锡安国家公园中的Walter's Wiggles小径，犹他州 Walter's Wiggles trail in Zion National Park, Utah (© Dennis Frates/Alamy)

锡安国家公园中的Walter's Wiggles小径，犹他州 Walter's Wiggles trail in Zion National Park, Utah (© Dennis Frates/Alamy)

The long and wiggling path

In 1926, Walter Ruesch, the first superintendent of Zion National Park oversaw the construction of one of the park's most ambitious trails. It took 258 helicopter flights to haul in the concrete needed to construct the steep 21-switchback trail out of Refrigerator Canyon up to Angels Landing, but the view from the top makes it all worthwhile. Walter's Wiggles, one of the most difficult and dangerous trails in the park, was added to the National Registry of Historic Places in 1987.

But you don't need to haul tons of concrete or carve into the sheer sides of a remote canyon help carry on the tradition of trail-building. Today is National Trails Day, a day 'to come together in partnership to advocate for, maintain, and clean up public lands and trails.'

Usually this means heading out to a local wilderness area and joining others to clear or maintain some trails, but this year (as you may have noticed) is a little different. The American Hiking Society has organized a digital campaign to inspire individuals to unite for the protection of trails and access to public lands—without endangering one another.