AMC Trails Blog

Deck the (log) halls!

2011-12-23T10:54:00.003-05:00

Backcountry caretakers are unique, dreaming of days spent on glorious high alpine ridgelines, but also having no qualms about talking about the actual consistency of the “material” in the composting outhouses. They also love their jobs, and express their love in unique ways.

So, how do caretakers celebrate the holidays? One of our first-year caretakers, Angela, celebrates annually with building a gingerbread house with her sister. This year, Angela’s was a gingerbread shelter, complete with outhouse!

According to Angela, who can be found caretaking at Cardigan Lodge right now, she wanted to make a Garfield Ridge Shelter inspired gingerbread one, but she found the wall lines too tricky to build. We’ll cut her some slack, she is a caretaker and not a timberframer after all.

Happy holidays from us in the Trails Department!!!

Speak up for the Recreational Trails Program!

2011-12-13T09:43:00.005-05:00

For us rock-moving, hole-digging, griphoist-tensioning trails folks, the workings of federal politics sometimes escapes us. However, when it comes to the Recreational Trails Program (RTP) funding, we understand what the loss of that program means. With the current budget discussions, the RTP program has been under serious threat.

Here’s a bit of background on the RTP program in general. The RTP program has been in effect for 20 years, funded through the Highway Trust Fund, derived from federal fuel taxes. The funds are allocated to each state, and the state has the freedom and flexibility to determine how to spend the RTP funds. Overall, 30% of the national funding are spent on motorized recreation, 30% to non motorized recreation, and the remaining 60% go to projects that facilitate diverse trail use. It is heavily relied on by trail maintaining organizations around the country, including AMC.

In our case, how does a national trail funding program translate to work on the ground?

It translates to four weeks of trail crew on the Lonesome Lake Trail in New Hampshire, to an extensive series of staircases, drainages, and retaining walls on the heavily used trail to Lonesome Lake Hut. It translates to over 1,000 hours of work on the Appalachian Trail in Maine, to 82 bog bridges, erosion controls, and trail work designed to meet the unique (i.e. ledgy) terrain of the Mahoosucs: carving steps out of ledge and installing iron rungs. Next year, we hope it will rebuild the Carlo Col trail in both New Hampshire and Maine.

Looking even further back, RTP funding supported the Grafton Loop Coalitions work in building the Grafton Loop Trail from 2001-7. It is also worth mentioning the long list of small, volunteer organizations that rely heavily on RTP funding such as our neighbors and friends the Randolph Mountain Club and the Mahoosuc Land Trust, as well as numerous snowmobile and ATV clubs.

The American Hiking Society has put together an excellent fact sheet and information clearing house on the history of the RTP program, the current status of the program, and talking points related to the program. AMC is a supporter of RTP. For more information on how to speak up for the RTP program, go here.

(Photos of the Appalachian Trail in Maine, and the Grafton Loop Trail, both cooperative projects with Maine RTP)

2012 Trails Volunteer T-Shirt Contest

2011-12-08T10:47:00.002-05:00

You can help design the 2012 AMC Volunteer For Trails T-Shirts!
Submit you drawing or design to the AMC Trails Department for a chance to see your entry on the 2012 T-Shirt.

These T-shirts are given to over 2000+ AMC Trails Volunteers for their work on the trails each year. It could be your design or drawing on the back of every one!

Contest Information:

1) Entries must be received January 13, 2012

2) Your entry is for the Back of the T-Shirt design

3) Size Limit for the design is: 14 inches X 14 inches

4) Submit your drawings or designs in one color for screen printing

5) If you would like, specify the color T-Shirt and the color ink for your design

6) Keep it clean – please make sure that your entries are appropriate for the program

7) If e-mailing the design, please be sure they are at least 300 dpi or higher for professional quality printing.

Submit Entries To:
adelucia@outdoors.org

or Direct Mail:
Alex DeLucia
AMC Trails Department
Volunteer T-Shirt Contest
P.O. Box 298
Gorham, NH 03581

Good Luck!

Spirit of NH Awards 2011

2011-12-06T08:27:00.003-05:00

On November 8th at the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord, NH the 2011 Spirit of New Hampshire Awards were held. Over 100 volunteers from many different organizations and areas of the state were recognized for their commitment to service and the New Hampshire tradition of volunteerism.

This annual recognition program is administered by Volunteer NH in collaboration with the Office of the Governor. Spirit of New Hampshire awards honor outstanding contributions to volunteerism throughout the state of New Hampshire. They augment the many local recognition events that show appreciation for the work of community volunteers and volunteer programs.

The AMC's North Country Trails Volunteer Programs were awarded the Spirit of NH Champion Award. The Champion Award recognizes a volunteer organization that provides outstanding opportunities to volunteers.

The North Country Trails Volunteer Programs, of Gorham, is a project of the Appalachian Mountain Club and includes over 800 volunteers. The program, supervised by Alex DeLucia, works in New Hampshire’s forests maintaining 400 miles of trails through cleaning out brush, drainage structures, repair or build scree walls and cairns above the tree line. Preserving the trails for future use, protecting their environment and providing a quality experience for all trail users, the program is integral for the long term sustainability of New Hampshire Appalachian mountain trails. The program logs over 19,000 hours of volunteer service annually to fulfill these efforts.

(In the photo, far left, Susan Arnold: AMC Vice President for Conservation. Second from left, Andrew Norkin: AMC Director of Trails & Recreation Management. Fifth from the left in the front row, Alex DeLucia: AMC North Country Trails Volunteer Programs Supervisor)

Photo by: Volunteer NH

Trail Sign Auction Ends Friday!

2011-11-30T09:38:00.003-05:00

AMC Trails Department's Annual Trail Sign Auction ends this Friday! Find more information and place your bid today!>>

WINDBORNE grit and ice scour them. Porcupines gnaw on them. Sun and rain beat on them. And still, the wooden trail signs that help guide hikers in the White Mountains put up with it all, serving as silent guideposts in the woods and above the treeline, around the clock, often for years and years before they need to be replaced.

Each year, trail sign fans and supporters of the Appalachian Mountain Club’s trail stewardship program provide future homes for retired trail signs by submitting winning bids in the annual online trail sign auction. This year’s auction opened on eBay on Tuesday and continues until the close of bidding at noon on Friday, Dec. 2. As noted on the What’s New blog at outdoors.org, “All proceeds from the auction will directly support AMC’s trail maintenance efforts and, in particular this year, trail cleanup and repair work following Tropical Storm Irene.”

Six signs are available, representing such locales as the Presidential Range, the Zealand Valley and the Mahoosucs, among others. The Tuckerman Crossover sign is among those in this year’s auction. According to the description on outdoors.org, the sign “spent several long hard years living amid diapensia and mountain sandwort above treeline at the Tuckerman Junction. When not covered with rime ice or befuddled in fog, this sign directed countless numbers of hikers along the Tuckerman Crossover toward the Southside Trail and Lakes of the Clouds Hut.”

Fans of the Mahoosuc Range will likely recognize the Goose Eye trail sign, which had been located at the junction with the Carlo Col Trail since 1985.

A white-and-green Royce Trail sign is also in the auction and includes directional arrows and mileages for other trails and features in the area, including Burnt Mill Brook Trail, West Royce, Laughing Lion Trail and the Brickett Place.

The Cascade Brook Trail sign is billed as the only sign in this year’s batch to carry the Appalachian Trail logo. Others include an Osseo Trail sign and the Ethan Pond Trail sign. The auction is an important fundraiser for AMC’s trail maintenance program.

