Bob Wetzel is a retired U.S. Forest Service employee who once managed wilderness for the Calaveras Ranger District. His hair is in a long pony tail, and members of youth work crews once called him "the granola ranger."
Despite the differences in hairstyle, these two men have been walking side by side a lot lately. Their quest: to lead Calaveras County residents outdoors to enjoy the area's hiking trails, lakes and quiet back roads.
"The people in Calaveras want more trails close to home," McGreevy said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture rates Calaveras as one of the five most beautiful counties in the nation based on amenities such as topography, lakes and rivers, and climate.
Hundreds of thousands of tourists heed the call of that beauty each year to visit soaring granite peaks or groves of giant redwoods in Calaveras County.
Many locals, however, don't. The local Sierra Club group, which includes both Calaveras and Tuolumne counties, has no hike leaders in Calaveras. That means most group hikes are in Tuolumne County.
McGreevy and Wetzel want to change all that. They've been taking the training to become hike leaders, creating a guide to local hikes, biking and boating opportunities, and scouting routes to connect trails that are now disjointed and often start far from where people live.
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