|
Guest post by Jerry Haimowitz I am a retired Civil Engineer who through-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2014. In 2017 my wife and I moved to Berks County, PA, and in 2020, she passed away. I then joined the Blue Mountain Eagle Climbing Club and became an Appalachian Trail Maintainer. I am now paying forward to all those who have maintained all the trails I have enjoyed these many years. I am also surprised just how much knowledge goes into maintaining a trail; which is why I am grateful for the opportunity to attend 3 trail maintenance workshops sponsored by Blue Mountain Eagle Climbing Club and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC). There are books on trail maintenance like “Appalachian Trail Design, Construction and Maintenance” which I have read. However, there is nothing like the hands-on experience of spending a day doing trail work with a professional. Doing is the best teaching method and I learned something new at each of the three sessions I attended.   David Bailey, our BMECC Trails Maintenance Committee Chair arranged for and coordinated the class attendance. Greg Riston, the ATC field trainer, came in a van filled with all the tools and safety equipment we could possibly need. Greg started with an introduction to the tools, including three that most of us were not familiar with, the Palaski, fire rake and McLeod hoe. Then on to tool safety and finally general safety. Perhaps the least known safety issue was the need to be Crosscut Saw Safety trained in order to use a hand saw on any log 6” or over. Personal protective equipment (PPE) was passed out and we were ready to go.   We walked the Trail and discussed many issues. Blazing is more complicated than it looks, from how to paint a blaze to over-blazing and blaze placement (especially in difficult situations like trail junctions and rock fields with no trees). Then there is keeping the hikers on the treadway, how to properly trim brush from the usual 4’ X 8’ green tunnel and the occasional need for exceptions to this; like leaving the down slope vegetation a little longer to force the hikers to the up slope side of the trail. The most important topic was erosion and drainage control. We learned when and how to build water bars, and when and how to build cross drainage swales. While it's nice to have your trail work recognized, one of the neatest tricks we learned was “naturalizing”. After a few minutes of redistributing leaf litter, a brand new water bar looked like it had been there for years!
Trail maintenance ranges from the simple like carrying a bag to pick up litter and a pair of pruning shears to cut back intruding vegetation, or it can be complicated and demanding like building water bars. You can do it alone or with friends. There is more fun to be had on trails than just hiking! One can learn, enjoy friends and gain a sense of accomplishment by maintaining the trails we love so much! Find a KTA trail care event near you! When you have 60+ miles of hiking trails to tend to, maintenance requires collaboration and effort between multiple groups and organizations!
"There is so much to do in and around Oil Creek State Park," shares Jenn Ulmer, KTA Manager of Trail Maintenance and Training, "As you might imagine, historical displays and information on the oil boom abound – the Oil Creek Valley is the site of the world’s first commercial oil well. There’s the Drake Oil Well Museum near Titusville and the 36-mile Gerard Hiking Trail loop which encircles/travels the length of the park on both sides of Oil Creek!" This year, KTA will be heading to Oil Creek State Park with excited volunteers to join David Hallman, Park Manager at Oil Creek State Park, for a trail maintenance event! You can join us June 20-23, 2024! The park has a long historic tradition of trail maintenance, much like KTA (we're in our 40th year!). David shared with us about a long-time special group of volunteers: "Oil Creek is home to over 60 miles of trails. Thirty-six of those miles make up the Gerard Trail which loops around the entire park. The Gerard Trail is popular for several reason. One being our Adirondack backpacking shelters that hikers can reserve and spend the night. The other reason people enjoy this trail is for its sheer beauty and history. As you hike through the park you will have the pleasure of seeing remnants from the historic oil days, but you will also see how Mother Nature can heal herself and return to her former beauty. Maintaining such a trail system is a never-ending job and this is where our volunteer group the Over the Hill Gang comes in. For the past several decades the OTHG has done most of the work on this trail. They are a group made up of mostly “retired” gentlemen that meet every Wednesday to maintain this trail. They split up into groups and take a different section of trail to maintain. Work includes but is not limited to cutting fallen trees off the trail, fixing, building, and maintaining bridges, correcting drainage issues, blazing trail, and splitting firewood for our shelters. These are truly some of the best maintained trails in the State and it is all due to their efforts.This group of dedicated volunteers completes a tremendous amount of work for the park. Their selfless efforts free up our staff to complete other projects throughout the park. Without their help there would be no way we could keep