loose fitting) can protect you from mosquito bites.
- While on our backpacking trips, please remember that every ounce will be carried on your back. Bring small sized toiletries and layer your clothing. Do not bring Blue Jeans – they weigh too much, and cotton takes forever to dry. Duluth Trading Company makes lightweight - Firehose work pants that will stand up and not rip on Trailcrew.
- Please do not wear Shorts on Trailcrew. Long Pants and Long Sleeve Shirts are required.
- Be proactive with blisters. Make sure your boots are well broken in by wearing them as much as you can before the trip. Use Hike Goo or Duct Tape any places on your feet that you know are prone to blisters before you start hiking. Athletic tape such as leukotape usually stays on better than moleskin. The tape will stick better if you first apply a coat of - -Tincture of Benzoin on your skin.
- Bring various sizes of Ziploc bags to organize your gear.
- Develop your own sleeping system. A sleeping system is more than just your sleeping bag.
- Bandannas can be used as a washcloth or towel, worn under a hat or alone to protect you from the sun, a strainer for water to strain the gunk out, a headband to keep sweat out of your eyes, a wet scarf to wear around your neck to cool you on hot days and it’s many other uses!
- Bring Vitamin I a.k.a, Ibuprofen
- If the trip description states that you will be in Bear Country, then we suggest getting a Wild Idea Bearikade. You can rent these from the Sequoia/Kings Canyon NP visitor centers, by mail from Wild Ideas, or buy — the company will allow you to rent then apply that cost to your purchase if you like the can. They are expensive, but they are also the lightest can of significant volume on the market. If you only do weekend trips, a Bear Boxer is the lightest canister on the market, but it is also the smallest – two days of food for one person will fit inside if your food is not bulky. We recommend that you consult https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/containers.htm for a full list of appropriate bear containers appropriate to all wilderness areas in California. Homemade devices do not work.
- You’ll want camp shoes – Crocs or other lightweight shoes so you can get out of your boots when around camp. These shoes have less impact on the ground, double as stream crossing shoes, and allow your feet to breathe.
- Bring a headlight instead of a flashlight. Be sure to bring extra batteries.
- Come to the training events listed on the meetup site; they are all free of charge.
Store your toothpaste and other toiletries with scent in your Bear can.
- Volunteers need to train for trailcrew; there is no way around this. Hiking is the best way to stay in shape, and it’s free of charge too! Our trips average 5 to 8 miles a day with a backpack plus some tools. Train on hills with weight for best results and it might be worthwhile to purchase a heart rate monitor so you can keep tabs on your performance.
- Volunteers need to be mentally prepared and physically prepared. Wilderness Corps does a lot of training so our volunteers are mentally prepared for what Mother Nature throws our way while we are on duty in the back-country. We send our CORE volunteers through the ----- USFS Region 5, 5-day Wilderness Ranger Academy yearly so that they have the skills and knowledge to be successful, safe and have fun.
- What you are carrying will depend upon your own base weight, the availability of water on the section of trail we are working, and the tools we need to carry – it is possible on a small crew that you might have a tool in your hand, a few in your pack, and extra water to complete tasks on a dry stretch of trail, so please keep this in mind when choosing your backpack for the trip. Ultralight gear plus a framed pack to allow for carrying in tools and carrying out tools plus any trash we pick up along the way is ideal.
- Protect yourself from the sun – a brimmed hat, sunscreen, lip balm, sunglasses are a must on all of the trips.
Wilderness Corps Gear List
- Nutrition is key – On trail crew, you’ll be working much harder than on a normal backpacking trip. Calories are your friend. Please don’t come out with us and say well I am on a diet, so I need to eat less. Depending on many factors like your fitness level and conditioning you could burn 2,000 to 5,000 calories a day depending on how many trees we end up cutting. - - On average a person consumes 1.5 pounds of food per meal.
- Bring a first aid kit and have the knowledge on how to use it.
- Understand and know about Leave No Trace Outdoor Ethics and be willing to discuss them amongst the group or with the Public.
- We ask that you best be on your best behavior while you are out representing the Sierra National Forest and Wilderness Corps.