Trails Volunteer Leadership Training

On May 17 and 18 we held our second annual Trails Volunteer Leadership Training at AMC Camp Dodge. We had 7 of our 8 leaders from 2007 return, as well as 2 new leaders for the 2008 season.

We spent the first day covering AMC and Camp Dodge policies, the emergency action plan, radio use, and leadership scenarios. We had a packed day of classroom time and field time. The second day was really for our new leaders to get to opportunity to practice leadership scenarios on the trail.

In all we have a great group of Trails Volunteer Leader this season to help lead our weekend and weeklong programs. Please welcome:
George Brown
Paula Hudson
Michael O’Connor
Jim Pelletier
Bill Brodnitzki (Little Bill)
Bill Patrick (Big Bill)
James David Christmas
Julie LePage
Steve Klauck

Keep an eye out for their Red Helmets, the easiest way to identify one of our AMC Trails Volunteer Leaders. We hope that you get a chance to work with some of these great leaders this season in the Whites, Baxter, or Acadia.

-Alex

Adopter Skill Session - May 24

We enjoyed another great Saturday Skill Session training new AMC Trail Adopters in Basic Maintenance. After a couple of hours at Camp Dodge talking about the AMC Trails Department, the responsibilities of the Trail Adopter, discussing the unique use and environmental conditions in the Whites, and tools and too safety, we were off to the trails.

We decided to hold out training on the lower section of Pine Link Trail, off of Pinkham B Road. We focused on drainage cleaning and reshaping dip and rock waterbars for the first half of the day. The Black Flys were swarming, but fortunately for us, not biting…yet.

After lunch, and a bit of storytelling, we shifted gears to talk about blowdown removal, brushing in, and brushing out of the trail. We worked our way back to the van and ended the day with numerous questions answered, lots of hands on experience, and in the end - a skilled crew of new Adopters.

I returned home that evening and checked my e-mail to find that Chip, the Adopter of the lower section of Pine Link Trail was out that same day! He and a friend hiked up to the top of their section and started to work down. They were very excited that “someone” (he suspected it was a Skill Session) had done some great work in the last ½ mile of trail.

Thanks to all that participated, I had a great day and hope you all did too. I would also like to thank George Brown, a ultra volunteer that served as the Trails Volunteer Leader that co-led this Skill Session with me.

There are several more Skill Sessions on the schedule still. I look forward to working with the next group on June 7th, National Trails Day!

-Alex

AMC North Country Trails Volunteer Programs Supervisor

Hold on to your hard hat

It was an exciting week here in the North Country. We spent two days flying out major supplies and tools to the back country sites that we'll be working on this summer (since, you know, it wouldn't be fun to carry 4800 pounds of bog bridging lumber out on your back in addition to everything else). And let's be honest, working with a helicopter was pretty amazing. Words of the day were windy and strong.

It is quite a well choreographed operation (thanks to Hawk) to make best use of helicopter time. It takes a lot of people, and also a lot of driving, waiting, hauling, and loading. We had fantastic weather for a long first day, and finished up early on the second. Now, back to the non-airborne part of spring here. Staff are arriving, and we're excited for the summer! See you soon--

MOC Trail Crew May 2008

23 Volunteers made the trip to May's Trail Crew. Our project seemed simple enough, repair a stream bank that was supporting a 16' 3 log bridge we built in 2005. In 2006 three 100 year storms hit the DWGNRA and made our little stream about 8' wider and 3' deeper. The damage was caused by a new stream forming up hill of the old stream. The damage to the stream bank was great and we decided to move our old bridge to the new up hill stream



We established the bridge in the new location.


Then did the rock work



A second bridge was built on the down hill stream and 105 new feet of trail was built


228 hours later we finished along with brushing 1 mile of trail and reclaiming another 100 feet of washed out trail. We did have one helper show up but we had to ask him to leave. He was not able to do any work.

Philip Romano
AMC-MOC Trail Crew Volunteer Coordinator

MOC Trail Crew at National Park Day 2008

Every Spring the NPS has an open house at Smthfield Beach in PA. This is when the NP brings out all its dpts and the DWGNRA partners. We set up our gear and info and spend the day meeting the public

This year Cari and I went up to represent Trail crew, MOC and the AMC. This is our best way to recruit interested volunteers to come out ad join us on trail crew. MOC Trail Crew is family friendly with our youngest trail crew volunteer being 6 years old.


MOC Trail Crew meets the second Friday of each month from April to Oct and in Nov we have our awards diner which is always a full turkey dinner with all the fixins.

MOC Trail Crew invites all volunteers to come join us for one of our trail crew work weekends. No experience is required, only the desire to get out, give back and get dirty.
To RSVP contact MOC at 908-362-5670
Or e-mail Mohican_Trail_Crew@verizon.net for more information


Philip Romano
AMC-MOC Trail Crew Volunteer Coordinator

MOC Trail Crew Rock Work Shop

Matt Moore, Regional Trails Coordinator came down to MOC to give our TC a workshop on building rock staircase. I picked a nice rock slide on the Rattle Snake Swamp Trail about 50 feet high and 75 feet long.


