text: California Conservation Corps’ Backcountry crew on the way to project work in Kings Canyon National Park. The Backcountry Trails Program was established in 1979, as a special program within the California Conservation Corps, and plays a vital role helping to build, maintain and repair trails in some of California's most magnificent wilderness areas. Each spring, the Backcountry Trails Program assembles six crews of men and women, from widely diverse backgrounds, who leave behind the conveniences and luxuries of modern life and venture into the mountains to spend five exhausting months doing some of the most challenging and ultimately rewarding work of their lives. The 13-17 members who comprise each of these crews learn through experience the skills of trail maintenance, construction, and the process of building healthy productive communities.