After Michael Crutchley took up trail running a couple of years ago, he gained a new appreciation for the unseen hands that keep the blazes fresh and the branches trimmed along the hundreds of miles of woodland pathways around the state.

"I felt like if I was spending that much time out there, I should give something back," said Crutchley, a North Stonington resident. "If a trail is a mess, it slows you down. It's not safe, and it's not fun."

He decided early last fall to become a trail maintenance volunteer for the Connecticut Forest & Park Association, taking responsibility for seven miles of the blue-blazed Narragansett Trail from Lantern Hill to Route 2 near Wyassup Lake.

"It was a perfect fit, because I run that trail all the time," he said.

As it turned out, Crutchley signed on just in time for one of the most demanding times for the trail maintenance volunteers. Superstorm Sandy in October felled many large trees and branches across trails throughout the state, leaving some hanging precariously overhead.

"We really got hit this fall," said Clare Cain, trail stewardship director for the forest and park association, a nonprofit group that supports state parks and outdoor activities. "There were a lot of widow makers, a lot of trees were hung up over the trails. It occupied a lot of the volunteers' time, and the cleanup is still ongoing."

But, thanks to the hard work of many hands with chainsaws, bowsaws, pruners and strong backs, she said, the vast majority of the trails are in good shape for annual Trails Day Weekend June 1 and 2. The annual event this year offers 259 events, from challenging seven-mile hikes to kayak paddles to easy walks for families through farms and historic areas.

"There's been a large demand on our volunteers, but they've really stepped up," Cain said, adding that the association responded by adding more chainsaw training courses for volunteers because of all the large trees that needed to be removed.

Trail maintenance work sessions will be among this year's Trails Day events, she noted. Crutchley, for his part, has been getting ready for the weekend by painting blazes and clearing brush for a trail race he's organized along a 3.1-mile section of the Narragansett Trail.

Bob Andrews of Preston, trail manager and member of the forest and park association's Trails Committee, said he and the other volunteers he oversees in southeastern Connecticut "went out right away to start clearing" after Sandy.

"The hardest part is carrying a chain saw four miles into the woods," he said. "I've gone for years at a time without having to use a chain saw, but this has been a very tough year."

Andrews keeps of a section of the blue-blazed Pequot Trail clear in Ledyard and Preston. Other volunteers he oversees take care of the Nayantaquit Trail in Nehantic State Forest in Lyme and the Nehantic, Pachaug and the Pharisee Rock trails, all of which pass through Pachaug State Forest in Voluntown, North Stonington and Griswold, some employing the help of school groups.

Crutchley said he now keeps a bucket of blue paint, some branch loppers and a bowsaw in his truck, handy for whenever he's out running or checking his trail section, often with his Labradoodle puppy. Most of the time, he said, hikers aren't around, but he doesn't mind if they're out when he's retouching blazes or moving felled branches to answer questions or just let them see him work.

"It's good when people see the volunteers, because then they know somebody's taking care of the trails," he said.

HIT THE TRAILS

Connecticut Trails Day Weekend, June 1 and 2, includes the following events in southeastern Connecticut:

Saturday, June 1

• Bozrah, geocaching, Maples Farm Park, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Registration required.

• Colchester, 7-mile hike, Salmon River Trail, 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

• East Haddam, 2-mile hike, Burnham Brook Preserve, 9 a.m. to noon. Registration appreciated.

• East Haddam, 4-mile hike, Chapman Pond Preserve, 1 to 5 p.m. Registration recommended.

• East Lyme, educational walk, Oswegatchie Hills Nature Preserve, 10 a.m. to noon.

• East Lyme, trail walk through wetlands, East Lyme Land Trust's Rosecliff Preserve off Ancient Highway and Poppy Lane, 10 a.m. to noon. Information at (860) 739-8408 or (860) 739-0240.

• Griswold, 6-mile hike, Hopeville Pond State Park-Nehantic Trail, 9:30 a.m. to noon, registration appreciated.

• Groton, 6-mile hike, open space trails, 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., registration required.

• Groton, 2-mile hike, Sheep Farm and Fort Hill Brook, 10 a.m. to noon, registration recommended.

• Groton, educational walk of Bluff Point State Park with geologist Ralph Lewis and coastal ecologist Juliana Barrett, 1 to 3 p.m.

