Washington Trails
Association
Trails for everyone, forever
Washington Trails
AssociationTrails for everyone, forever
Pete Dewell — assistant crew leader, community leader and teacher of thousands of trail workers — passed away at home at the age of 95. Pete was a loyal trail worker who shaped WTA as an organization. By Anna Roth.
Pete Dewell — assistant crew leader, community leader and teacher of thousands of trail workers — passed away at home on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at the age of 95.
Pete was always all smiles on trail. Photo courtesy Arlo Smith
Pete was not only a loyal trail worker, he shaped WTA as an organization. In addition to spending thousands of days on trail, he helped formalize our volunteer leadership program, served on WTA's board for 6 years and provided WTA with pro bono legal counsel in our early years.
But most people knew him as a crackerjack rock worker who built structures to last and always had time to teach new volunteers. His impact cannot be overstated.
Pete was born in Texas and spent part of his youth wandering around gravel pits there. It was an unassuming introduction to the outdoors, but it was enough to inspire him to explore the Olympics and Cascades when he moved to Washington. That time spent in the mountains sparked a love of the outdoors that permeated his daily life, drove him to volunteer and shone through to anyone who met him.
Pete standing near one of his many rock structures, early in his time with WTA. He built this one on what was supposed to be a day off during a volunteer vacation on Lake Chelan. Photo by Jim Langdon.
Pete started volunteering in 1998, right around the beginning of WTA’s trail maintenance program and just as he was nearing the end of his professional career as a lawyer. Trail maintenance appealed to him for its similarity to the legal profession as he explained in 2010, when he was recognized as Volunteer of the Year.
“I really like construction work, and [trail work] was such a challenge. Like practicing law, you analyze the problem and come up with a solution. As I began to decrease my law practice, the lure of trail work with WTA became my new profession."
Calling it a new profession is about right. Pete dove into trail work headfirst, doing close to 100 work parties a year. And when he wasn't volunteering on trail, he was stepping up in other ways. Three years after his first work party, Pete joined WTA's board, serving from 2001 to 2007.
He also provided pro bono legal counsel to our brand-new trails program by reviewing the indemnity language in the waiver that volunteers still sign today, as well as some of our trail maintenance safety language in the crew leader manual.
Krista Dooley — who was WTA's youth programs director at the time — remembers that Pete also helped the youth program in its infancy by reviewing the legal language on forms. He also mentored her when she was crew leading.
"Pete was such an amazing influence in my crew leading experience to get the youth program up and running in 2007. His dedication and commitment is legendary," Krista said.
Pete smiles with a happy crew of folks after a day of rock work. Photo courtesy Jenny Low.
By the time he earned Volunteer of the Year in 2010, Pete had spent 893 days on trail with WTA. He'd spent countless more hours supporting WTA in other ways and even advocated independently for new trails. In fact, he celebrated the Volunteer of the Year recognition by helping build a trail on Guemes Island that he himself had championed.
It was his own encouragement for collaboration between the San Juan Preservation Trust, the Skagit Land Trust and WTA that made that new trail a reality.
Brian Windrope, WTA's executive director at the time said, “Pete Dewell is a true steward of our public lands. Every hiker in Washington owes gratitude to Pete for how much he does to maintain Washington’s hiking trails.”
A few months after the award, Pete became be the first volunteer to pass 1,000 work parties. WTA had a burgeoning reward program for volunteers, but we never expected anyone to make that kind of commitment to trail work, so we didn't know what to get him! Former WTA staffer Alan Carter Mortimer remembers that the decision was a group effort.
Pete holds a rock bar (not the prestigious gold one) in his left hand while sizing up a rock for one of his many projects. Photo courtesy Richard Mellon
"When Pete started to get close [to 1,000] we talked about coming up with a new award. Someone decided it needed to be a tool and then someone else decided it needed to be gold. We thought of a golden pulaski at first but then knew that for Pete it needed to be a golden rock bar. I do remember taking a rock bar and painting it gold for the presentation ceremony."
Why a rock bar? Though Pete was happy to tackle any project, he is known throughout WTA's volunteer community as a genius with rocks. He was unstoppable on rock projects, always the first to start and the last to leave.
Pete (right) and a crew of volunteers practice building rock steps at Trail Skills College in 2016. Pete often taught classes at formal trainings like this and WTA's annual Crew Leader College. Photo by Anna Roth.
He always knew just where to place each stone for maximum stability and longevity; a real skill in rock work. He built dozens of rock walls including the one at Asahel Curtis Nature Trail, an incredible feat of engineering that you can visit today.
But whether he was building a rock wall, double-digging tread or clearing drains, Pete took the time to explain his methods. He was meticulous, precise and patient, and had an instinct to share that was key to how he showed up in WTA's community.