By: Rob Burbank- AMC

AMC Trails on Latvian TV

2011-11-23T10:34:00.002-05:00

In early November a film crew from Latvian Public Television visited AMC Pinkham Notch to learn more about our trails volunteer programs. Latvia is a small country in eastern Europe with large amounts of public lands. There was great interest in AMC Trail Volunteers and their commitment to caring for our public lands here in the Northeast. It was their hope that we can help to strengthen Latvian volunteerism in the same way.

We spent a wonderful day with Eva Ikstena-Strapcane sharing stories, swapping experiences, and most of all finding common ground on a passion for helping to maintain the outdoor places we love.

For all of our Latvian speaking AMC members, enjoy! Even if you don't speak Latvian, the message of AMC's commitment to the White Mountains and the support of our Volunteers comes through.

A lesson in grassroots land and trail management in Bethel, Maine

2011-11-22T09:12:00.008-05:00

Along the southern end of the three mile ridgeline of Sunday River ski area is 2,200 acres of undeveloped timberland, held in trust by the Bethel Water District. The land has remained undeveloped, save for selective timber cuts, since the gifting of the land from philanthropist William Bingham in 1925 for the purposes of conserving the water quality of Chapman Brook, at the time the main water supply for Bethel, Maine.

All this changed dramatically in 2007, when a catastrophic water event destroyed the watershed and rendered the Brook unreliable and unsafe as a primary water source. The land remains a backup water source for the town, but there is a subtle shift in the primary use of the land, a shift towards recreation.

The Bethel Conservation Commission has been tasked with developing a management plan for the thousands of acres, acres that include steep ledge with delicate lichens, thickets and bogs of spruce and fir, rushing brooks and mixed hardwoods. It is crisscrossed with old skid roads, as well as a preexisting snowmobile trail. The opportunities for locally managed moderately backcountry outdoor recreation, from mountain biking to hiking to Nordic skiing, are tantalizingly clear.

In the past year, a new organization has come together in Bethel, a new organization that is in a good position to contribute significantly to the conversation about development and management and maintenance of the Bingham land: Mahoosuc Pathways, a volunteer-led nonprofit organization.

The Mahoosuc Pathways is the end result of years of work from local groups in Bethel, from the Mahoosuc Land Trust to the Bethel Area Chamber of commerce, to develop frontcountry trail networks throughout Bethel. The Bethel Pathway, a paved and graveled route that winds through Bethel and is frequented by strollers, runners, and pedalers, is a tangible example of the need for community trails and of the success of building them.

This past Saturday, members of the Mahoosuc Pathways, the Conservation Commission, and other interested locals, at the base of Locke Mountain to have the first site visit of the property. As a person dedicated to the cause of community trail building, through my work with the Mahoosuc Initiative and now as the Vice President of the Board of the Mahoosuc Pathways, and to the cause of bushwhacking to new places, I was there among the throngs awaiting at the bottom of the chairlift.

The goal, as with all site visits, was to look but not draw conclusions quite yet. We wanted to see the ledges, the trees, and the animal scat. We wanted to see how the contours of earth and the scattered lines of roads looked on the ground before us. In short, we wanted to “ground truth” the property.

The land holds promise, in stretches of long hardwoods and in the current infrastructure of roads. Importantly and powerfully, the promise of the land will be harnessed and managed fully by the Bethel community. It will be interesting to see how the organic management develops in the next year.

Want to learn more? Check out the Mahoosuc Pathways facebook page (webpage to come soon).

Falling Waters Trail Reconstruction Project

2011-11-14T14:02:00.006-05:00

National Forest Foundation 2011 Matching Awards Program

White Mountain National Forest – Falling Waters Trail Reconstruction Project

Over the summer of 2011 the AMC’s Professional Trail Crew worked on the Falling Waters Trail in Franconia Notch thanks to a Matching Awards Program Grant from the National Forest Foundation. They spent 9 weeks installing structures to mitigate serious erosion and provide trail definition and enhanced safety for hikers on the very popular trail.

The Falling Waters Trail is located in the scenic Franconia Notch leading from the Parkway, I-93, to the summit of Little Haystack Mountain. The trail passes many attractive waterfalls, crossing brooks six times, and climbs 2800 feet in 3 miles to treeline. It is part of one of the most popular day hikes in the White Mountain. Together with the Franconia Ridge Trail (part of the Appalachian Trail), Greenleaf Trail, and the Old Bridle Path the 8.6 mile loop is a must do for many hikers. This classic hike, and easy drive for millions, climbs to the crest of the Franconia Ridge, traverses the ridge, all above treeline, reaches the summit of Mount Lafayette, the sixth highest peak in the White Mountains, and passes AMC’s Greenleaf Hut. Its waterfalls, high peaks, alpine areas and stunning views attract thousands during all seasons.

Due to the extremely high use, steep terrain and rough weather, the trail has suffered serious erosion and widening. To mitigate this and prevent further degradation, the AMC’s professional trail crew installed and repaired rock steps, drainage structures, scree walls, cut steps in ledges, and improved stream crossings. The trail corridor was also brushed out, defined with rubble and debris to close unwanted travel off trail, and remarked with blazes and updated signs. The work was performed within our financial goals.

The primary goals and objectives of this project were to mitigate trail erosion, improve brook crossings, enhance hiker safety and rehabilitate the trail tread on the Falling Waters Trail. The Falling Waters Trail is one of the most popular hiking trails on the White Mountain National Forest (WMNF) and the extreme popularity of the trail had lead to above average trail degradation through the fragile ecosystems this trail passes through which include northern hardwood, spruce/fir forest, and riparian ecosystems. The purpose to the work funded through this grant was to create new trail structures, and improve existing ones, to mitigate the accelerated rate of soil erosion due to the high density of hikers. For almost a century, the heavy hiker use combined with heavy annual precipitation has severely eroded sections of the trail tread. In many sections of the Falling Waters Trail, hikers also veer off trail, behavior that damages flora as well as further accelerating trail erosion.

The physical work objectives of the project included hardening and defining the eroded trail tread by constructing and repairing native stone steps and adjoining scree walls. Rock water bars, check dams, ditches and other erosion control structures, which have proven their success over decades of use along the Northeast’s trail system, were constructed to control the flow of water to prevent further erosion. Additionally, as the work was done on one of the most popular hiking trails in the WMNF, the work provided a unique and valuable opportunity to educate the thousands of hikers who use the trail annually. Through the project, the general hiking public was able to see first-hand the actual work and care necessary to limiting hiker impacts. The trail crews often draw interest, as well as words of gratitude, from passing hikers. By performing this restoration work in such a highly impacted and visible area, the AMC’s professional trail crews were able to provide an implicit demonstration of trail and alpine stewardship at work. These goals were all met. 2,412 hours of trail work was done on the trail to mitigate the current state of erosion and to prevent further damage to the fragile ecosystems. The hiking public received a nearly immediate benefit from the work as the trail became more and more stable under their feet, as well as the intangible benefit gained from the feet-on education of hiking in the area while the project was underway.

The tangible outcomes of this project were the fruits of the 2,412 hours of trail work done by trail crews of 4-7 people from June 13, 2012 until August 19, 2012. Each week, the trail crews submitted a report of the work they did: 153 rock steps were installed, 7 rock check steps, 7 step stones, 661 feet of screewall, 2 large stream crossing were cleared of logs and debris, 9 steps cut and chiseled into ledges, 5,000 feet of brush cut out of the trail corridor, and 300 feet of side trails were brushed in and closed.

In terms of success, the project results speak for themselves and were shared with the surrounding community through osmosis. The nature of this project—mitigating current and preventing further damage to the trail—makes it somewhat difficult to both ascertain the full effect of the work and to fully publicize the true extent of the work.

