Several years ago, I was quite interested in Rockpile Mountain Wilderness, simply because it was the Wilderness Area closest to me. I went backpacking there a few times, as well as some day hikes. The eponymous rock pile isn’t all that interesting, but there are some peaceful little shut-ins and some rather majestic rock formations.
Maps I found showed a whole trail system. The USFS maintains about 2.2 miles of trail inside the Wilderness Area, but the rest is unmaintained (the red lines in the map below). I made an effort to explore all of this, and what I found is that much of it just isn’t there anymore. It just fades away. Other parts have been trampled to a wide area of “trail”.
I’ve been told that the area was hit hard by the tornado that swept through in the Spring of 2025, making much of the trail impassible.
What can be done to restore the trails in this wilderness?
Unfortunately, there are regulatory limits to what can be done. One of the simplest things ways to solve some of the problems with navigating the trail would be to blaze it with trail markers. However, they are not allowed, and ribbons that people post get taken down. Power equipment cannot be used to address problems on the trail.
Trail could be built, but not without a NEPA study, which would take years, and it’s unrealistic to believe it would be prioritized. Could “existing” trail be restored?
What it needs is an organized volunteer group. I know several people who have explored this wilderness. Several of them have experience maintaining trails. Some even have crosscut certifications (the certification required to use crosscut hand saws on USFS trails).