By Jeffery Martinez, Land Stewards Intern serving with Olympic National Forest in Washington.
Hello, folks! My name is Jeff and I am 28 years old. I served in the US Army for six years as a cable technician. I was born and raised in Centralia, Washington. Although, I learned more about myself living in Tacoma, Washington in my early 20s. My family involves my father, mother and four older brothers. During my teenage years, my oldest brother took me on camping trips and I was immediately hooked. We went to Cape Disappointment multiple times, and that’s when I fell in love with the great outdoors.
During my time here on the Olympic National Forest as a recreation technician, I have found my passion and love for trail running again. Trail running and trail maintenance can go hand in hand for they are interconnected practices. Maintaining a trail including learning how to use the proper tools, brushing overgrown vegetation, and fixing drainages, can bring a lot of awareness to folks who love recreating on trails. With trail maintenance and land stewardship, you start seeing what to look for in order to make the trails accessible for everybody to enjoy with the family, friends or even just yourself.
