Imagine grabbing the typical hardscrabble hand tools – picks, shovels, McLeod (hefty hoe used by firefighters) and rakes – and scratching a pathway through the desert.

For years that has been the way of the Trailblazers, a volunteer group of 40 or so men and women, associated with the McDowell Mountain Preservation Commission (MMPC) and Sonoran Conservancy of Fountain Hills (SCFH). The group has hand-built approximately a dozen miles of trails within the Fountain Hills McDowell Sonoran Preserve and also maintains the Park Overlook Trail on the ridge above Fountain Park and the trails within the Fountain Hills Botanical Garden along Fountain Hills Boulevard.

With the return of cooler weather in the fall as well as hikers wanting to get out, the Trailblazers can be found nearly every weekend and the occasional weekday smoothing out the trails and trimming back overgrowth along the Town’s recreational desert trails. They started organized work this season on Nov. 5.

Bill Craig just turned 85. He is the sparkplug that keeps this group organized and focused on the tasks at hand. The first order for the fall has been trail maintenance, but they also have sights set on construction of a new trail along a northern ridge in the Preserve.

Craig, by the way, is not even the oldest member of the trail group.

“Following the completion of necessary maintenance, we will continue with the building of the new trail which we have named the North Leg Trail,” Craig said. “It will start approximately at the junction of the Promenade Trail and the old Jeep road that led down to the southern end of Eagles Nest (subdivision). We hope to complete and open this trail this season.”

The Trailblazers have been working in teams of three to five members and taking on different maintenance assignments within the Preserve. Access sometimes requires the carrying of tools some distance before they can even start to work. They have gotten used to this, but still look for opportunities to get closer access when they can.

A group of the Trailblazers attended a meeting of the MMPC recently and a spokesman for the group told the commission members that at age 85, he had hiked many places in the U.S. and around the world and the Fountain Hills trails are the best anywhere.

“The maintenance we do really makes a difference and is worth it,” Craig said.

On Friday, Dec. 16, Craig is scheduled to lead a SCFH-sponsored hike of about three to four miles beginning at the Adero Canyon Trailhead. He will provide insights into the planning and creation process of the trails within the Preserve system. The program is open, but registration is required. Visit scfh.org/events to register.