The major challenge of this project related to the extreme popularity of the trail. The Falling Waters Trail remained open over the course of the project and as safety remains a high priority in all aspects of AMC’s trail work, it was necessary to plan and prepare the site for the many users of the trail, even as potentially dangerous and certainly technical aspects of the project were underway. We addressed this by placing spotters above and below the work site to alert and educate hikers about the situation they were walking into. Also, it was challenging to determine the best possible treadway and level of improvements necessary for the trail. The sheer number of hikers attracts a largely novice hiking crowd, who, being less confident in their footing along the trail require the trail being built to a lesser level of difficulty than would be necessary if catering predominantly to more experienced hikers.

Photos: D. Salisbury

National Public Lands Day – 2011

2011-10-28T13:00:00.000-04:00

On September 24^th the AMC hosted the annual National Public Lands Day in Crawford Notch on the Saco Lake Trail. The few volunteers that joined us for the day helped in resetting bog bridges damaged by the flooding from tropical storm Irene. We were only able to do a fraction of the much needed work on Saco Lake Trail, but we were able to replace and repair many of the bog bridges.

During the storm the water level of Saco Lake rose so much it simply lifted the bog bridges, and many of the larger bridges as well, and away they drifted and piled all around the lake. Looking at the trail now, many things have changed. The south end of the lake was most impacted; both the inlet and outlet are located on the south end of the lake. Significant work will need to be done in the future to repair this section of trail.

The Saco Lake Trail still remains closed to all hikers. However we hope to be able to make it passable by this fall and open it for the winter and spring months until repairs can be made in summer of 2012

Keep an eye on www.outdoors.org/volunteer for day and weekend work parties in the White Mountains to help with storm damage that will be scheduled for spring/summer 2012.

Photos: Alex DeLucia

Southeast Land Trust - Volunteer Day 2011

2011-10-26T15:52:00.006-04:00

AMC led a group of more than 20 volunteers on a day-long trail project for the Southeast Land Trust of New Hampshire. On the Piscassic-Cole Farm property, in the town of Newfields, NH, we worked on constructing a number of bog bridges in low lying areas of trail. This was a continuation of work started in 2010.

Over the course of the day volunteers installed more than 12 bog bridges, covering over 100 feet of trail. Many of the volunteers were participating in the United Day of Caring event, promoted by the United Way.

AMC has been partnering with the Southeast Land Trust for a number of trail projects ranging from new trail layout, new trail construction, trail maintenance on existing trails, large-scale bridge construction, and leadership fro volunteer events.

Photos: Alex DeLucia

Garfield Ridge Shelter: The story behind the flagship (with slideshow)

2011-10-24T12:56:00.012-04:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, may I have your attention please.

I bring before you now the flagship of the AMC Backcountry Shelters. Assembled of white pine, capped with cedar, and accomplished through partnership with the US Forest Service with funding from the Appalachian Trail Park Office, the new Garfield Ridge Shelter sits unveiled, in all its glory.

What is the story behind this project that was a year in planning and a brief few weeks in executing? What of the artisan timberframers, professional resource managers, and strong backed crewmembers who made it all happen? If I could have your attention for a bit longer, I’ll tell the story.

It starts with those initial field visits in the summer of 2010, taking pictures and measuring structural rot, all with the eye towards determining whether the old shelter required replacement or repair. And, moreover, if it was to be replaced, what kind of shelter would it be? Would it be dimensional lumber? Native timbers from the site itself? Or, maybe, of the class of shelter as Eliza Brook (2010) and Kinsman Pond (2007)?

Through discussions over the winter with our partners the US Forest Service and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and the Regional Planning Committee, we decided first on replacement of the shelter and then on the design: pre-constructed by John Nininger’s Wooden House Company. (For more information on John’s work with AMC on Eliza Brook Shelter in 2010, please click here). Working with John during the late winter and spring, we fine-tuned our design for the new Garfield: not too tall, not too long, and not too exposed to the elements by a completely open door.

Work on the new Shelter began at John’s lumber yard in August, with the arrival of a series of unpeeled white pine logs that John had selected and marked himself. From there, he (and crewman Mark McCulluch) spent three weeks peeling, scribing, notching, and then assembling the structure. In August John unveiled the artistic touches that would be the defining features of the shelter: a wide curved branched log and an “h” shaped joined log (that is ONE LOG folks!). Put simply, John is the best out there.

We at AMC were responsible for everything else: the foundation, the floor, and the roof. The foundation and the floor had to be set before the shelter could be raised, and old shelter had to be demolished before the foundation could be set. We had a lot of work to do. However, due to the challenges posed by Hurricane Irene, the preparation of the site of the new shelter was delayed and ended up being a frenzy of dawn to dusk workdays in the week from September 14 to 21.

The unstoppable rhythm of that single week ran like this: two days of demolition, one day of ground leveling, one day spent setting ten 8"x8"x4’ piers three feet in the ground, one day of setting the sill logs and building the floor system, one day of site preparation for airlift, and one day of the shelter raising itself.

In other words, our scrappy tough crew of caretakers and their field supervisors accomplished two weeks of work in six days. Luck was on our side with some things (in setting the 8x8 piers the crew did not encounter massive boulders or ledge) but not so with others (building the floor system took longer than anticipated). With a crew that varied from three to five people, the work got done through frosty mornings, sleety afternoons, and a few gloriously sunny days.

While the crew was hard at work in the high mountains, down in the valley materials started accumulating at the airlift site, building towards a crescendo: cut and measured lumber for the loft and ridgecap, piles of shingles, lengths of tongue and groove spruce, and the tractor trailer that held the logs of the new shelter. And, of course, a dumpster as the final resting place of the old shelter.

On September 21, a day that dawned bright and clear, a crew of helicopter pilots, AMC staff, and John and Mark, gathered for the raising of Garfield Ridge Shelter. The moment had arrived.

It is John who speaks in the somewhat antiquated language of timberframing, of summer beams and purlins and rise and run and the raising of the shelter itself. At the end of the day, we were all speaking in the language of timber framing, as each beam came in we noted its placement in the shelter. It was a momentous day in the backcountry.

The shelter came in two logs at a time, with the weights varying between 200 to 400 pounds. The skill of the pilot, combined with the craftsmanship of the logs, meant that each log could be placed directly into the notch by the ship itself. A few taps with a sledgehammer, with some coaxing from a flatbar, nudged them firmly into place.

While assembled piece by piece, log by log, one must resist calling the new Garfield Ridge Shelter a “Lincoln log” construction. The reason being that, instead of a pre-fabricated every-stick-is-milled-exactly-like-the-stick-above (and thereby requiring 18” spikes to hold the thing together) each piece of white pine is carved individually by hand to meet the log above. The method of the full-scribe Swedish cope ensures that the logs, as they settle, settle into one another and do not have any gaps. The intricate notches of John’s are strong and stable, often both curved and straight at the same time.

There are no spikes in the entirety of Garfield Ridge Shelter. There are, however, four pieces of threaded rod that are tightened annually to pull the logs closer together as they shrink, to prevent gaps. These ensure a seamless appearance, and hold the gables fast to the rest of the structure.

Back to the momentous day. The raising began at 10 or so, and the final beam, the long ridgepole, came in at 3:30 p.m. John and Mark scurried up high on the ridgelines like the professional timberframers they are, affixing smaller wedges of wood and running the long threaded rods through. By 4 p.m., the shelter was raised, and we toasted the new flagship before watching the sun set from the summit of Garfield.

After that rush of adrenaline, the recognition that we had removed and replaced an entire building in the backcountry in seven days, we settled in for the exacting and painstaking work of roofing: sheathing, shingling, capping.

Garfield Ridge Shelter gets bombarded by weather. It is exposed, high elevation, and also high use by visitors. In fact, the roof of the old shelter blew off one the winter in the early 1990s. We went with a rock solid roofing technique: 2”x6” tongue and groove spruce, thick clear cedar shakes, and capped by waterproof material (ice and water shield) and a clear cedar ridgecap.

