Welcome to the AppalachianTrailCafe.net!
Take a moment and register and then join the conversation

Trail Maintenance and Volunteering

    This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse this site, you are agreeing to our Cookie Policy.

    • hikerboy wrote:

      max.patch wrote:

      hikerboy wrote:


      as much as i recognize stairs help curb erosion, i hate stairs.


      now we know why you skipped the approach trail. :)

      btw, i also hate stairs.


      i didnt skip anything. i just didnt do it.


      A real hiker can skip up the stairs! Just Saying! SwordDuel
      Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.
      Dr. Seuss Cof123
    • Rasty wrote:

      hikerboy wrote:

      max.patch wrote:

      hikerboy wrote:


      as much as i recognize stairs help curb erosion, i hate stairs.


      now we know why you skipped the approach trail. :)

      btw, i also hate stairs.


      i didnt skip anything. i just didnt do it.


      A real hiker can skip up the stairs! Just Saying! SwordDuel


      I know a real skipper that hikes his pants up while going up stairs. Just saying.
      Non hikers are about a psi shy of a legal ball.
    • progress on the West Mtn. Relocation

      Moving some small rocks with our new plasto-steel cable. i forget the name of it, but the tree will break before this cable and it weighs a 1/4 or less than steel!



      Bunkhouse at the Harriman Workparty Camp



      New Trail.......not open yet!


      The old/ current trail is straight ahead in that clearing


      Harriman Park Old Folks Home
      Cheesecake> Ramen :thumbsup:
    • Astro wrote:

      Coach, Thanks again for getting the trail ready for me next summer. :thumbup:


      You will like the walk. It is a much prettier climb. This area has many stealth spots that we have found. One I found yesterday, has a fireplace that has to be 30 yrs since it was used!

      Near where we are curves near the current section, folks stop and eyeball us all day. We are actually cutting across an even earlier section of the AT. Old old Blazes are on many trees near the relo, they will have to be taken down.

      This should all be done by 18 October.
      Cheesecake> Ramen :thumbsup:
    • odd man out wrote:

      WanderingStovie wrote:

      odd man out wrote:

      Nice job! But now all those thru hikers from previous years will have to hike the trail all over again!!!

      So what is the rate of recidivism along the AT?


      Slightly higher than the rate of thru hikers who know what the word "recidivism" means.


      That's french for boil in a bag
      Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.
      Dr. Seuss Cof123
    • Rasty wrote:

      odd man out wrote:

      WanderingStovie wrote:

      odd man out wrote:

      Nice job! But now all those thru hikers from previous years will have to hike the trail all over again!!!

      So what is the rate of recidivism along the AT?


      Slightly higher than the rate of thru hikers who know what the word "recidivism" means.


      That's french for boil in a bag


      anybody can boil in a bag.

      i'm trying to figure out how i can sous-vide on the trail.
      2,000 miler
    • max.patch wrote:

      Rasty wrote:

      odd man out wrote:

      WanderingStovie wrote:

      odd man out wrote:

      Nice job! But now all those thru hikers from previous years will have to hike the trail all over again!!!

      So what is the rate of recidivism along the AT?


      Slightly higher than the rate of thru hikers who know what the word "recidivism" means.


      That's french for boil in a bag


      anybody can boil in a bag.

      i'm trying to figure out how i can sous-vide on the trail.


      Take bag, place in the water, boil
      Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.
      Dr. Seuss Cof123
    • Rasty wrote:

      max.patch wrote:

      Rasty wrote:

      odd man out wrote:

      WanderingStovie wrote:

      odd man out wrote:

      Nice job! But now all those thru hikers from previous years will have to hike the trail all over again!!!

      So what is the rate of recidivism along the AT?


      Slightly higher than the rate of thru hikers who know what the word "recidivism" means.


      That's french for boil in a bag


      anybody can boil in a bag.

      i'm trying to figure out how i can sous-vide on the trail.


      Take bag, place in the water, boil


      Cook bag until tender.
      Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.
      Dr. Seuss Cof123
    • This weekend is our last scheduled work weekend on West Mtn. relocation. Then, I believe it will be inspected by The Ny/NJ/ATC and then marked and the detour barricade will go up by 1 Nov.

      So, your time is running out to volunteer and get on that section before any of your hiking buddies! gif.014.gif

      9am @ the Anthony Wayne South parking lot, Saturday and Sunday. Bring work clothes, lunch, and water. Safety glasses if you have them.........tools, we got!

      See you there! :thumbsup:
      Cheesecake> Ramen :thumbsup:
    • Looks like you're really going to town with the trail crew thing, Lou. I envy you the proximity to that crew and the AT. I'm hoping in a couple years I'll be in a much better position (geographically) to partake of trail work on a regular basis.

