I found my people on a WTA work party

by Anne Kang

For many people, there are three important social places in our lives: home, work and a third place. The third place is somewhere an individual can relax and meet new people: church, book club, the gym. Third places are safe environments where you can learn, grow and find community. Some people — like me — consider WTA work parties their third place.

I have been volunteering with WTA for almost 2 years and have participated in close to 200 work parties. The community of people at work parties keeps me coming back.

WTA’s focus on safety, fun, work and a shared love for trails creates a fulfilling community. Photo by Anne Kang

Every work party starts off with three WTA rules centered around safety, fun and work. Organized intentionally to place work last, these three rules have led to a third place where people can gather and find community as a crew with a common goal. Once connected, they focus on completing the project, but there is never pressure; the work parties are always fun, and the volunteers are friendly.

I love seeing familiar faces on trail. It brings me joy to see faces light up when volunteers see me at the start of a work party. During the day, I like to joke around with the crew leader and other volunteers, especially if I haven’t gotten to catch up with them in a while. I feel safe being around the people at WTA. It’s a place where I can relax and enjoy the beauty around me.

But what I love most about coming out to a work party is the work we accomplish. Over the many work parties I have participated in, I’ve learned that sometimes the beauty of working together isn’t apparent after only one work party. I like to remind new volunteers that the quality of work is more important than the quantity.

The quality of WTA volunteer work is amazing. This stretch was worked on by youth volunteers. Photo by Anne Kang

For instance, the majority of the work at the Tiger Mountain summit is tree root removals. After spending many work parties there, I’ve started to consider each root ball I work on as an opportunity to meditate. Each one is a never-ending puzzle, so I stay focused and calm as I clear dirt away. It can take a while, but at the end of a work party, the sense of protecting our public lands and working with other people gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling.

As an assistant crew leader, I also get the opportunity to work with volunteers of all ages, including kids as young as 10 years old and with WTA’s amazing youth crew leader, Kaci Darsow.

Recently, the youth program spent several months working on different sections of West Seattle’s Longfellow Creek Trail. Crews did brush work, removed organic material from the trail, and re-graveled the tread, using a form to keep the trail edges clean and compacting the gravel. It was rewarding to see the older kids work with the younger kids on using the forms.

The quality work our youth volunteers can do never ceases to amaze me, and it’s something other users notice too. During the project, people living in the nearby community said they were grateful for the work we had done on the trail to make it more accessible for everyone.

Day work parties give me the opportunity to meet a wide variety of volunteers. However, backcountry response team trips bring together people from all parts of the state, and after volunteering for a while, I decided I wanted to try one.

Working in different landscapes helps me expand my knowledge of trail maintenance while learning new things about the plants and trees in the area. So in 2024, I registered my husband and myself for a trip to Columbia Mountain. It was in February, and I was excited to try out snow camping.

Anne with a volunteer crew at Columbia Mountain in Colville National Forest tackling a root ball, one of her favorite projects. Photo by Anne Kang

It was going to be a challenge; we were tasked with working all the way to the summit. However, due to weather and time constraints, we weren’t able to reach the top of the mountain. We were disappointed not to summit but had a great time anyway.

This year, we tried again. We came back to Columbia Mountain, and it was a dream come true. We bagged the peak and got a lot of work done. It was rewarding to see that the work we had done last year had held up, and as we got higher up the mountain, the view was more rewarding. I felt determination running through me. A moment of pure bliss hit me when I saw that the climbing was done and I had made it to the top. Physically I knew I could do it; mentally the willpower was there. One volunteer from previous year’s crew was there to share the success with me. Moments like this are why I love being part of the community at WTA.

WTA’s focus on safety, fun, work and a shared love for trails creates a community in which I’ve had fulfilling friendships and countless memorable experiences. Creating and maintaining trails brings me pleasure, but the memories created make WTA a fantastic organization to be part of. WTA created a third place for me, and I encourage you to come and find a place for yourself!