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Well designed trails use switchbacks to lessen the grade.
Mount Whitney trail, switchbacks below Trail Crest Pass, Inyo NF, CA (1968).
Hiking boots are necessary for the safety and comfort of hikers, but may initiate erosion and damage delicate environments.
near Garnet Lake, Ansel Adams Wilderness, Sierra NF, CA (1970).
In the past, organizations such as the WPA and CCC built magnificent trails in many national parks and forests.
High Sierra Trail above Upper Hamilton Lake, Sequoia NP, CA (1990).
Small pack animals such as burros or llamas enable the less physically fit to penetrate far into the wilderness.
near Isberg Pass, Yosemite NP, CA (1986).
Professional packers can take people and their gear into the wilderness, but may create undesirable impacts.
near Reds Meadow, Sierra NF, CA (1977). Photograph by Hugh P. Bain.
Heavily used trails must be carefully designed and constructed to avoid channeling runoff and initiating erosion.
High Sierra Trail, Big Arroyo, Sequoia NP, CA (1990).
Sometimes trails have been built just because of the challenge.
Beacon Rock SP, near Stevenson, WA (1987).
In the nineteenth century the U.S. Cavalry experimented with the use of camels in the southwestern deserts.
cemetery northwest of town, Quartzsite, AZ (1987).
This trail is the only land route to the Indian village of Supai, located within the Grand Canyon.
Hualapai Hilltop, Havasupai IR, AZ (1989).
In many national parks trails have been built, with great ingenuity and labor, to lofty vantage points.
from Observation Point, Zion NP, UT (1978).