The new shelter is done, and our flagship site (visited by over 2,000 people overnight from late May to October 2011) has a shelter (indeed, a work of art) that suits its needs.

The end.

Please enjoy these two slideshows on the construction of the new Garfield Ridge Shelter, and the demolition of the old Garfield Ridge Shelter.

Camp Dodge Leadership & Conservation Crew 2011

2011-10-11T12:35:00.001-04:00

Eric Nieminen
I started the Leadership Crew without much outdoors experience and I had never done a trail crew before. I had no idea what I was getting into; I was truly jumping into the fire. The bugs were in full force the first week, heat the second, rain the third, and mud the last. While learning to deal with these White Mountain trademarks, I enjoyed being part of about the vast variety of quality work that is done by the AMC to make the trails passable by visitors. The experience I had in this program is incredibly valuable for anyone who wishes to pursue opportunities in conservation because of the field-work skills we learn and the connections that we develop with leaders - who are awesome.

Laura Burnham
To say that the Leadership Crew had learned and accomplished a lot in those four weeks would be an understatement. Through Wilderness First Aid, Leave no Trace, and CPR certifications, not to mention four weeks of trail work or the work we did in the garden, tool shed, or kitchen, we achieved a lot. It is the only group of people I know who can work for hours covered in mud trying to set a rock and still have a great time doing it. Highlights of the trip would definitely include swimming at Emerald, sleeping under the stars, rock climbing, barbeques and Ethan’s food in general. It was quite the four weeks to say the least. At the end, no one wanted to go home but after a month I know that the friends I made will remain close, continue hang out, go to concerts, and remain in contact. And that’s just the way she goes.

Allison Cluett
As soon as I heard about the Leadership Crew, I knew it was how I wanted to spend my summer. Arriving at Camp Dodge, I had a faint idea of what to expect, but my experiences this summer exceeded all of my preconceived notions. Over the course of four weeks, we learned the frustratingly satisfying ways of rock work, how to make delicious food in the backcountry, and the basics of Leave No Trace and Wilderness First Aid, among many other things. The work, while challenging, was extremely rewarding; rarely do you have the chance to create such lasting things that you could visit years later and say, “I helped build that!” I certainly have a newfound appreciation for the trails I hike, aware of how much labor went into their creation and maintenance. However, the highlight of my summer by far was meeting all of the amazing people on my crew and at Camp Dodge. Never before have I been a part of a group so enthusiastic and willing to camp, hike, and work despite rain, bugs, heat, and mud. So when I finally re-entered the “front country”, I was not without new friends, increased confidence and skills, and myriad stories of my time in the woods.

Greg Allen
For most volunteers who get the “Dodge Experience,” food just sort of “happens” on Monday morning. It arrives in heaping boxes, in perfect proportions, and in time to leave later that morning. Before my Leadership crew experience, I was no more enlightened. However, four weeks richer, I can tell you how much rice a crew of ten requires (3 lbs.), what bread product works best for lunch (always wraps, never bagels), how many snacks to rec (3 per person per day), how long yogurt lasts in the backcountry (one day, no longer), they key to making Annie’s (add butter), how to get all the special recs you want (draw Storehouse a great picture), and how many special recs Dodge really gets (actually, I never figured that out). Helping to write the rec for TLC (as we came to be known) was a true microcosm of the greater goals of the leadership program: we were forced to make key decisions, account for the opinion of the group, problem solve, delegate, be organized, be efficient, be courteous, and be accurate, all with a high degree of independence and limited supervision. And of course, we did massive amounts of trail work, got trail names, made inside jokes, made s’mores, lamped when when should have been working, worked to make up for lamping, pulled weeds, ate as much of Ethan’s food as we possibly could, and I got a haircut (because who doesn’t look good with a Mohawk?). Not bad for four weeks, right?

Elise Goplerud
When I tried to explain what my summer plans were to my friends they looked at me in awe. They were shocked by the hard labor, lack of showers, and lifestyle I would be following for four weeks straight. But the aspects that some people would never want are what made the Leadership Crew so special. It’s rare in life that you will be able to do something as intense as spend four weeks in the wilderness and find seven other people your age that are right there with you. Instead of grabbing latte’s and cappuccino’s we ate Soy Ginger Tempeh cooked on a gas stove. Instead of tanning on the beach with my friends I came to Camp Dodge to move gigantic rocks with a group of strangers that would turn out to be some of my best friends. We pushed ourselves to the limit and tested our mental capacities to the fullest. Some might describe the four weeks our crew spent in the woods as crazy but I call it the “dankins” (best) four weeks of my summer.

Patrick Chastant
How did I spend my summer? Well it was at Camp Dodge with the AMC doing trail work for several weeks. Some of my friends were astonished and some of them didn’t believe me when I told them this. Then I was asked if I would do it again, and the answer is HELL YES I WOULD DO IT AGAIN! Not only did I get to make new friends from all over New England I also got to know them better than people that I have a class with. Everyone got along with each other so well, of course there was once in a while were someone was crabby but hey u spend a few days in the rain where you get cold and slightly dehydrated. We got such an enormous amount of work done because we knew what was going on and by the end of the 3^rd week we knew how to do everything. I’m going to try to keep in contact with all of these new found friends as well as try and get together with them once in a while. For these are all great people and I would love to do this again.

Avery Meyer
"Like many other members of the Leadership Crew, I arrived at Camp Dodge at a time when some of my biggest life decisions lay just a few steps ahead of me. What do I want do do with my life? Is my major right for me? Is what I'm doing worth while? Camp dodge provided a breadth of fresh air in a way that no other place could. It gave me the chance to focus on simply "living." What I mean is that I could think about the here and now while appreciating the world for what it could be. And it showed me that there was more than one way to not live a stressful life. I may like stress, and be quite good at not worrying about it, but that isn't the same as being completely relaxed. Sure there were difficult moments; when a rock wouldn't fit right, or if a boulder refused to move; but it wouldn't have been interesting without them. And as always, I learned from overcoming each obstacle.

Throughout our four weeks together, there was a running joke about silly hypothetical phrases we could use to describe camp dodge on t-shirts. For example: CAMP DODGE: CONSERVATION THROUGH DESTRUCTION or CAMP DODGE: LEAVE NO TREES. Both of these phrases point towards one idea. Camp Dodge is a place where those of us who have had the misfortune to grow up, can be a kid just one last time. Because who doesn't want to roll rocks, jump in mud, and hit trees with sharp objects. You know you do too."

Joe Murad
I spent this summer doing the AMC’s Leadership Crew -- it was great! I learned so much. We did wilderness first aid training, we learned about Leave No Trace, we went rock climbing, we went swimming – and that was just on the weekends. During the weeks we did trail work and lots of it. We learned how to build log bridges, stone water bars, stone staircases and so much more. We carried all the tools and food we needed for a week in the woods on our backs (that’s a lot of weight) but it was always fun. Yes, it was hard work but everyone was always in the best mood -- you couldn’t help but be happy. Overall it was the best summer I’ve ever had.

"No Cyan": A Day on the Grafton Loop Trail

2011-10-10T09:13:00.006-04:00

“Cyan”, for those of us who wrestle with laser printers, is the one ink cartridge we never seem to have when the printer ink runs out. In common parlance, it’s “blue.”

Cyan also represents a form of color coding for lighting, in the parlance of professional photographers and graphic artists. It is not a only kind of “blue,” but a darkness in the colors in the frame, caused by lighting at particular times of day; that darkness reacts with the bright tones of yellow and red to mute the brightness. It is why people shot at sunset are shadowed and flat, and why that photo never seems to capture the glowing fall colors quite right. There are ways to overcome cyan, through long exposures, certain lenses, and of course photoshop; however, the best way is to be at the right place at the right time.

