Alpine Teen Crews 2007

In the 2007 season there were 3 different crews of Teens working above tree line on Mount Washington. These crews, two Alpine Teen Spike Crews and one Mount Washington Teen Spike Crew, were all based out of AMC’s Hermit Lake Shelters at the base of Tuckerman Ravine.

Each morning the crews would hike up Lion Head Trail or Tuckerman Ravine Trail to reach the project sites on Alpine Garden Trail and Nelson Crag. Climbing over 1000 vertical feet each morning will whip you into shape rather quickly. These crews were focusing efforts on constructing rock cairns (trail markers above tree line) and scree walls (rock walls to help define the trail and keep hikers off of the fragile alpine vegetation). All in all, these projects require a ton of moving rocks!

The crews this season had great weather and took full advantage of the amazing views and really enjoyed the hard work. Thanks again to all of the volunteers in our Alpine Crews in the 2007 season!

Photos by: Rachel Boothby & Emma Gildesgame

3-Week Teen Trails Leadership Crew 2007

The 2007, 3-Week Teen Trails Leadership Crew in the White Mountains, NH was a real success! This year’s crew was fantastic and these pictures help to show how much fun they rally had.

This crew is designed for the conservation minded student seeking a more in-depth experience in resource protection and conservation management. This program starts with a Leave No Trace Trainer’s course, a great way to kick off the 3 weeks. Other weekend programs included a Wilderness First Aid course offered by S.O.L.O out of Conway, NH, and a day of rock climbing with International Mountain Climbing School from North Conway, NH.

In all this crew worked for 3 weeks on a variety of projects in the White Mountain Region. Their first week was based on the Eliza Brook Shelter in the Kinsman Notch area of western New Hampshire. There they were working on revegetation and tent site management. Their second week they were based out of Moose Pond and working on Loon Echo Land Trust lands in western Maine. And their third week this crew was working on major reconstruction projects on the Wildcat River Trail just north of the town of Jackson, NH.

In all this crew was hard working, fun loving, and were a great asset to the 2007 season. Each individual showed promise for future involvement in conservation management and resource protection fields. You may very well see some of these volunteers working for the AMC or similar conservation organization in the near future.

Thanks again to all of the members of this 3-week crew! Enjoy the photos!

Photos By: Rachel Boothby, Emma Gildesgame, and Renee' "Mouse" LaGue

Hiking the Amalfi Coast – Italy

Trails are the same no matter what country you are in. I have just returned from a vacation along the Amalfi Coast of Italy. This region is located along the south shore of a small peninsula just south of Naples, known for its steep cliffs and beautiful scenery.

While on this vacation I could not help but go for a hike and check out some of the trail conditions. The stone work in this region is very impressive. In many cases, these stairs are several hundred years old, and still in great shape! It probably helps that it never freezes in this region, the use is very low, and minimal rain. Well, that is about the exact opposite of the Whites…

The views were amazing, people were great, and the food and wine was fantastic (especially after a long hike). As you might imagine, we did far more then hike on this trip, but I thought that I would post a few photos of what the trails are like in this region of Italy.

We were based in the town of Positano and trails, at one point, were the only way from town to town, other than boat. Trail use, until recently, was a part of everyday life for the people in this region. Enjoy the photos.

Acadia National Park

For the month of September, the Projects Coordinator at Camp Dodge has for the past number of years been able to relocate to Mount Desert Island and lead volunteer trail crews; this year, the honor fell on me. In conjunction with Acadia National Park, the volunteers and I worked on a variety of trails around the island. We stayed at the AMC facility on the island, Echo Lake Camp, on the southern end of Echo Lake, north of Southwest Harbor. AMC runs programs here all summer, but it comes under the trails jurisdiction for use during September. We had use of all the facilities, fire places, library, dock, sail boats, kayaks and canoes. Many beautiful evenings were spent sitting on the porch listening to the loons calling. I wish that I could retell all the jokes, stories, wonderful family-style meals, site-seeing, and raccoon fiascos of the three weeks, but here at least is a brief overview of each week:

Week #1: With my volunteer leader Bill “the-younger” Patrick, we lead the crew around the whole island, cleaning drainages on Beech Mountain, building Bates cairns along Sergeant Ridge Trail and helping the Acadia Trail Crew restore a trail which had suffered a land slide after an earthquake last fall. Bates cairns are much different than typical conical cairns seen in the White Mountains and are endemic only to Acadia National Park. They have been deemed a historical part of the park and are being remade along rocky ledges and exposed areas. (photo of Sargent Ridge by Oliver Dettler)

Week #2: The week began in rain, but ended in sunshine. Gary, the trails foreman for the National Park, had us carry twenty or so logs 1.1 miles in on the Mansell Mountain Trail, up slab rock and across ridges. The crew braved the weather with minimal complaints and as a group we were able to accomplish this seemingly impossible feat. We even were able to install the “bog walks” (called bog-bridges in the Whites) along the Perpendicular Trail. Steve Klauck was the volunteer crew

leader and managed to keep everyone in line, except for Joe and Gary who had to be separated. (photos: Steve Klauck, Ali Kosiba)



Week #3: Again we found ourselves on the Perpendicular Trail, which was made by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930’s, with winding granite staircases and beautifully done retaining walls. The steep 0.9 miles up to the worksite allowed for breathtaking views each morning and afternoon. Over 800 stairs were counted by Paul. Here we worked with the Acadia Trail Crew helping them move recently drilled and wedged granite blocks down to their worksite. We used a high-line and grip-hoist to aid our efforts. We also constructed a new lookout trail from here: a view of Some Sound, the only fjord in the lower 48. This week I had two leaders, collectively known as “The Bills” – Bill Brodnitzki and Bill Patrick, both a wonderful asset in leading, setting out lunch supplies and adding a fair amount of humor to the work place (photos: Ali Kosiba) .