Trail Work (1820)

About this item

Mapping the past—and the future—of American trails. "Dillon Osleger is a new voice in the wilderness, and what a voice it is." — Jason Roberts , Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Every Living Thing In Trail Work , Dillon Osleger excavates the forgotten trails of the Western United States. He shows how one of the greatest infrastructure investments in the nation's history—paths through our public lands—has been rubbed away by time and deliberate neglect. Osleger unearths the wagon roads, water sources, trap lines, and Indigenous trading trails that once knitted the West together. He reveals centuries of path building, more than two-thirds of a nationwide network of trails and campgrounds, now erased from the map. Dwindling federal investment and privatized timber forests, ranches, and oil fields have blocked access to public lands, prompting Osleger to ask: How can we better care for the places that