I start a trip report on the Grafton Loop Trail in Maine with a digression on the technical jargon of graphic artistry and photography because our particular trip to Grafton was brought to us by the crisp golden fall colors of maples and birches, the glory of an October day in Maine. The Grafton Loop Trail, a long and gently graded trail, is also a long hike. During the 12 miles of the day that I hiked with Mahoosuc Rover Ryan Smith, also an accomplished graphic artist and photographer, we had plenty of time to talk about photography.

As a brief review, the Grafton Loop Trail, the wonderful accomplishment of the Grafton Loop Trail Coalition, is 39 miles of hiking through woodlands and across the spines of the Mahoosucs and Baldpates, and dipping into Grafton Notch. It was built by volunteers, professional trail crew, and made possible by extraordinary partnerships between recreational trail clubs such as AMC and the Maine Appalachian Trail Club, land managers such as the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands, and private landowners such as Sunday River and timberowners.

The trail itself is mellow in grade and winds around and along summits. It is fairly quiet, and is most frequented by those who seek a “pure” backpacking experience. It has, also, become enormously popular among long-distance trail runners.

AMC maintains four primitive campsites along the 17 miles of trail that connects Rt 26 in Newry, Maine to the Appalachian Trail on the summit of Old Speck: Bald Mtn, Sergeant Brook, Silde Mtn, and Bull Run. Last week, on that glorious fall day, we went to do the kind of minor maintenance that justifies a hike on a beautiful day: hanging signs, fixing outhouse doors, affixing hardware to a bearbox.

The campsites are clearly respected by visitors and overnight users, the proof in their consistently clean and tidy appearance, free of fire rings or garbage left behind in bear boxes, as well as not becoming denuded of vegetation through cutting or trampling. In our busy White Mountain campsites, we rely on the caretaker program to protect the resources of trees, soil, and water quality, and the campsite infrastructure itself, during periods of high use. In the quieter Grafton Loop Trail, we rely on visitors themselves, and AMC only checks on the sites once or twice a year.

In the four years I’ve been involved in the maintenance of the Grafton Loop sites, I’ve picked up occasional pieces of scraps of wrappers and dispersed a single fire ring. The forests surrounding each tent platform or pad remain dense and lively. The visible and tangible respect from the hiking public is impressive.

But back to the glorious foliage. The Grafton Loop winds through a particularly glorious stand of maple trees between Slide Mtn campsite and Bull Run. We managed to hit this particularly glorious stand of maples in the early afternoon light, which, according to Ryan, was devoid of “cyan.” Ryan, being cameraless (what kind of graphic artist is camera-less? The kind that works in the woods and lives out of his car and can’t always find his camera), relied on me to capture a few shots. Of course, I failed to capture enough, except for the one shot at the top of this post.

Enjoy. And enjoy this peak foliage season in the ways you enjoy.

Dodge Journal Fall 2011

2011-09-20T08:53:00.005-04:00

With the wisp of the whipping wind, fall is blowing into the tents of Dodge. Over the last couple of weeks dodge has seen one leaf at a time switch from the bright green to the bright reds and yellows. As quickly as leafs have blown off the trees the leaders have vacated their tents. The last week rolls through and tents are torn down and quiet is falling over the facility. The last week of crews out of dodge has left us with one teen crew and one adult crew, a nice calm week of crews to finish out summer. With the final shipment of crews out a big sigh of relaxation has falling over the staff.

Over the course of the summer, many have referenced what we do as being like a ship crew, stuck in the close quarters of the White Mountain national forest to sail across the trails with crew upon crew being shipped out to provide erosion assistance for the fleet of trails. It has been a very full summer to say the least. As the leaves start to change so does the vibe of Dodge, it is very quiet here now. At nights all that can be heard is babble of the nearby brooks, oh yea and the huffs of the moose hanging in the corn patch. Those lanky guys ate all of our corn recently, major bummer. I guess i should have known that that was bound to happen sooner or later.

Recently though, we had another wild group come raging through the garden. A group of 3 to 4 year olds from the Gorham community center come out and learn and help about in the garden. We picked potato bugs, planted spinach and peas and harvested carrots, a whole whopping 12 pounds. After picking them and cleaning the carrots, the little ones passed the big bag around so they could pick up and see how much weight they actually picked from the ground. I must say for me 12 pounds pretty light, but for these little ones it was about a 4^th of what they weighed. I must say they were mighty proud to hold those carrots.
Entering September means a hush for dodge on all normal circumstances but this year with the bridge wash out it is even quitter. No cars can drive up and there are no flies out of here. All that is left is myself and the researcher, Mac. We are left with the occasional caretaker that rolls on through. Beyond that, it is just the two of us. A little weird I must admit to have a whole 5 acres of national forest basically to ourselves. With the peace though I am actually able to get some projects done that otherwise would not happen, for when there are people, there are issues and I play band aid for anything that might arise.

In this final couple of weeks for dodge the only thing that demands lots of attention from us is final volunteer barbecue. It is a time where women and men of all ages can gather and share the stories of the summers work on the trail. We gather support from the local communities to give out prizes to those who put there time and effort into the management of the trails. This years BBQ was different then most years. As many know by now, we have restricted access to the bridge, the stupid storm Irene has really put a thorn in my side. The bridge has been undermined and it is not possible for us to drive any vehicles back onto the property. For the BBQ we had to shuttle all out visitors from the Diritisma trail head next to pinkhum, from there all visitors had walk from the road up the hill and to the facility. Before the hurricane there was expected to be about 120 people or so. With the bridge crash we dropped down to 80+, still a solid turn out for all the change in logistics. People were still thrilled to come and eat all the delicious food. Special thanks to our cooks, Jess Wilson, George Dixon, and Pat McCabe. There tireless effort fed this banquet and then some. We had so much extra great food we had a chow down for all residence of Admin the next night and then can a bunch of side dishes to a huts end of season gathering. The garden did its part for the year and allowed us to have lots of fresh veggies added into the mix.
Right before this event I made sure this place was clean to the “T”. With that being said, a highlight of this whole BBQ was we only produced three bags of trash. Why is this so important, well one, I had to lug only three bags over the bridge into my truck and two our waste was very minimal, most things were fresh and did not come with plastic wrapping, and we recycled as much as we could. For an even with that many people 3 bag of trash is small in my eyes. Next year I think we can have only two! The community that can revolve around conservation and food is vast and unexplored, people of dodge are pioneers, I solute you.

This is 3-1 Goose clear with Camp Dodge Journal series 2011

2012 - St. John, USVI Volunteer Trail Crews

2011-09-19T10:00:00.007-04:00

Join a number of AMC Trails Volunteers for a week of trail work in the US Virgin Islands on St. John in March, 2012! Sign Up Today!

This cooperative vacation/service week offered by the AMC, US Virgin Islands National Park, and the Friends of the Virgin Islands is a great way to get active, meet new people and contribute to the conservation efforts of the trails on St. John.

We have two different weeks to choose from:

Week #1: March 3-10, 2012

Week #2: March 10-17, 2012

Sign up for one, or both! Once you arrive at Cinnamon Bay Campground on St. John all of the camping, meals, on-island transportation, and trails leadership is taken care of by quality AMC and Friends of the Virgin Islands Staff. We will be based out of Cinnamon Bay Campground for the week in their Volunteer Site, working each day (Monday-Friday) for 6-8 hours. There will be plenty of time to hike, snorkel in the bay, or participate in any number of other recreational activities on the island.

For more information and to register please visit the AMC Volunteer Trail Crew program description of the US Virgin Islands - St. John Trail Crew or past St. John Trail Crew Blog Posts on the AMC Trails Blog.

