This is 99% invisible. I'm Roman Mars and this is a message from the US Forest Service.

Trails take a beating every year from the elements and from heavy or improper use.

You're listening to an excerpt from an official for a service video made in 1995.

It's called Basic Trail Maintenance.

As you might expect from something filmed in the 90s,

this video features Acid Watch Denham

and a narrator dressed like Laura Dern

from Jurassic Park.

This video also contains some practical information for Forest Service employees and

other trail workers about how to build and care for hiking trails.

A good trail is one that is easy to follow and well maintained.

Each trail is designed, constructed, and maintained to meet specific standards.

These standards relate to the recreational experience the trail is intended to provide.

I find this video delightful and not just because of the amazing soundtrack.

It also takes the humble trail, something many of us take for granted and deconstructs it.

So over the next two episodes, we're going to do the same.

We're going to show you some of the basics, things you can do to keep trails in good shape now and in the future.

We're bringing you two episodes of Short Stories, all about trails. I first read Robert Moore's book On Trails when it came out back in 2017 and I was

immediately pulled in not just by the writing which is lovely by the way but also by Robert's attention to detail

he has this amazing way of drilling down into some of the smallest most elemental questions

about trails including possibly the most fundamental question of all.

What even is a trail?

...