HELENA — The Prickly Pear Land Trust is using a new tool to collect trail data faster than ever before, giving Helena hikers more information than ever before.
The tool is called the High Efficiency Trails Assessment Process Machine, or HETAP. The cart uses wheel sensors, GPS, and a camera to collect data, measuring trail steepness, width, surface material, and cross slope.
Joey Biancone reports - watch the video here:
Leaders say the goal is to help everyone enjoy the outdoors.
"Part of our mission is to connect land and people. And that's not just land to able bodied people, it's land to everybody. And one of the ways to do that is to get people outside, but mostly get them the information that they need to make a decision about their own experience," said Nate Kopp, the Program and Trails Director of PPLT.
The land trust plans to share the data online and at trailheads after the summer, helping every hiker know what to expect before they hit the trails.
Prickly Pear Land Trust also invites the public to get involved. The organization averages about 1,200 hours of volunteerism on trails and parks every year.
A public trails work night is scheduled for May 19, and National Trails Day on June 6 — the first Saturday in June — will feature a large trail project.
Visit the Prickly Pear Land Trust website to sign up.