The Rattle Snake Swamp Trail is a loop trail that connects the AT to MOC and we have been working on drainage issues on it since 2007

10 of our most dedicated volunteers gave another weekend to increase their skills. When we picked the site we had high hopes, but once we started to work we found working on this rock slide was going to be fun. We moved tons of rock and nothing was going right for us on sat morning. Matt went through it with us step by step. We had a great time learning the new skills and after lunch the 3 crews were starting to make some progress.


After a much needed rest and some great music at the main lodge

Sunday we were able to bring it all together and finish the project on time





Matt Thank you for your time and knowledge!



Philip Romano
AMC-MOC Trail Crew Volunteer Coordinator

MOC Trail Crew April 2008

Our first Trail Crew of the season was a success. 26 people gave a total of 493 hours. This was a great way to start the season. We filled every bunk between the 2 cabins we use at MOC and were able to get 5 crews out and check all of our trails in 2 days. We got all the basic maint taken care of and still had some time to enjoy the trails ourselves. With all of the sprig trail cleaning done we can now concentrate on the big projects the NPS has planed for us.


Some of the young TC volunteers out at RaymondsKills Fallls Trail dealing with drainage issues.

We have events for 3 weekends in april and the first 2 weekends in may, Regular Trail crew weekends, A rock stair case work shop with Matt Moore. The DWGNRA NP Day, NP Trail Crew Open House, Spring tool shed clean up and inventory.

April is a busy month and we still have 7 more months to go.

Philip Romano
AMC-MOC Trail Crew Volunteer Coordinator

Mohican Trail Crew - Gears Up For 2008

With the remodel of the Trails End Cabin complete we wasted little time making it feel like home. One our regular volunteers Jill has a back round in graphics. She designed and installed our new logo in the cabin.

Trails end went from 2 large bunk rooms and a very small common room to a wonderful 4 bunk room and a large common room. The old concrete floor was replaced with a nice hard wood floor. The changes are amazing and the AMC Construction Crew did a great job.

For 2008 MOC Trail Crew will be covering 15 trails in the DWGNRA. The DWGNRA is the 8 most visited park with 33 trails totaling 124 miles and with 8 million visitors last year. Some 55 million people live 3 to 6 hours away from the DWGNRA.With MOC Trail Crew covering almost half the trails in the park and with many large projects on the agenda the demand for volunteers is high. A few of our projects this season include the construction of several new bridges, a few trail redirects, some trail retread projects and a laundry list of odds and ends.

To get ready for 2008 Cari, Quin and myself spent a long weekend preparing the tool shed. After it was cleaned, inventoried and a wish list of tools we would like to get our hands on, the tool shed is ready for the busy season.

We are working on some great workshops this season, a rock staircase class and a WFA course with the AMC and a few educational programs with NPS.

We hope you can take some time and come and join us on the trails Philip Romano AMC-MOC Trail Crew Volunteer Coordinator 732-887-2210

Berkshire Trails Staff 2008

Here we are, 2008's dedicated and talented Berkshire Trails staff. We have new leadership this year with Matt Moore stepping into the Regional Trails Coordinator roll and Connor Young returning from last year to fill a newly created Field Coordinator position, at which he is sure to excel. You can expect this 50% increase in administrative power to translate into more time in the field working along side our fantastic teen volunteer trail crews and trusty ridgerunners. The burliest teenagers in America and their three uber-qualified leaders have some great locations to work at this year, including Mt. Greylock, Upper Goose Pond and October Mountain. This season's five Ridgerunners will continue the great tradition of the nearly 30 year old Ridgerunner program, educating and engaging hikers on the Appalachian trail in Connecticut and Massachusetts. We all will be wearing some sweet Outdoor Research (OR) gear thanks to a generous donation. We are all living the dream out here on the AT! Hope to see you on the trail!



Southern New England Regional Trails Coordinator
Matt Moore

After months of plucking away at a keyboard I am excited that the field season is finally here! I have worked on pro trail crews on the Long Trail in Vermont, in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and in Yosemite National Park. I look forward to sharing the skills I have honed over the years with my crew leaders and the teen volunteers, and hopefully sharing too the value I find in the work that has brought me back season after season. My first backcountry job was the Ridgerunner position that I now supervise, and it was a dream job for me. I hope I can facilitate for this year's Ridgerunners as great a summer as I enjoyed back in the day.





