AMC Trails Volunteer of the Month - June 2007

Philip Romano - Mohican Trail Crew Volunteer Coordinator

In 2003 a good friend of mine introduced me to the AMC. I have always been an outdoor person and outdoor skills instructor. I joined the AMC after taking a YOP course. That course made me remember the importance of being back on the trails and that the trails need more work then the secretive wood gnomes provide. We checked out trail crew and had a great time. We joined family camp and trail crew and have never looked back. All three of these programs need a lot more volunteers then they will ever have.

Since then I have worked to encourage more families to come to trail crew. Taking over trail crew was a lot more then I ever expected. Taking over for Walt Daniels was to say the least a big pair of shoes to fill. I did not have the same design skills as Walt but with a great crew of regular volunteers I quickly found out any project the NPS gives us can be completed as long as everyone works together. The Staff at Mohican is great. Dave knows everyone in the AMC and NPS and has always been able to get me in contact with the right person no matter what my question is.

Over the last year this group of volunteers that make up the Mohican Trail Crew have grown into a large extended family. Without these dedicated hard working people I never would be able to enjoy this job. When I found I was up for this award I felt kinda weird. I am not one to single out any one person from this group of people and that means for myself also. I wish there could be a crew of the month award.

Thank you
Philip Romano
AMC MOC Trail Crew Volunteer Coordinator

AMC Presidents Society – Trail Work Trip

During the AMC Presidents Society “Go Wild in the Whites” weekend on June 22-24, 2007, Trail Work programs were one of the many options of programs available. The Camp Dodge Staff led two work trips for an afternoon project based out of AMC Highland Center at Crawford Notch.

Last year, 2006, was the first year that trail work programs were offered during this annual Presidents Society gathering. For the 2006 event we offered guided hikes focusing on identifying trail work structures and describing their purpose. This year we were able to do some project work instead of talking about it. The first program was basic maintenance (brushing out overgrown trail and cleaning out drainage) on Mt. Willard and the second project was constructing bog bridges on Elephant Head Spur Trail.

With good attendance in each group, AMC staff and members of the Presidents Society were able to experience, first hand, some trail work techniques. It is difficult to describe the process of installing trail structures; you really need to get dirty to find out what’s involved. The reactions were overwhelming, and surely each individual will never look at a trail or trail structure the same way again. This was a wonderful opportunity to expose some members of the Presidents Society to the work that hundreds of AMC Trails Volunteers and AMC Trails Staff dedicate their time to create and maintain.

Thanks for your help!

AMC Adopt-A-Trail – Region Leader Meeting June 2007

The AMC Adopt-A-Trail Program involves over 225 volunteers in the maintenance of AMC Trails in the White Mountains and Mahoosuc Range in New Hampshire and western Maine. With over 370 miles of trails that the AMC is responsible for in this region, each trail is broken up into section s that are available for adoption by an individual, family, school group, corporate group, etc. AMC’s Trails Department provides training for these Adopters, tools, and free stay at some overnight facilities while on work trips on their section of trail.

We then clump these sections of trails into regions, the Mt. Washington region, Franconia-North region, and so on. Each region is then headed up by a super volunteer, or Region Leader. There are a total of 14 regions, and 17 Region Leaders:

Larry Ely & Ginger Lawson: Mahoosuc-North
Chuck Braxton: Mahoosuc-South
George Brown: Royce-Baldface
Nancy Eaton: Carters
Scott Monroe & Barbara Kukla – Presidentials-North
Brian Donoghue: Mt. Washington
Ron & Rite Rivard: Presidentials-South
Charlie Blanker: Crawford Notch
Michael O’Connor: Pemigewasset
Nate Duclos: Carrigain
Steve Crowe: Franconia-North
Robert Newson: Franconia-South
David Pollock: Kinsman
Frank Benesh: AMC Ski Trails
Bailey Preisendorfer: AMC/USFS Saco Ranger District Trails

We had a very productive meeting this past Saturday, June 23 at AMC Camp Dodge. We talked about the new Wild River Wilderness area and the changes in trail maintenance standards as a result of this new designation. We discussed blazing standards, summer project locations for AMC Trail Crew and Camp Dodge Volunteer Vacations, revisions to the Adopter work report form, cross referenced records for the most up to date Adopter information and sections of trail available, and much more.

After lunch, most of the group headed over to Square Ledge trail to take a look at project work above and beyond basic maintenance. This was an exercise for the group to look at trail stability needs and erosion control issues and collectively talk about potential solutions. It was my hopes that this activity would help the Region Leaders work out similar trail concerns with the Adopters in their regions.