      Merry and I will be in Williamstown (and elsewhere in Berkshires, as far south as CT perhaps) two weekends from now for the ALDHA gathering. Maybe we can hook up. I can introduce you to Cosmo, who manages a lot of the AT maintenance in that area. I hear he's doing a couple of workshops.
    • TrafficJam wrote:

      I pick up trash when I'm out hiking. That's the extent of my trail maintenance. I finally started getting a newsletter from the Appalachian Trail Maintainers Committee but so far everything has been out of my league.


      I saw so much junk at shelters that I started burning it in my nightly camp fires. The piles of junk would have filled a truck. It is unbelievable what people leave behind. I tried to carry some stuff, but the piles of it made me give up. Many would not agree, but I burned much of it. Some of the stuff was misplaced or accidently dropped items. Some of it was left behind on purpose. Some people are just pigs.
      Non hikers are about a psi shy of a legal ball.

      The post was edited 3 times, last by BirdBrain ().

    • rafe wrote:

      Looks like you're really going to town with the trail crew thing, Lou. I envy you the proximity to that crew and the AT. I'm hoping in a couple years I'll be in a much better position (geographically) to partake of trail work on a regular basis.

      Merry and I will be in Williamstown (and elsewhere in Berkshires, as far south as CT perhaps) two weekends from now for the ALDHA gathering. Maybe we can hook up. I can introduce you to Cosmo, who manages a lot of the AT maintenance in that area. I hear he's doing a couple of workshops.


      It has been fun this summer/ fall. First off is the 3 guys that were at RPH weekend. They are really real guys. We are close age wise, they have taken me right in. in fact some of our crew wives help out on occasion, Overload gets her Pink Hard hat this weekend. It is very close.....1.5 from work and 2 hrs from home. AND the entire area is lovely and full of early American history.

      I actually have spoken with Cosmo, last year. He put the schedule in the Blaze for last years Mass work weekends. My wife and I went to Goose Pond for one. The November before, I walked from Rt.9 vt to Rt. 2. I put my thumb out to the 3rd pick-up trk. It was a guy that worked for Cosmo at the school. He was moving furniture in a professors apartment. I helped of course. cosmo messaged me later that I had any shuttle needed in the future!

      Next year there is a project in the Catskills, that we will be bivouac near by for a number of days.I have been bunking at the state park workers camp. Americorps summer worker 'kids' are in the cabins all summer, they leave 15 Oct........anyway, the first time I went into the dining hall I was chatting with some of them.....one girl said...."hey, your crew, you guys go and camp out at your projects, HUH?"
      Cheesecake> Ramen :thumbsup:

      The post was edited 1 time, last by CoachLou ().

    • Hey Lou, it sounds like you found a home with that crew.
      That's a good thing.
      We got involved with the AT Monitoring program because Kathy likes to bushwack.
      Turns out that we're now so familiar with our section that it's no longer like bushwacking.
      We've gotten great satisfaction in finding survey markers put in during the original survey, that the second surveyors couldn't find.
      We only have 1 of those left and I'm 99% sure it's gone. We might request a new section, or get involved with a different line of trail work, we'll see.
    • CoachLou wrote:

      We are off for Harriman. Mackenzie is coming with us. She needs to get away, but she has home work, She has made the move to our house....full-time.....without benefit of council. So today she needs the forest....as we all do.


      AK says hiking improves cognizant function so I'm gonna argue that hiking will make her smarter than homework :D . Of course, this is coming from the mom who tried to get her kid to skip school to go hiking (she refused). If nothing else, it will increase her serotonin levels and make her feel better. Have fun!
      Lost in the right direction.
    • TrafficJam wrote:

      CoachLou wrote:

      We are off for Harriman. Mackenzie is coming with us. She needs to get away, but she has home work, She has made the move to our house....full-time.....without benefit of council. So today she needs the forest....as we all do.


      AK says hiking improves cognizant function so I'm gonna argue that hiking will make her smarter than homework :D . Of course, this is coming from the mom who tried to get her kid to skip school to go hiking (she refused). If nothing else, it will increase her serotonin levels and make her feel better. Have fun!


      That's not natural...I'd skip school for any reason.
      I may grow old but I'll never grow up.
    • TrafficJam wrote:

      CoachLou wrote:

      We are off for Harriman. Mackenzie is coming with us. She needs to get away, but she has home work, She has made the move to our house....full-time.....without benefit of council. So today she needs the forest....as we all do.


