WTA Trail Maintenance Staff & Crew Leaders

Who's behind all of the great trail work to maintain our state's best hiking trails? Check out this 'Who's Who in Trail Maintenance' to find out.

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Jane Baker - Eastern Washington

Jane adopted Spokane as home in 1984, migrating from the Midwest, "a great place to be from". During the week she is a physical therapist in an out-patient clinic.  She got her first taste of trail work over 20 years ago with the Sierra Club, with whom she did Service trips in Olympic NP, Idaho, and Colorado.  When word trickled down that there was an organization right here in Washington state that specialized in volunteer trail work, she jumped right in to doing Volunteer Vacations with WTA over the last 5 years.  Now as a Crew Leader she is excited to help bring the organization and spirit of WTA to her fellow hikers in Eastern Washington, to make those trails great destinations, and to finish putting the "Washington" in WTA.

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Diane Bedell - Program Development Manager

Do you wonder who manages the paperwork for WTA's trail maintenance program? Diane does! Diane first encountered WTA when working as a trail crew member on the Chelan District in 1999, where she helped Greg Ball pack llamas in for a trip at Domke Lake. (The llamas won.) Diane later moved to the Cowlitz District on the Gifford Pinchot, where she was been the district’s outdoor recreation planner and wilderness manager.  Diane has a masters in recreation, park and leisure studies, and has also worked for a commercial outfitter in the Boundary Waters.

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Marcus Bianco - Snoqualmie (North Bend) District Crew Leader

Nearly three years ago, Marcus left the east coast, trading his trusty hockey stick for a sharpened pulaski. The tools of the trail were something he first learned to wield as an Americorps participant with Seattle-based EarthCorps and then honed as an SCA intern. When not working on trail you may find him identifying plants, tacking wildlife, rock climbing, playing guitar, or more likely, eating vegan treats. He returns for a second season as a crew leader in North Bend after spending the past winter in southern Nevada as a research assistant with the USGS studying endangered desert tortoise and desert puma.

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Arlen Bogaards - Northwest Washington Crew Leader

Arlen has been leading WTA work parties in the Bellingham and Mt. Baker areas for the past several years. After growing up in Lynden, he spent many years working in the construction field. He rediscovered the wonders of nature after making a career change that afforded him more time to wander the many trails in the North Cascades. A good friend introduced him to WTA and the rest is history. If out hiking off the Mt. Baker Highway, you might find him in one of his favorite haunts, Yellow Aster Butte.

Email: arlen@wta.org

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Claire Hanson - North Bend District Crew Leader

With a mind only for the pragmatic, Claire attended the Evergreen State College to pursue a degree in philosophy. There, working on the campus grounds crew, she discovered the wisdom of the dirt. The enthusiasm she realized there has pulled her on a teaser adventure to Alaska, has landed her in her tent for five months working on the Pacific Crest Trail, and has most recently lead her to the WTA. Off the trails, her free time is often spent binding books, building furniture, and learning bit by bit how to build houses with Habitat for Humanity. But after six months back in the city, Claire is ecstatic to be spending this trail season with the WTA out in North Bend.

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William Jahncke - Olympic District Crew Leader

As a child, William chased after marmots near his grandparents' cabin in the Sierra Nevada mountains.  That, plus ambitious backpacking trips with the Boy Scouts (he never made Eagle, too busy hiking to bother with the necessary merit badges), inculcated a love of the wild.  After meandering through college in Northern California, studying medieval history and literature, this Western Washington native had to come home.  It was too hot down there and he missed the rain.  His current favorite place on earth is the slopes of Mount Rainier along the Wonderland trail, but the moss-draped giants of the Olympic forests call to him like a siren's song.

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Alyssa Kreider - Volunteer Coordinator

Alyssa keeps track of the more than 2500 volunteers who help out on trail every year. She helps them through the entire volunteer process from signing up for a work party to recognition for their efforts. She also manages the online schedule and compiles reports for land managers. Since 2003 she has spent more than 200 days in the field working alongside these volunteers. Alyssa grew up in Ohio and learned to love hiking through an annual trek to the Great Smoky Mountains, where she summited the Chimney Tops multiple times as a youth.

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John Longsworth - Mount Rainier Crew Leader

Born in the desert of Southern California, John moved to the Northwest to study brewing sciences at Evergreen. Mesmerized by the green, John paused college for coniferous forests and a pulaski. In between building trails and road biking, he brews ales, meads, ciders and wines. John's been building trails full-time since 2008 and has worked on the Glacier Basin reroute for almost two seasons. His favorite hikes surround the Western side of Mount Rainier.

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Alan Carter Mortimer - Field Director

Alan is WTA's Field Director, and of all the WTA office staff, he logs the most hours in the woods (and in his truck.) Alan oversees the planning and implementation of trail construction and maintenance projects.  He works closely with land managers and sets up projects on the ground, and coordinates with crew leaders to ensure everything is in place for the volunteers when they arrive. He also trains volunteer crew leaders for the trail maintenance program. Alan's favorite hike is the Copper Pass - Twisp Pass loop on the Okanogan National Forest.

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Mike Owens - Chief Crew Leader

If you're from the greater Seattle area and have ever been out on a mid-week work party, odds are that you've met Mike. He has more than 2000 days under his belt and leads mid-week trail maintenance crews throughout the year. His strong following of volunteers come back time and again because of his fun work parties. Join Mike on the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest for a Tuesday through Friday and you'll be sure to have a good time.

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Ryan Schreiner - Southwest Washington Crew Leader

Ryan Schreiner returns for a second season leading WTA work parties in SW Washington. Before he became the SW District Crew Lead, Ryan worked as a program coordinator for the Southwest Conservation Corps based out of Durango, CO. But his heart is in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest where he first started leading trail crews with the Northwest Service Academy which took him up and down the Pacific Crest Trail from northern Washington to Southern California. When not digging trail you might find Ryan on the river with a fly rod in hand or shooting hoops at local park.

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Tim Van Beek - Project Coordinator

Tim spent far too many years stuck inside office buildings keeping track of things. Mercifully, he was laid off February 2003. Having run across a WTA crew on Tiger Mountain and learning what they were up to, he went on a few day trips and fell in love with trail work. After a year of volunteering, he was asked to work for WTA helping out in the Gifford Pinchot NF and the Skykomish Ranger District. In 2005 he began crew leading Volunteer Vacations around the state. He works closely with the various land management agencies to come up with a set of up 32 projects that will not only address important trail needs, but will also entice a crew of twelve volunteers to spend a week in the back country. His favorite hike is High Divide by Mt. Baker or anywhere in the Enchantments.