• Hamden, hike to the tower at Sleeping Giant State Park, with a stop for lunch; bring water and food; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Registration recommended.

• Ledyard-Preston, paddle of Poquetanuck Cove, 4 to 6 p.m., registration required.

• Lyme, 5-mile hike of Nayantaquit Trail at Nehantic State Forest, 9 a.m. to noon, registration appreciated.

• Lyme, 1.25-mile hike of Beebe Preserve, 10 a.m. to noon, registration appreciated.

• New London, nature walk, Ocean Beach Park-Alewife Cove, 6 to 7:15 p.m., registration required.

• North Stonington, educational Walk, Wyassup Lake Loop Trail, 10 a.m. to noon, registration required.

• North Stonington, 2.5-mile hike of Donald Henne Memorial Preserve, 19 a.m. to noon, registration recommended.

• North Stonington, 5K run on Narragansett Trail, 10 a.m. to noon, registration required.

• North Stonington, 1-mile hike, Hewitt Farm/Bicentennial Trail, 1 to 2 p.m.

• North Stonington, 2-mile hike, Narragansett Trail and Wyassup Lake Area Trails, 1 to 3 p.m.

• Norwich, 3-mile educational walk, downtown Heritage Walk, 9:30 a.m. to noon, registration appreciated.

• Norwich, 1-mile walk, downtown Heritage Walk, 2 to 3:15 p.m., registration appreciated.

• Old Lyme, paddle, Great Island Wildlife Management Area, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., registration recommended.

• Old Lyme, 1 to 2 mile nature walk, Hoffman-Mattheissen-DeGerenday Preserve, 1 to 3 p.m.

• Old Saybrook, 3-mile educational walk, Great Cedars Conservation Area, 10 a.m. to noon, registration appreciated.

• Preston, educational walk, Roseledge Farm, 11 a.m. to noon, registration required.

• Salem, 2.7-mile nature walk, Darling Road Preserve, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., registration required.

• Sprague-Franklin, 2-mile hike, Sprague Preserve, 1 to 3 p.m.

• Stonington, hike, Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center, 2 to 3:30 p.m.

• Voluntown, 4.5-mile hike, Pachaug State Forest/Green Falls Pond Trail, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., registration recommended.

• Westbrook, 1-mile educational walk, Stuart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge, 8 to 9:30 a.m., registration recommended.

Sunday, June 2

• Colchester, 3.5-miled educational walk, Air Line State Park Trail, 1 to 3 p.m.

• Deep River-Essex, 5.5-mile hike, Canfield-Meadow Woods Nature Preserve, 2 to 5 p.m., registration appreciated.

• East Haddam, 1.5-mile hike, Sheepskin Hollow Preserve, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., registration appreciated.

• East Haddam, letterboxing and paddle, Gillette Castle State Park, 1 to 4 p.m.

• Essex, hike, picnic, jazz band performance, Cross Lots Preserve, 4 to 6 p.m.

• Franklin, 1-mile educational walk, Blue Slope Country Museum, 1 to 2 p.m., registration appreciated.

• Groton, 3- to 5-mile paddle down Poquonnock River to Bushy Point Beach at Bluff Point State Park, 8 to 10 a.m., registration required.

• Groton, hike, Candlewood Ridge, 1 to 3 p.m., registration recommended.

• Hamden, guided hikes at various levels at Sleeping Giant State Park; meet at the kiosk at park entrance; 1 to 4 p.m.

• Ledyard, 2-mile educational walk, Avery Preserve, 9 to 11 a.m.

• Montville, letterboxing, Camp Oakdale, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., registration appreciated.

• New London, nature walk, Riverside Park, 1 to 2 p.m., registration recommended.

• Norwich, 1.5-mile educational walk, Estelle Cohn Memorial Dog Park, 10 a.m. to noon, registration required.

• Old Lyme, paddle of Blackhall River, 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., registration required.

• Stonington, 2.5-mile educational walk at Barn Island Wildlife Management Area, led by coastal ecologist Ron Rozsa and Scott Warren, botany professor emeritus, Connecticut College, 1 to 3 p.m.

For registration information and a listing of all 259 Trails Day events, visit www.ctwoodlands.org.