By the time we took this photo, just before the hike, several of our Region Leaders had already left to work on their trails. In this photo, from left to right: Brian Donoghue, George Brown, Chuck Braxton, Bailey Preisendorfer, Larry Ely, Alex DeLucia, Charlie Blanker, and David Pollock. Not in the photo, but at the meeting: Steve Crowe, Scott Monroe, Barbara Kukla, and Frank Benesh.

This is a fantastic group of dedicated individuals. The work that this group does for the AMC Trails Department is invaluable. Without this group of committed individuals we would not have such a successful Adopt-A-Trail Program – Thanks for all of your help.

Reminder – Next region Leader Meeting is September 15, 2007 at AMC Camp Dodge Volunteer Center at 4:00pm, see you there.

We Made It!

Yesterday the Berkshire Trail Crew Leaders hiked up Mt Williams, the summit just north of Mt Greylock in northern Berkshire County, Massachusetts. It's a heck of a climb! There will be two weeks of Volunteer Teen Trails crews working on this summit. We were in a very celebratory mood when we finally got to rest our legs at a nice lookout. Watch out now - we are HUGE!

Dodge Staff Training - June 2007

What does it take to get our Camp Dodge Leaders ready to work with trails volunteers? Well, it’s not easy to put into one sentence, but basically lots and lots of work!

From the moment our staff arrived there has been a combination of AMC info, US Forest Service info, leadership trainings, trail work skills and techniques, program policies, and much more. Our goal is to expose the staff to a variety of projects and potential situations to better prepare them for working and leading the trails volunteer programs.

We started with the basics of tools, tool maintenance. safety, and proper technique. We later began to apply these skills to a wide variety of trail work projects. Our staff wrestled large rocks for rock water bars and staircases, felled trees for bog bridges, as well as learned the basics of drainage cleaning and brushing out overgrown trails.

Because we have three weeks of alpine volunteer crews this summer, we also spent some training time up on Mt. Washington. Understanding more about the fragile ecosystem and the unique plant life in that region provides a greater scene of conservation through trail work. Taking the time to lean about a few alpine plants, the Dodge Leaders will be able to share that same appreciation with the trails volunteers.

Other “soft skills” covered in training are just as important as the “hard skills”. Understanding our program policies, emergency action plan, medical training, teaching styles, Leave No Trace training, and leadership techniques lead to more successful programming.

We concluded our training with a 4 day backcountry experience, going through the motions of a typical volunteer vacation. We packed out to the Ethan Pond Trail, near Shoal Pond Junction and worked on installing new native bog bridges. This part of the training brings all aspects of the previous three weeks of training in one. Based on the success of the past four days, I would say that all of our Camp Dodge leaders are ready to work with the large number of trails volunteer on our one to three week volunteer vacations in the White Mountains.

If you are one of those lucky few participating on a volunteer trails opportunity you can count on quality leadership, good food, hard work, and great fun! See you on the trails!

Lining out Trail Crew Projects

Before our Volunteer Teen Trail Crews come on for the summer, we here in the Berkshires have to do a lot of behind-the-scenes work. Today we headed out to two sites to assess and lay out trail work for two volunteer weeks in July.

First, we visited October Mountain State Forest near Becket, Massachusetts. The Appalachian Trail weaves through the length of the reservation. We have been working on one particular section for a number of years. It's in a low area, and stays consistently wet throughout the summer. The Volunteer Teen Trail Crews have been building "turnpikes," which is a trail structure that raises the level of the ground out of the water. It's hard work, but the results are both beautiful and built-to-last!

Second, we visited Beartown State Forest in Monterey, Massachusetts. Beartown is another reservation that the Appalachian Trail winds through. This year, the crews will be working on "trail hardening," which is a myriad of trail structures that either direct water off the trail, or build up a deeply eroded section of tread.

These sections are two of the seven work sites the Volunteer Teen Trail Crew will be working at this summer. To find out more about Volunteer Teen Trail Crews, please visit us at www.outdoors.org/volunteer.

Wilderness First Aid

This weekend at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy's Kellogg Conservation Center the Appalachian Mountain Club held a Wilderness First Aid course. The course was the first official training held at the Kellogg Conservation Center, and it was rockin'!

The course was taught by AMC's Danny Twilley, who is a SOLO-certified instructor who works at the Highland Center in New Hampshire. It was attended by the AMC's seasonal staff here in the Berkshires, as well as some great volunteers from AMC's Berkshire and Connecticut Chapters.

To read more about the Kellogg Conservation Center, check out the Blog entry called "AMC Trails Staff Retreat."

Wilderness First Aid is a two day, 16 hour course. It teaches the basics of patient assessment and treatment in a backcountry setting. For you trip leaders, trail volunteers, or avid hikers out intensive and challenging, but a very worthwhile investment. To find out more about AMC's Wilderness First there, I would highly recommend this course. To find out about a Wilderness First Aid class happening in your area, check out www.outdoors.org or www.soloschools.com