      AK says hiking improves cognizant function so I'm gonna argue that hiking will make her smarter than homework :D . Of course, this is coming from the mom who tried to get her kid to skip school to go hiking (she refused). If nothing else, it will increase her serotonin levels and make her feel better. Have fun!


      This makes a lot of sense. I say some really profound things on the trail. Unfortunately you guys only know me front this vantage point.
      Non hikers are about a psi shy of a legal ball.
    • BirdBrain wrote:

      TrafficJam wrote:

      CoachLou wrote:

      We are off for Harriman. Mackenzie is coming with us. She needs to get away, but she has home work, She has made the move to our house....full-time.....without benefit of council. So today she needs the forest....as we all do.


      AK says hiking improves cognizant function so I'm gonna argue that hiking will make her smarter than homework :D . Of course, this is coming from the mom who tried to get her kid to skip school to go hiking (she refused). If nothing else, it will increase her serotonin levels and make her feel better. Have fun!


      This makes a lot of sense. I say some really profound things on the trail. Unfortunately you guys only know me front this vantage point.


      i meant cognitive. :) I don't always proofread.
      Lost in the right direction.
    • Drybones wrote:

      TrafficJam wrote:

      CoachLou wrote:

      We are off for Harriman. Mackenzie is coming with us. She needs to get away, but she has home work, She has made the move to our house....full-time.....without benefit of council. So today she needs the forest....as we all do.


      AK says hiking improves cognizant function so I'm gonna argue that hiking will make her smarter than homework :D . Of course, this is coming from the mom who tried to get her kid to skip school to go hiking (she refused). If nothing else, it will increase her serotonin levels and make her feel better. Have fun!


      That's not natural...I'd skip school for any reason.


      She is not normal. She got caught skipping school last year for a yoga class. I told her if she's going to skip, at least do something a little more fun.
      Lost in the right direction.
    • TrafficJam wrote:

      BirdBrain wrote:

      TrafficJam wrote:

      CoachLou wrote:

      We are off for Harriman. Mackenzie is coming with us. She needs to get away, but she has home work, She has made the move to our house....full-time.....without benefit of council. So today she needs the forest....as we all do.


      AK says hiking improves cognizant function so I'm gonna argue that hiking will make her smarter than homework :D . Of course, this is coming from the mom who tried to get her kid to skip school to go hiking (she refused). If nothing else, it will increase her serotonin levels and make her feel better. Have fun!


      This makes a lot of sense. I say some really profound things on the trail. Unfortunately you guys only know me front this vantage point.


      i meant cognitive. :) I don't always proofread.


      I knew what you meant. I made allowance for the fact that you are not on the trail. Ergo cogito .... what is Latin for I hike?
      Non hikers are about a psi shy of a legal ball.
    • TrafficJam wrote:

      I pick up trash when I'm out hiking. That's the extent of my trail maintenance. I finally started getting a newsletter from the Appalachian Trail Maintainers Committee but so far everything has been out of my league.



      Don't minimize trash collecting. It's a major need in most trail systems.

      Keep watch on the the American Hiking Society web site for the National Trail Day event...usually in early June. Many local trail maintainer groups tie into this event to bring more folks into their clubs and develop new maintainers.

      In my locale I belong to two such groups maintaining and currently extending the Bonneville Shoreline Trail eventualy extending from the UT/ID line to south of Provo UT. Google the BST site for an interesting history of ancient Lake Bonneville and the development of the BST.

      Typically after a day of carrying H2O, assorted work tools, safety equipment, sculpting trail, all the while gaining elevation upwards of 400 meters my energy expenditures exceed that of a 30 mile day hike.

      Lest we forget.....



      SSgt Ray Rangel - USAF
      SrA Elizabeth Loncki - USAF
      PFC Adam Harris - USA
      MSgt Eden Pearl - USMC

      The post was edited 2 times, last by Dan76 ().

    • Dan76 wrote:

      TrafficJam wrote:

      I pick up trash when I'm out hiking. That's the extent of my trail maintenance. I finally started getting a newsletter from the Appalachian Trail Maintainers Committee but so far everything has been out of my league.



      Don't minimize trash collecting. It's a major need in most trail systems.

      Keep watch on the the American Hiking Society web site for the National Trail Day event...usually in early June. Many local trail maintainer groups tie into this event to bring more folks into their clubs and develop new maintainers.

      In my locale I belong to two such groups maintaining and currently extending the Bonneville Shoreline Trail eventualy extending from the UT/ID line to south of Provo UT. Google the BST site for an interesting history of ancient Lake Bonneville and the development of the BST.