Questions: Contact Alex DeLucia, AMC North Country Trails Volunteer Programs Supervisor at adelucia@outdoors.org or 603-466-2721 x8128.

Garfield Ridge Shelter is CLOSED

2011-09-14T11:09:00.003-04:00

Garfield Ridge Shelter is closed from September 14th (that's today!) until October 1st. The campsite will remain open for tenting on the platforms during this time. The old shelter is being removed and a new one will be assembled on-site.

Garfield Ridge is the second oldest shelter in the fleet of 10 shelters AMC manages on the WMNF and MBPL, and has received a beating from both weather exposure and high use. The shelter was built in 1971, with the roof replaced in the mid 1990s. The shelter is a pre-built design by a log home company from Whitefield, NH; it is the same basic design and company as the AMC’s Full Goose shelter in Maine. This is the first shelter at the site, which was constructed in 1970 and 1971 to replace the former shelter and campsite location at Garfield Pond.

Garfield Ridge Campsite itself is one of our flagship sites, intelligently designed and carefully maintained. It sees a wide variety of visitors, from Appalachian Trail through hikers to camp groups, and often to those caught unawares by the weather. Posts by the 2010 Garfield Ridge Caretaker can be found here and here.

The new shelter is being pre-built off-site by John Nininger's Wooden House Company. John has been contracted in recent years to build Kinsman Pond Shelter (2007) and Eliza Brook Shelter (2010). His experience with logs started with AMC on trail crew in the 1970s, and building Carlo Col Shelter and Imp Shelter. Internationally recognized for his talent with full-scribe log joinery, John squeezed this project in with a 6 week trip to Poland with the Timber Framer's Guild.

Design considerations for the new shelter included the capacity, footprint, and character of the campsite itself. Planning for the project took place over the past year between AMC, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and the Regional Partnership Committee, and the US Forest Service. It is a unique design, unlike any other shelter in AMC's fleet. And, of course, displaying the artisanal touch and quality craftsmanship that John brings to every project.

We will post more pictures as the project progresses towards completion. Stay tuned.

A Different Kind of Hiking: The Life of an AMC Ridgerunner

2011-09-01T08:52:00.003-04:00

Ridgerunner Rachel Goff has done it again! First, her terrific blog Pop Tarts and Poison Ivy was picked up by wend magazine online. Then, this prestigious blog decided to follow suit (amc trails blog is involved in somewhat of an arms race with wend jk). Now the AMC's Ridgerunner program's best clothing-making-friend Outdoor Research out of Seattle WA (OR), has jumped to the front of the bandwagon and featured Goff's inimitable stylings on their Verticulture blog.

Click here to read the article. In it, Rachel breaks it all down, namely: what it is like explaining her job to people, how she tactfully tries to convince people not to litter, and the highs -learning the beauty of a place inside and out- and lows- sweeping out backcountry toilets, lugging out trash- of her life as an AMC Ridgerunner.

Now that the season is over, Rachel is back at Colby, trying to figure out what her next blog is going to be. I certainly hope she comes back to AMC for inspiration next summer.

Lastly, big thanks to OR for their support over the last three years. OR has donated the Ridgerunner shirts, the SoDo, which is a stylish, quick-drying, durable, and generally excellent shirt. When I was a Ridgerunner in 2004, we were ballin' on a budget so our shirts came from Wear-Guard and they were cotton, heavy, hot, and somewhat miserable for a backpacking shirt. OR has saved the modern Ridgerunner from this uncomfortable fate and we are grateful for their excellent gear and their willingness to help us in our mission to protect the AT.

Irene Aftermath - Camp Dodge

2011-08-29T09:22:00.009-04:00

Sunday evening things started to slow down around Gorham as far as the wind and rains. We ventured out to see the storm's damage. Far more concerns from water as opposed to wind. Rt 2 east from Gorham was temporarily closed as the Peabody River was up 12 feet and flowing over the road. Rt 16 south was closed and NHDOT was redirecting traffic.

This morning, Monday, I was able to talk with the NHDOT about the RT 16 closure and they said there was a washout where 16 goes over Cowboy Brook at Camp Dodge! After talking with them I was able to drive in as far as the road closure. Parking in the Great Gulf lot I saw the NHDOT crews working on repairing Rt16 hoping to get at least one late open by late morning. I walked up into Camp Dodge to see all structures intact but significant erosion on the driveways and potential damage to our small bridge over Cowboy Brook. Walking around Dodge it looks like Cowboy jumped the banks and was running down the field in front of the main building.

Heading back to Gorham I stopped and checked out Pinkham B Road, the road that leads to Dolly Copp Campground, to see the bridge damage I had heard about the night before. There was significant erosion along the road when the Peabody jumped the banks and was flowing more than 4 times as wide as usual. Once I got to the bridge I found a 8 foot section completely gone!

Unbelievable.

For now the Camp Dodge Driveway is gated and will remain closed until we are able to assess the condition of our bridge over Cowboy some time on Tuesday 8/30/11. Next will be to assess the trail conditions and trail bridges.

Photos: Alex DeLucia

WMNF Closed - Hurricane Irene

2011-08-27T07:35:00.005-04:00

FOREST CLOSURE

Due to the threat of extreme weather associated with Hurricane Irene the White Mountain National Forest
HAS BEEN CLOSED effective 6PM Saturday August 27, 2011
through midnight Monday August 29, 2011.

Current National Weather Service projections call for the weather event to reach New Hampshire on Sunday, August 28, 2011.

· This closure is to ensure public safety and effective emergency operations. The closure includes all trails, campgrounds, developed sites, huts, shelters, and ski areas.

· The storm event is expected to bring heavy rain and high winds which will make backcountry travel and camping extremely hazardous due to swollen streams, dangerous crossings, and potential flooding. Road systems will be vulnerable to wash outs and compromised road shoulders.

· High winds are predicted that will cause trees and limbs to blow down in campgrounds, along trail systems, and across roads.

· Ability to conduct Search and Rescue operations will not be possible Sunday during the height of the storm.

· Please dial 911 to report an emergency. Please report any storm damage to the Forest Service by calling (603) 536-6100. In case of a power outage, call (603) 536-3693.

BTTC - Leadership Crew 2011

2011-08-25T11:18:00.016-04:00

The 2011 Berkshire Teen Leadership Crew had big shoes to fill and high expectations to meet. A stellar 2010 Leadership Crew had set the bar high. The crew was coming in with a lot of experienced members. Jesse Samdahl was back for his third year with the Berkshire program and took up the role as an intern for the crew. In addition, we had Michael Day (also coming back for a third year), Max Crystal and Zoe Payne-Taylor returning to the Berkshire program from previous years. To round out our crew’s resume we had participants from AMC White Mountain trips, an SCA crew volunteer, a Himalayan trekker and many others with extensive hiking experience.

Our project was to cut a new switchback on the Appalachian Trail along the side of Mt. Prospect just north of Mt. Greylock. When we started, the trail had a minimum grade of 35% causing the trail to erode beyond its limits. Our goal was to cut a switchback at a more sustainable grade. This meant a lot of sidehilling. While previous crews this summer had begged us to teach them how to “dougie,” (see http://trailsblog.outdoors.org/2011/08/teach-me-how-to-dougie.html) this crew cried “Teach me how to sidehill, teach me, teach me how to sidehill!” Melody Feo and I (Mike

Leavitt) did our best and had a lot help from our returning participants (especially Zoe and Max who had sidehilled last year). Everyone picked up the new skill very quickly. Because of the

crew’s experience level, Melody and I were able to allow them to make many of their own decisions about the work. The crew found time for a lot more than just trail work however. The weeks included numerous sunsets, swimming, jokes, stories and trust falls.

