MWA announces 2013 Wilderness Walks

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HELENA, Mont. — Join the Montana Wilderness Association on the trail and help us celebrate another fun and exciting year of Wilderness Walks. This summer MWA is proud to offer nearly 150 free, guided day hikes, backpacking adventures, field trips, and trail maintenance projects across some of the state’s most magnificent backcountry.

Since its beginnings in July of 1962, when MWA founders Ken and Florence Baldwin led 40 hikers on the first Wilderness Walk along a trail to Table Mountain in the Spanish Peaks, the intention of the Wilderness Walks program remains the same—to build grassroots support for Wilderness by taking people to a special place that needs protection. Now in its 51st season, MWA’s Wilderness Walks program continues to offer hikers of all ages and experience levels an opportunity to participate in a traditional recreation opportunity while enjoying Montana’s quiet beauty and remaining wild places.

New Family-Friendly Walks

New this year to the Wilderness Walks program are Walks specifically designed for families with young children. Led by MWA’s NexGen Wilderness Leaders, a program working to recruit, train, and inspire the next generation of wilderness heroes, MWA hopes these Walks will introduce young people of all ages — from schoolchildren to college students to young parents — to the joys of exploring Montana’s wild country.

Summer of Lee

Also in this year’s book, MWA is helping to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Lee Metcalf Wilderness, a storied landscape embedded with tales of art, history, politics, and conservation. As part of a summer-long celebration filled with activities, MWA is offering five hikes in the Lee Metcalf Wilderness. These Walks, along with the other activities planned this summer, are meant to increase awareness of Senator Lee Metcalf and his legacy of protecting Montana’s wildlands, as well as cultivate appreciation for the Lee Metcalf Wilderness, its distinguished history, and how wilderness areas benefit Montana communities.

CDT Montana

Interested in getting your hands dirty and helping to complete the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail? CDT Montana, MWA’s volunteer trail stewardship program has ten projects scheduled for the public this summer. Check out the book to find the right project for you.

All outings are free and open to the public, but participants must make reservations by contacting the hike leader. A free copy of the book can be picked up, while supplies last, at various locations around the state; one of the MWA field offices in Bozeman, Billings, Choteau, Great Falls, Kalispell, or Missoula; or the MWA office at 30. S. Ewing in Helena.

For more information on the 2013 Wilderness Walks program call the Montana Wilderness Association office in Helena at (406) 443-7350.

About the Montana Wilderness Association

The Montana Wilderness Association is the state’s leading grassroots wilderness conservation organization. Founded in 1958, MWA works with communities to protect Montana’s wilderness heritage, quiet beauty, and outdoor traditions, now and for future generations. Our vision is for a Montana where pristine public lands are permanently protected as federally designated wilderness, thus ensuring biodiversity, clean headwaters, and sustainable economic opportunities for nearby communities to thrive in co-existence with abundant wild places.