      Typically after a day of carrying H2O, assorted work tools, safety equipment, sculpting trail, all the while gaining elevation upwards of 400 meters my energy expenditures exceed that of a 30 mile day hike.


      i have the same issues. After a day of trail building my ankles feel like I walked 15 miles..............i've never walked a 30 mile day! 8|

      ..............but, the relocation is finished. The local guys will do some clean-up in the next week or so. The 18th will be the Grand Opening. The NY/NJ conference annual meeting will be in the morning. After that there will be a official opening hike, with guests and conference mucky mucks.
      Near the end of our work day we were finishing up the very top where it meets the trail as it heads down the gully to Beachy Bottom, there were many folks out walking. As folks stopped to gaulk and talk we sent them down the new section. Most were kind of excited to go.
      Cheesecake> Ramen :thumbsup:
    • CoachLou wrote:

      Dan76 wrote:

      TrafficJam wrote:

      I pick up trash when I'm out hiking. That's the extent of my trail maintenance. I finally started getting a newsletter from the Appalachian Trail Maintainers Committee but so far everything has been out of my league.



      Don't minimize trash collecting. It's a major need in most trail systems.

      Keep watch on the the American Hiking Society web site for the National Trail Day event...usually in early June. Many local trail maintainer groups tie into this event to bring more folks into their clubs and develop new maintainers.

      In my locale I belong to two such groups maintaining and currently extending the Bonneville Shoreline Trail eventualy extending from the UT/ID line to south of Provo UT. Google the BST site for an interesting history of ancient Lake Bonneville and the development of the BST.

      Typically after a day of carrying H2O, assorted work tools, safety equipment, sculpting trail, all the while gaining elevation upwards of 400 meters my energy expenditures exceed that of a 30 mile day hike.


      i have the same issues. After a day of trail building my ankles feel like I walked 15 miles..............i've never walked a 30 mile day! 8|

      ..............but, the relocation is finished. The local guys will do some clean-up in the next week or so. The 18th will be the Grand Opening. The NY/NJ conference annual meeting will be in the morning. After that there will be a official opening hike, with guests and conference mucky mucks.
      Near the end of our work day we were finishing up the very top where it meets the trail as it heads down the gully to Beachy Bottom, there were many folks out walking. As folks stopped to gaulk and talk we sent them down the new section. Most were kind of excited to go.

      Thank you for all you do!
      RIAP
    • I have found the older I get the more interest in trail maint I get. Especially the past few years. In younger days all we wanted to do was hike hike hike :) I remember a trip in the Smokeys as a young kid, early one morning we passed a 3 man crew carrying chain saws, gas, tools, they stopped to talk for a moment. I remember thinking 'thats awesome' I want to do this someday :)
    • July wrote:

      I have found the older I get the more interest in trail maint I get. Especially the past few years. In younger days all we wanted to do was hike hike hike :) I remember a trip in the Smokeys as a young kid, early one morning we passed a 3 man crew carrying chain saws, gas, tools, they stopped to talk for a moment. I remember thinking 'thats awesome' I want to do this someday :)


      There are 10 of us on the LDTC, Charlie and I are 57..........we are the babies! We are also the 2 bulls. 4 wives come out on occation.....they are all younger than us. I would say 95% of the hikers that pass by, thank us. 50% tell us that they want to get involved......most of them are thrus.
      Ov and Mackenzie worked hard today, they had a good time to. I asked Mac what she noticed about our crew............."you guys are all old" :D
      Cheesecake> Ramen :thumbsup:
    • CoachLou wrote:

      July wrote:

      I have found the older I get the more interest in trail maint I get. Especially the past few years. In younger days all we wanted to do was hike hike hike :) I remember a trip in the Smokeys as a young kid, early one morning we passed a 3 man crew carrying chain saws, gas, tools, they stopped to talk for a moment. I remember thinking 'thats awesome' I want to do this someday :)


      There are 10 of us on the LDTC, Charlie and I are 57..........we are the babies! We are also the 2 bulls. 4 wives come out on occation.....they are all younger than us. I would say 95% of the hikers that pass by, thank us. 50% tell us that they want to get involved......most of them are thrus.
      Ov and Mackenzie worked hard today, they had a good time to. I asked Mac what she noticed about our crew............."you guys are all old" :D



      I hear you coach , I am 48 now myself, I just recently filled out the PW to join our Mount Rogers trail crew here in greyson highlands. Alot of the crew are in the 70's, several mid to late 60's. When talking with the lady that handles new membership, I jokingly asked "am I old enough to join" we both got a good laugh :) There are actually some lifetime honorary members, I remember having as teachers way back in elementary school. One of which would take groups of us kids on weekend trips to the highcountry and teach camping and wood skills, and birding. Now later in life I can see just how invaluable these times were. :)