Volunteer & Packer of the Year: 2024!
Our volunteers are simply the best! Each year we’re thrilled to recognize a couple of the hardworking folks who go above and beyond for the Bob.
TRAIL DAWG OF THE YEAR: Greg Dugdale
The wind on the hi-line has blown the Havre resident and 2023 Trail Dawg of the Year, Greg Dugdale, to the Bob at least four times per summer to volunteer with BMWF since 2017. Passionate about The Bob and wild places in general, Greg embodies the spirit of giving back to the Bob.
How do you choose which projects you volunteer on?
I pick my trips based on fitting in my schedule over the summer, where it goes to (for the view), if I’ve ever been there before, and yes...the type of work involved. I don't care if it's car camping or backpacking. I'm just a sucker for the chance to lay in the sun with a great view, while eating lunch, visiting with the crew during a break, or taking a short nap. That's me being present in the moment and that is everything to me.
What do you enjoy about volunteering for BMWF?
Look, it's just all fun to me, I love the unknown, the adventure, the diverse mix of people from all walks of life, the Trail Leaders. And I miss it all, as soon as the season ends.
Every year you guys thank me. I really do appreciate that and am very honored by the award. But really, I should be thanking you. You set up the time, the place, all the logistics, and all I have to do is show up with my own gear. You feed me in the morning, pack a lunch, give me sharp tools to play with, ask me to saw a few logs, dig a few drain bars, fix some tread, all while surrounded with gorgeous views and great people. Then at the end of the day, you feed me again until I'm full, we sleep, get up in the morning and you say, "hey, let's do it again". I'm game.
PACKER OF THE YEAR: Krissy Gillispie
When we dreamt up BMWF’s Packer Apprentice program, Krissy’s path to becoming a packer is just what we were hoping for. Krissy was our very first Packer Apprentice back in 2016. A horse person who loved the backcountry, Krissy was looking to combine her hobbies when she heard about the apprenticeship while volunteering to do trail work in The Bob.
Fast forward eight years and Krissy is now a confident Wilderness packer with her own string of four mules, a BMWF Board member and an integral part of BMWF’s packing program. When you see her out on the trail, be sure to give her a big Thank You for all she contributes to the Foundation! We caught up with Krissy at her home in Helena to ask a few questions about what it's like packing for the BMWF.
1) What do you enjoy most about packing for the BMWF?
What I enjoy most...hard one. (I enjoy the mules the most.) Not sure that's a great PR answer. I'm also a freak – I love hard work. I love getting up early (yes, 4 AM is normal for me), saddling mules, then the morning workout and the sweat, the exhaustion of a hard day of lifting loads...and then sitting on top of this amazing creature who safely takes me into the wilderness far far away from phones, computers, busyness, noise and light pollution. Second to the hard physical labor, I love the teamwork (the crew and volunteers, the mules, other packers, the forest service employees). I have found my people.
2) Do you remember a favorite trip you packed? If so, tell us a little about it.
My favorite trip...Hands down my first trip into Gates Park. Pulling into the gates and the cabin, feeling like I was in an old western movie...waiting for someone to ring the dinner bell and yell we'd made it back. That didn't quite happen but it felt like it could. Unloading the animals and mingling with all the crews coming and going out of that location – it's like a busy little frontier town from the 1800's. That evening we sat around a porch, sipping some wine and bourbon, listening to old timers tell stories and tell us 'youngin’s' what we need to do to protect this land.
Watching the mules graze on the airstrip and a fawn chases his mom around the fence at the cabin. Some crazy woman came riding up with her dog, who changed out of her western wear to put on running clothes and took off down the trail jogging to who knows where, she was gone for a long time. (My first time meeting Keegan Rumsey). Waking up in the morning after a fresh rain and looking at all the griz tracks on the brand new sign posts and in the mud – those griz were clearly testing the workmanship and sturdiness of those new posts. That was my first time meeting Kraig Lang and he told me that day about these three mules that were for sale...those three mules became my first string.
3) How did you get into packing?
I always wanted to pack into my hunting spots but never knew quite how to get started. I had a horse...the end. One summer I volunteered for a trip to do trailwork in the Scapegoat. During that trip, a string brought in our gear and food. When they arrived, I asked Shannon Freix, our crew leader, "how do I get that job?" jokingly. The very next year she told me about the apprentice program and had my letter of recommendation wrote and submitted before I even read the application. She had a dinner ticket for me to attend my first Backcountry Horseman state convention and introduced me to some people, who have become great friends and mentors (Greg Schatz, Andy Breland, Eve & Ian Bardwell). All who have helped encourage and teach me since then.
4) Any advice for new packers?
Don't be afraid to get started because you don't have a string. If you have an interest, a desire, a passion...it will all come together.