Trevor McGlynn has lived in Massachusetts his entire life and had never been south of the Mason-Dixon line until last summer, when he decided to volunteer for the entire SWEAT crew season in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. He considers it one of the best decisions of his life. In fact, he had so much fun, he went on to work on the Rocky Top crew for a few more weeks!
“I met so many great people and have so many great memories from my time with trail crew. Plus, I spent the summer doing something I loved,” he says. “I learned plenty of great skills [and] saw new places… I would recommend it to anyone.”
Trevor especially enjoyed the physical challenges of the SWEAT crew, hiking 7 to 10 miles to field camps while packing in 60 pounds of gear and tools, and then clearing brush, rebuilding trail, clearing blowdowns, and repairing drainage structures.
ATC Regional Trail Resources Manager Andrew Downs says, “Trevor is the kind of go-to guy that you need when you are in the backcountry. With his hearty responses to the challenges of SWEAT Crew, be it the disposal of burned macaroni and cheese or packing up a few extra picks, Trevor made sure problems got solved.”