Field Coordinator
Connor Young

This will be my second year working for the AMC in the Berkshires. I was a trail crew leader last season and now I am working as the field coordinator, so I will be able to work with the other programs here which I am psyched about. I am from Great Barrington, so it is been a blast being able to help and work in my own "backyard" while exploring and seeing what the Berkshires have to offer. I am going to be a senior on exchange at the University of Montana in Missoula this next year where I will study Resource and wildlife conservation. I love to ski, backpack, and I am going to do my best to learn how to telemark and ww kayak. We'll see how those pan out, but in the mean time, I am enjoying the berks and excited about a great season.







Trail Crew Leaders
Dena Feldman

Born and raised in Framingham, MA, I got bitten by the travel bug shortly before college, and spent the next four years bouncing around a bit -- while getting my bachelor's in Math & French in Bryn Mawr, PA, I spent summers in Worcester MA, and Tucson AZ, as well as six months in Paris. I've always loved the great outdoors, working as a camp counselor every summer, but thanks to a few family hiking trips in the White Mtns and Berkshires, I knew I had to find a way to get out here again... This will be my first summer working with the AMC, and I couldn't be more excited! Along with traveling, reading, singing, learning languages, and meeting new people, hiking's one of my passions... and next year's goal is to hike the Alps. Hope to see you out on the trail!






Tracey Slaughter

Well how do? My name is Tracey and I'll be arriving by way of Baltimore as one of seemingly few non- New England natives here. I've spent much time in the diverse piedmont plateau of the Chesapeake and have tromped through forests throughout the region. I was a Girl Scout for many years, some of which I also spent as a high adventure instructor. Par for the course, I love to backpack. Throw in a canoe or rocketing down trails on two wheels and I’m a happy clam. Partial to my heart are the Blue Ridge Mountains (when they’re not being blown up), bluegrass, and bare feet I'm looking forward to new mountains and new people, not to mention the chance to escape crowded buildings and the beltway.






Brian Schmitt

Hello everyone, I'm Brian, from Melrose, MA. I will be miraculously graduating this semester from Umass Amherst as an Economics major, with a minor in Latin American Studies. My big life adventure so far was going to South America last year to study abroad in Argentina, and then spending the summer traveling and hiking in Northern Argentina, Bolivia and Peru. Lately, I am most passionate about elaborate tuna salads, scrabble, microfinance, my sort of long hair, riding my bike and running around in the woods. This will be my first year as a trail crew leader and I am absolutely pumped to lead and learn and meet everyone. See you then!







The Ridgerunners



John Goepel

Hey, my name is John and I'm a junior at Frostburg State University in Maryland studying geosciences. When I'm not being a total geek, I enjoy backpacking, playing music, caving, and mountain biking. I'm really looking forward to spending my summer in New England for the first time and hope to meet lots of great people. See ya in the woods!







Michael Wood

Michael has lived many places, including a minuscule farming town in upstate New York, a ski village in Vermont, a trendy French city on the Mediterranean, the loft of a barn in the Jura, under a tarp in Utah, and amongst the redwoods of San Mateo county California, where a good part of his heart lies rolling in the duff. He hopes to communicate his love of nature through the AMC and is eager to discuss natural history with whomever has a willing ear, as it is his conviction that learning to appreciate the daily drama of a nettle plant is just as important as watching a herd of elephants on the Serengeti. In his spare time Michael enjoys playing the flute, writing, reading, drinking tea, and being presented with colorful boxes of scones by persons unknown to him. While he realizes that the possibility of this last being fulfilled via curious readers of his biography is quite small, he figures it's worth a shot.


Nate Bliss

Nate returns to his post of Ridgerunner for a second season of glory. On the trail, you may identify him by his Grateful Dead wristband; off the trail by the enormous cup of Dunkin Donuts Iced coffee he carries with him. He's gotta be around the 3000 mile mark in his hiking career and he is the kind of guy who is just doing it because he loves it. He also has been slacking a little in getting his blog info to me....



Jonathan Watterson

Utilikilt!

berksblog

Skill Session the First

The season is officially rolling!
Camp Dodge is officially open and without snow, and the first Basic Skills Session is officially under our belts. All of this is officially exciting.

Our first Basic Skills Session on May 10 was not only successful, productive, and informative, but also downright fun. We brought together a great group, with varying experiences on trails, and everyone had something to offer and to learn. Along with a broad overview of AMC and how trails are maintained, we spent some time in the tool shed learning (and relearning) about all these resources available to volunteers. Then of course, we got outside-- digging our boots and grub hoes into the drainage areas of the Mahoosuc Trail. With some great instruction, we worked on how best to maintain a variety of drainage types, observed blazing, noted ways of brushing trails in and out, and even learned a little about edible plants. Not to mention we got to check out the beautiful view of Mascot Pond and an impressive demonstration of Alex taking his ax to all that our muscles couldn't haul off the trail.

Overall, an awesome and enlightening day. Consider it highly recommended, especially if you're due (every three years, for all you Trail Adopters).

Hooray for the start of the 2008 season! We look forward to seeing you soon.