INCLINE VILLAGE — The Tahoe Rim Trail Association (TRTA) is looking for volunteers to help expand the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT). A summer kick-off event will be held July 14.

In 2011, the TRTA, United States Forest Service-Carson Ranger District, Great Basin Institute, Washoe County Regional Parks and Open Space and hundreds of volunteers made real headway on the Rim to Reno project, a new trail that will connect the existing Tahoe Rim Trail which circles the mountain ridges above Lake Tahoe to Reno. The Rim to Reno trail system will connect existing trails and create a new system that includes loops and will be accessible through the Mt. Rose Summit Trailhead, U.S. Forest Service’s Thomas Creek and White’s Creek Trailheads and Washoe County’s Galena Creek Regional Park, Lower White’s Creek and Lower Thomas Creek Trailheads.

In 2011, TRTA volunteers made headway on the southern piece of the Rim to Reno project, completing 1.75 miles of new trail between Galena Falls and Relay Peak, while U.S. Forest Service and Nevada Conservation Corps crews completed several miles of the trail leading south from Reno.

Want to give back to your community? Volunteer on Rim to Reno. Spending a day on a trail work crew is a fun and rewarding way to make an immediate, tangible difference in yourself and your community. More than 100,000 people use the TRT each year. In 2011, about 500 volunteers spent at least one day improving the safety, connectivity and recreational quality of the trail. Help us reach our goal of 1,000 volunteers in 2012. Learn new skills, meet likeminded trail enthusiasts and give back to your community by joining a volunteer trail crew. Volunteers of all skill levels and physical abilities are welcome—no prior experience necessary.

Workdays will begin July 14 with the Rim to Reno Kick Off event in which the Tahoe Rim Trail Association will provide lunch for volunteers. The Kick Off will start at the Mt. Rose Trailhead at the top of Hwy 431 at 9 a.m. and will run until 4 p.m. Subsequent workdays will occur from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Thursday and Saturday until Oct. 20.

Volunteers should bring their own lunch (except on July 14) and water, wear long-sleeved shirts, long pants, boots and work gloves, and bring sunscreen, bug spray, water and a backpack. The TRTA will provide hard hats, trail building tools and expert crew leaders.

To join a volunteer work crew, register online at www.tahoerimtrail.org or contact Lindsey by calling 298-0239 or emailing trails@tahoerimtrail.org.

For more information about how to become a Tahoe Rim Trail member or volunteer, contact the Tahoe Rim Trail Association at by emailing info@tahoerimtrail.org, calling 298-0012, or visit the website at www.tahoerimtrail.org. The Tahoe Rim Trail Association, founded in 1981, is a nonprofit organization which works to enhance, expand and promote the Tahoe Rim Trail system.