WATCH: Scout, volunteers install 800 trail markers across HSNP

Troop One Boy Scout Aaron Humphrey shows a map of trails in Hot Springs National Park on Saturday. Humphrey and a group of volunteers have installed 800 trail markers on the trails over the past month as his Eagle Scout Project. - Photo by Tanner Newton of The Sentinel-Record
Troop One Boy Scout Aaron Humphrey shows a map of trails in Hot Springs National Park on Saturday. Humphrey and a group of volunteers have installed 800 trail markers on the trails over the past month as his Eagle Scout Project. - Photo by Tanner Newton of The Sentinel-Record

A local Boy Scout has spent the past three weekends installing around 800 trail markers across 10 miles of trails in Hot Springs National Park in hopes of becoming an Eagle Scout.

He didn't do it alone, though. Aaron Humphrey, a 15-year-old scout in Troop One, achieved his goal with the help of around 30 fellow scouts, classmates, friends and volunteers.

Humphrey said he knew he wanted his project, part of the requirement of becoming an Eagle Scout, to involve nature, as his grandfather was a forest ranger for around 45 years.

Last May, Humphrey met with Hot Springs National Park Superintendent Laura Miller and proposed installing new benches in the park. He found out there "wasn't a need for benches," but there was a need for trail markers to be installed along the trails.

On Feb. 1, 2 and 9, Humphrey hammered in around 300 of the markers in the more confusing places. On Saturday, he supervised his group of helpers in installing the rest. Between meeting with park personnel and preparing for the project, Humphrey said he completed "20 hours of work before (we) started nailing."

A scout since December 2011, Humphrey said after all the markers are installed, he will have to write a report about the project, and then it will be reviewed to determine if he becomes an Eagle Scout.

The color-coordinated markers have springs behind them so they will stay noticeable as the trees grow. Tom Hill, HSNP museum curator, said the project is part of a larger project within the park "to improve visitor safety and understanding while using the park's 26 miles of hiking trails."

HSNP has averaged more than 1.4 million visitors yearly for the past five years and had 1.5 million visitors in 2018, which was the last year that statistics were available. With more hiking trail use, visitor safety and understanding have become a primary focus of park management, Hill said.

This has included installing wayfinding signs and crosswalks. The grant used on the projects also paid for the 800 trail markers.

"I am excited and pleased to see this Eagle Scout taking on this project to help improve the park's trails. He is helping protect our visitors and make their experience here as safe and enjoyable as possible. We are glad to have his help in taking care of our natural and cultural resources. It's exciting to see young people stepping up to help their parks! They are the stewards of the future," Hill said.

Hill said the markers, which are made of metal, are an improvement over the painted blazes that have been used in the past. "We are hoping the metal markers last longer and are easier to see than the painted blazes," he said.

Assistant Scoutmaster Jay Hardister, who has two Eagle Scout sons, said he is also happy with Humphrey's project, noting such projects teach the scouts leadership and responsibility.

"(It) gives young men an opportunity to succeed before they are part of the real world," he said, noting the project is good because it will improve the park for the tourists.

Humphrey's parents, Joel and Sharon Humphrey, said they were both proud of their son's efforts. Joel Humphrey said that since the people helping install the markers were from all different places -- scouts, school and volunteers -- he thought his son was "doing a really good job managing different people."

He said he hikes in the park regularly and carries maps with him because he encounters confused hikers. He said he hopes the new markers will help those people.

"It makes mommy proud," Sharon Humphrey said, noting that over the last six months her son was the senior troop leader. Seeing him lead the troop over that time, and seeing him lead a large group of volunteers in the park, she said, was "a proud moment."

Local on 02/18/2020

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