We often asked Pete to do trainings for our formal events like Crew Leader College or Trail Skills College in addition to the more informal instruction that happened on work parties.
Pete was a wonderful teacher, quick with a smile and great at getting the job done. Photo by Jen Gradisher.
He was so invested in sharing this knowledge that he wrote his own trail maintenance handbook. The first edition was called "Everything you ever wanted to know about trail maintenance, but were afraid to ask." The more well-known second edition is called "Tread and Retread the Trails."
He sold this book (and sometimes simply gave it away) to anyone interested in learning more about trail work.
You always knew if Pete was on your work party, because you'd see his little white Subaru at the trailhead with a sign on the back window advertising the book.
Assistant crew leader Tara Kocur recalls coming home from her first day volunteering shortly after moving from Florida and telling her husband:
" 'The guy who actually wrote the book on trailwork was out there today! And selling copies out of the back of his Subaru!' I [couldn't] think of a better way to be introduced to trailwork and the PNW than this."
Pete had a patient, thoughtful style that drew people to him. Over time he mentored thousands of people this way.
He didn't just instruct, he asked the people he was working with for solutions to problems. No matter if the volunteers were brand new, he knew fresh perspectives find creative solutions to problems.
He kept it light. He was kind. He demonstrated the sort of leadership we admire and want crew leaders to emulate. As we formalized our assistant crew leader program, we asked Pete what his philosophy was on mentorship. What he wrote turned into The Making of a WTA Volunteer ACL, a core piece of the assistant crew leader training materials we still use today.
I read it as I prepared to become an assistant crew leader myself, and I remember being surprised at how much emphasis he put on being engaging and encouraging to newer people. It was the first time I realized that teaching other people a technical skill like trail maintenance could mean stepping back and letting someone else try. The advice also made me more confident in pursuing being an ACL.
Pete was a mainstay of work parties. He was just always there, quietly digging away but ready with a twinkle in his eye and his signature big smile when you said hi. Dozens of ACLs remember working with or being inspired by Pete, whether they saw him frequently or just once.
In 2016, to recognize Pete's many years of dedication to WTA, we made him the ninth recipient of WTA’s White Hat Award, which we give to people who have had a transformative and everlasting impact on WTA. From helping establish the youth program to shaping our trail maintenance program and personally mentoring dozens of people, Pete had more than earned it.
Pete demonstrates how to use a grubhoe on a youth work party at Ring Hill Forest in 2024. Photo courtesy Andy James.
His continued dedication to WTA was fueled by a belief in building for the next generation and training them to care for the natural world. He loved projects where he got to teach youth, or even trails that would appeal to young people.
A particular favorite spot was the Asahel Curtis Nature Trail, a project he brought his own family to. On one work party, two of his granddaughters spent a day pulling out spikes from the old decking of a puncheon bridge, and then hauling the decking back to the trailhead.
He liked that the location is an interpretive trail, meaning it's great for young children, parents, middle-aged and older folks alike. He was keen to keep the location in good shape for them.
“Since it is an interpretative trail for families and schoolchildren, I hope that it can be kept in good shape for them,” he said.
It's where we hosted the party for his 2,000th work party, which was attended by dozens of volunteers. We barely got any work done that day, but we had fun.
A candid shot of the crew on Pete's 2,000th work party. Pete's at the center, smiling big with a giant rock on his lap. Photo by Rachel Wendling.
Pete loved a bit of fun. Many people he worked with recall his mischievous smile. He loved a good joke, too.
"His energy and zeal for trail work, people, and sense of humor left endless inspiration. I want to be like Pete, he lived life to the fullest," said Jenny Low, one of many ACLs who reminisced about Pete's presence on a crew.
He was — without a doubt — one of the most inspiring yet humble people you could meet.
Pete spent his last few hours doing what he loved best; teaching a group of young people about drainages and culvert replacement on a youth day work party at Loganberry Lane, a new trail being built in Everett for hikers of all ages to enjoy. That day, Pete had been with WTA for 27 years, and logged 2,400 days on trail, the most out of any volunteer.
Pete earned his status as a legend. The depth and scope of his impact on WTA is hard to express. Many people heard about Pete well before they met him, and when they did, they were in awe.
He shaped the organization, many WTA staff, and much of our on-trail leadership. WTA staffer Liza Noworyta best summed up how many of us felt upon hearing of his passing.
"I think a part of me truly believed he'd live forever. He'll be dearly missed, that's for sure."
We know Pete made an impact on a lot of people, and we'd love to hear your story if you want to share it. If you have stories or photos you want to share with us, please email Janée Romesberg at jromesberg@wta.org.