The weekends allowed for the crew to take a break from trail work. The first weekend they became certified in Wilderness First Aid by completing a two day course. During the second weekend, they went on a Leave No Trace backpacking trip. In between all of this, there was some down time allowing for barbecues, ultimate Frisbee and feeding the cows.

All of the listening and learning culminated when it came to their day to lead. Everyone was paired up and given a different day to lead. Each group was responsible for leading the crew from the time they woke up until the time they went to bed. This included waking everyone up, carrying the medical kit, leading the work projects, organizing all other aspects of the day, and even planning and shopping for that day’s meal.. Melody and I spent our days working on separate projects, leaving the leaders to run the crew and make all the tough decisions. Matt Moore and Valerie (2009 crew leader) came out on Thursday with a reporter from the Berkshire Eagle. The crew was featured in the August 19^th paper!

Melody and I woke everyone up at 5am the last day and were greated with sleepy groans. We all piled into the van and made it to the top of Mt. Greylock to see the sun rising over the clouds.

The sunrise ended with a delicious chocolate chip pancake breakfast on the summit. We then packed up camp and returned to the KCC for the last time. After a long, busy three weeks, participants ran to greet their parents and pets. Joyful greetings were followed by reluctant farewells. Big hugs, a few tears and Laurel wishing everyone “a good life” concluded the 3 week Berkshire Leadership crew. Everyone walked away from the three weeks looking forward to a shower and a meal not involving beans, rice or pasta. However they also walked away as sidehilling experts, hikers and leaders.

Like our Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/AMC-Berkshire-Teen-Trail-Crew/165750386836423) and see more pictures!

Mike Leavitt - Projects Coordinator

Everything you know, upside down: Log repair and replacement in backcountry shelters

2011-08-16T08:10:00.041-04:00

Log repair and replacement for backcountry full scribe log shelters is a tricky and slow business. The building must be lifted in the air, the floor must be removed, and the new logs must be scribed to fit the courses above. Effectively, you are being asked to build a building upside down. When done by hand, with an eye for long term durability and a clean appearance, such carefully executed work can not be rushed.

AMC maintains ten shelters in Maine and New Hampshire, and of those ten, four are full-scribe native log structures, built between 1974 to 1981. Gentian Pond, built in 1974, is the first shelter that required attention, as the back corners and the front first log course displayed significant rot.

With logs cut to replace the sills well over a year ago, and funding from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s LL Bean Grants to Clubs, AMC Trails spent three weeks in July replacing four logs and the floor of Gentian Pond Shelter.

The technique we culled from our collective experiences in construction, foundation work, log repair, and previous projects such as the RMC’s Perch shelter. It was a team effort, with crew members from the backcountry caretaker program, the roving contract trail crew, and leadership from Sally Manikian (that’s myself), White Mountain Trails Supervisor Dave Salisbury, Roving Contract Crew Supervisor Kris Kebler, and Director of all of us, Andrew Norkin.

In addition to our prior collective knowledge, I spent a week in June on Montana’s Ninemile Ranger District in the Lolo National Forest learning firsthand from the historic preservation and restoration professionals from the US Forest Service’s Preservation Team. I learned invaluable techniques on how to fit logs into existing structures. For more information on the Ninemile’s historic preservation courses, ranging from crosscut saw maintenance to horsepacking to Leave No Trace Master Courses to log building work, click here. The courses are open to the public, and I highly recommend them. The photo on the left is from the Montana project.

For Gentian, the basic technique was to band the shelter together by attaching vertical 2”x8” pieces of hemlock to the inside of the building. This strapping providing structural stability for the shelter as it was lifted, as well as provided a place to jack off of. Once the floor was removed, we were able to attached the strapping to the interior walls, and slowly lift the building into the air, blocking the corners with three foot sections of 6”x6” cribbing. Removing the floor, lifting the building, cleaning out the silted earth and trash underneath, and cribbing it into place took the first week.

The second week was spent fitting the four new logs to the existing building. The trickiest log to place was the front log, as we had to account for the door frame as well as scribe it to fit the log above. The tools of the trade of logwork came in handy: a Veritas log scribe, a set of chisels in various sizes, sledges large and small, a chainsaw, and a large pile of wedges.

The final touch was just as tricky as the steps before, which was to build the floor. Matching dimensional lumber to square round logs is not easy. The flooring itself was also rabeted into the logs, so that the top of the floor meets perfectly the top of the front log and side logs. Building the floor, and the ladder to the shelter, took another week and was accomplished by the Field Coordinator Beau Etter Garrette and Mahoosuc Rover Ryan Smith.

I will let the photos speak for themselves. Thanks to the combined talent and effort of the Trails Department, Gentian Pond Shelter is open to the public once more.

Week I: Floor and log removal, lifting of the shelter

Last lunch on the old floor

Rotted back corners

Rotted front log, once the floor was removed.

Where'd the floor go?

Old dogs can't learn new tricks, even when there no longer is a floor to sleep under

Attaching the 2"x 8" pieces of strapping to hold the shelter together and also to jack off of

Strapping and cribbing in use.

Side log removed.

Front log removed

A shot of the interior with the back log removed.

Cleaning out the dirt and debris from underneath the shelter

The best find? Coins from the 1940s

By the end of the week, the shelter was cribbed into place at the desired height.

Moving the logs into place

Week II: Log replacement

We started with the front and back logs, which were the first course of logs to fit into the current structure. With the cribbing and jacks off set from the corners, we were able to maneuver the logs into place and work on them. Since the logs needed to be scribed and shaped to fit, being able to move them in and out to get the perfect fit was necessary.

Finishing the notches in the front log, using chainsaws and chisels.

Trimming the rotted ends off the logs that extended beyond the roofline, to prevent further rot

Back log in place.

Running a saw between the courses of logs carved a tight fit between them.

Squaring the sill logs to the centerline of the building.

Back corner almost tight in place.

Fitting the front corner.

Tight notches

The new logs in place

Week III: Replacing the floor

Matching the square ends of dimensional lumber to rough cut native logs took the majority of the third week, along with building a ladder. The shelter is now 6" above the ground on footers, whereas before it was flush with the ledge. With a lack of air flow, dirt accumulated against the back of the shelter leading to the rot.

New ladder, customized to fit the front log.

New floor flawlessly meeting the front log.

Done.

Dodge Journals 2011: #3

2011-08-15T06:51:00.008-04:00

“Hey Goose?” Famous words when someone comes to find me at some random time when they know that I am not really working but being the “caretaker” or “Mayor” and something whatever it may be is calling my name. On this particular morning in early June, I hear Beth calling my name in that lovely tone. It was just after 6 am. “What going on Beth?” I answer in my sleepy voice. “There is a Bear. She responds in a tone of disbelief. When I hear those words my mind goes into hyper active mode. I snap awake and into action. I think to myself “number one”. We have had no bear activity all spring until this point. I jumped out of my tent and looked to where Beth was pointing, towards the main building. What I see is a 300 pound or bigger bear looking in to the window of the rat proof. Just sitting there on its hind legs, peering in the window, clearly thinking about how to pass through this wall and hit gold. To my surprise I see his or hers, couldn't tell, arm disappear through the wall of the building. I blink and confirm what I saw. I spring to action and start to hurl rocks from my tent to the bear with each rock I throw I walk a little closer to the bear, getting real close a couple of times to hitting the little bugger. The bear slowly retreats to the woods I get to first door of the main building and grab a metal chair. I bang it a couple of times onto the picnic tables. Without warning the bear runs a couple of steps at me and huffs real laud. I hit the table again. Standing my ground strong I yell a couple more times and the bear started to head up the hill behind the main house. When it got out of my view I run into the building and grab the air horn. Looking out the office bathroom I see the bear less than 5 feet away from me. I let the horn rip. Winner, Goose! The bear took off into the woods. An awesome first bear encounter and I am sure it will not be the last.

The word that I would choose if I were to tell someone in short what my job here at Camp Dodge really is “caretaker”. I have the responsibilities to make sure this lovely place of Camp Dodge is ready with arms wide open for all those who want to show up. However unlike all other caretakers of the White Mountain region I am in a front country setting. The good the bad and the ugly come from this fact. I love all the types of people that can visit the area, bummed by the fact that at least on this one fateful morning a car rally race, going on at the Auto Road, could be heard from my tent. But with this fact of being close to the road I do get some really fun opportunities like moving a bunch of mulch and compost around for the garden with the front-end loader. I get to sit all high up and feel as though I am a kid playing in a sand box yet again. Except this new sand box is huge and my toys are even bigger. All in all driving this beast of a loader, at least to me, is wicked fun and I would say it is one of the better perks of the job.

Camp Dodge has had a long history. Being in one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world and a started by the CCC in the early 30’s, the history for this place runs long and deep. It is a great pleasure for all our staff to be able to share this history with all the people young and old that comes through this place. From time to time we get some visitors that were either stationed here in the army back in the 50s or people that have been doing trail work in the region for 40 plus years. What I am learning the longer I hang around these parts the more I realize that I have not been here all that long yet and I really cannot claim any sort of know how about what this place really holds for secrets. There are two visits that have happened this year; one was from the old trail adopter of the wildcat ridge trail. Unfortunately he had to give up his trail after a heart attack. But he was just stopping by to see what was going on and how Camp Dodge was looking at its current. He and I talked for a little while, he told me that he thought the place looked great, which I thought was a great thing and he also told about when in his day of doing trails the person that was in my position, they called the “Mayor”.

As summer rolls on so does the garden. The garlic that was planted last fall was picked in the middle of the week by the four week Leadership Crew. We managed to harvest just shy of ten pounds of garlic. Wicked!!!! Onions and potatoes are looking nice and green. We planted a monster lettuce bed, when we cut just a fraction of the lettuce, we got 10 gallons. Had enough greens?? The Kale and Swiss shard are also looking nice a rich with their big leaves. Cannot wait put this into a stir fry! The peas made there last hurrah. For the season so far we have pulled roughly 15 pounds of sweet little pods. Wild raspberries surround the garden and the black berries are soon to fallow. Last year the best crop was the good old green bean. These little guys are just now starting to make their show. Day in and day out the beans seem to be appearing out of thin air, every other day a large bag of bean gets picked from the fields. This year with more bean plants I expect that soon enough we will be rolling around in a bath of beans. The Zucchini is also exploding faster than the Dodge staff can pick them. Veggie after veggie is exploding out of this grand garden. BOO YA.

On Friday July 25 the forest service put on a festival that was in honor of the Weeks Act. The Weeks Act is the bill that was put into law that allowed for the forest of the east coast to start getting protected. In the early 1900 the Whites Mountains were left for stumps and ash. To the dismay of many, Congressman Weeks put together a bill that supported the protecting of the White Mountains as well as helping improve the local industry. This year was the 100 year celebration for the completion of this bill. Out four week Leadership Crew got to be a part of all the festivities but demonstrating how to build a native and prefabricated bog bridges as well as rock cairns and scree walls that a typical hiker would see in the alpine zone. Many faces came and went looking with great curiosity about what we were doing. The members of the Leadership

Crew got to interact with the public talking about all of their experiences in the woods. It was great to see the team share all the knowledge about what they have learned.

Summer is rolling along faster than a big rock down a steep hill, hope everyone has a great day and gets to see the sun and a plant grow, this is 3-1 goose clear with Camp Dodge Journal #3

Trails Volunteers Needed - Burnt Island, ME

2011-08-09T14:12:00.005-04:00

AMC Volunteer Trail Crew
Burnt Island, Maine Crew - 2011

Join other AMC volunteers giving back to the trails this season. This project is a cooperative venture between the AMC’s Trails Programs, Maine Island Trail Association (MITA), Outward Bound School, and a Maine island land owner. As part of the larger AMC Volunteer Trails program the AMC finds great value in each individuals’ contribution to the trails. Burnt Island offers some of the most beautiful scenery, and a developing network of trails. Burnt Island is on the Maine Island Trail and is enjoyed by MITA members, Outward Bound students, and Muscongus Bay area boaters. Burnt has about 5-6 miles of trails that need varying degrees of work.

The crew will work five days during the week, averaging 6-8 hours/day in the field. Projects may include clearing drainage ditches, brushing back vegetation, constructing bog bridges, or building rock stairs or drainage structures. Volunteers will stay in a small bunk house on this remote island for the week.

This will be our second time offering AMC Trails Volunteers the opportunity to work on Burnt Island. Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to live the remote island life and help with some valuable trail restoration projects. Pre-registration is required, only limited slots available. Registration forms, gear lists, and travel information will follow after initial registration is complete. Register today!

Crew Dates: Monday, September 5 – Sunday, September 11, 2011

Participant Contribution: $200 (AMC member) $220 (non-member)

Register Today!

AMC Trails Blog Post on Burnt Island>>

Photos: Alex DeLucia

Teach Me How To Dougie

2011-08-04T16:47:00.009-04:00

Berkshire Teen Trail Crew field report, two-week trail crew 7/10-22, October Mountain State Forest.

I am not confident anyone was taught how to Dougie, which could be taken as a failure because the members of this teen trail crew kept repeating the demand "teach me how to Dougie, teach me teach me how to Dougie" while flailing their arms urgently.

While Froehly, Merullo, Goff and myself Matt J Moore were unable to effectively teach these guys the latest dance despite their persistent demands, I dare say we taught them how to throw down on some tremendous rock work, hardening the muddy soils of the Appalachian Trail in October Mountain State Forest. Rachel and I had the pleasure of taking the group backpacking over the lovely Taconic Plateau where we enjoyed sweeping views of the Sheffield Valley from the ridge and took many opportunities to swim in creeks and lakes. We also taught them taught them how to minimize their impact through Leave No Trace (not very catchy).

And I dare say this tremendous crew taught us a thing or two through their excellent camaraderie, sterling work ethic, and great sense of humor. Special thanks to third year participants Amy Krause and Calder Brown. I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking.

swimmin'

slammin'

chillin'

they never learned.

Berlin Youth Construct New Trail

2011-08-03T13:00:00.002-04:00

Thirteen Berlin, NH High School youth are participating in new trail construction on Mt. Jasper. These teens are part of the NH state funded Jobs for America's Graduates (NH-JAG) program.

More than a year ago Sally Manikian (AMC Backcountry Resource Manager) began working with Tri-County CAP and the Tillotson Fund-NH Charitable Foundation to develop this conservation and trail stewardship project for the NH-JAG program. These teens are payed an hourly wage through the NH-JAG program and are led by AMC Camp Dodge Trail Crew Leaders. Their Monday-Thursday work focused on new trail construction up Mt. Jasper, property that is part of Berlin High School. In all, the trail is a little more than one mile in length that leads to stunning views of the town of Berlin, NH and the surrounding mountains.

Over their three weeks the students transformed a flag-line through the forest into a finished hiking trail. In addition to brushing out the vegetation and defining the treadway they also constructed drainage structures and rock staircases on steep sections of trail. Trail work and the tools of the trade were new to these students. There was a learning curve, but now this group of Berlin youth are seasoned trail workers, finishing the day more covered in mud than not.

Thank you to all of the NH-JAG students for their help and hard work on constructing this new trail. Happy hiking.

Photos: Alex DeLucia