up with the maintenance demands of these trails." Come to Oil Creek State park with us! You can join us June 20-23, 2024! Read more Trail Care Stories In 2023, KTA hosted a trail care event at Lancaster Conservancy's Wizard Ranch. At the time, their staff was working on clearing and creating the preserve's 247 acres. Travis Lyle, Regional Preserves Manager at Lancaster Conservancy was one of our point people during this project. Here's an update from him on Wizard Ranch's progress! "Wizard Ranch has really progressed this year. We had our first prescribed burn which was successful and we are seeing almost too much regeneration in the area at this point. That is not really that bad of a problem compared to others like invasive control! I believe we are close to 2,000 native trees, shrubs, and grasses replanted in the restoration areas so far! The steam and wetland restoration plans are also moving forward which will be exciting to see. The trails that you and the rest of the KTA crew helped us open are small parts of the larger trail network that we are installing. To get the preserve opened to the public we used parts that were close together to make two small (approx 1 mile each) loop trails starting from the parking area. This winter and spring we will be working on getting the main portions of the outer perimeter loop trail completed. There are plans for a Trails Fest event to be held there in September 2024. The Boy Scouts just had their once every four years event at the end of September with about 3,000 scouts, families and staff. It seemed like it went really well and it is a great opportunity for all of us to team up. The scouts helped do some planting and learned a lot from our community engagement staff. It is great seeing younger generations taking interest in nature and learning how they can contribute to the preservation and restoration efforts. There have been many volunteer workday events doing some trail brushing and lots of invasive removals. That work will continue into next year and beyond but it is already making a noticeable difference." Help us keep PA's trails safe and beautiful! Join us at a trail care event. Read more Trail Care Impact Stories Are you looking for something new this year to get you outside? Volunteering to maintain beloved Pennsylvania hiking trails could be the key to your 2024! I recently discovered my passion for hiking and the outdoors as an adult and through that, my passion for volunteering for outdoorsy organizations. I love Pennsylvania and want to preserve the amazing nature in our state for all generations to come. However, there’s not just altruistic motivations for my volunteerism. Volunteering is good for me too! Below is my list of benefits I’ve discovered when volunteering for outdoor organizations in Pennsylvania! Meet new friends (who are guaranteed to be outdoorsy)! Meeting new people is HARD as an adult. As someone who’s uprooted their life three times in my late 20’s/early 30’s, I can promise you that. One of the best ways to suss someone out as a new potential bestie is to attend a structured activity - like volunteering! You have a task to discuss and work through together - it breaks much of the awkwardness new interactions can have. Also, I’ve never met someone who came to a trail work day who wasn’t interested in an outdoorsy hobby (and often more than one!). I’ve met some amazing friends through attending just one outdoor volunteer event!  Tory at volunteer day in Raccoon Creek That sense of accomplishment - If you’re the type of person (like me) whose job is sending endless emails and staring at spreadsheets, sometimes it’s hard to see tangible progress or action from the work you do. Trail work is NOT like that. At the end of a day of trail work, you’ll be able to see progress and change from when you started. That is a sense of accomplishment that is unmatched in modern society.
Get outside - Sometimes it’s just hard to get outside regularly. Our life commitments and small and large screens are constantly calling us back to the safety and comfort of our couch. By committing to a volunteer day, you’ll be held accountable for getting outside. Because your couch just is WAY more comfortable when crashing on it is a reward for hard work! Find your passion - I’m a huge proponent of “you don’t know you don’t like it until you try”. In my own outdoor journey, I NEVER would have thought I would like sleeping outside and not showering for multiple days in a row. Even though I love hiking, I didn’t try backpacking for the longest time because I thought I would hate it. But I love backpacking now and I wasted all that time not trying it because of my limiting mindset. Give trail work a try, it could be your new favorite hobby.  Tory at Baker/NCT in Cook Forest Help future generations enjoy the outdoors - Most of the trails in our state are not maintained by paid employees, but rather regular people who give up their free time to improve and maintain the trail. Without regular citizens giving up their time, many of these trails would quickly become unusable. If you love being outside, I feel like there is a moral and social obligation to keep those outside spaces amazing for all users - current and future!  There are tons of outdoor organizations to volunteer with in Pennsylvania so there is no shortage of opportunities! However, the Keystone Trails Association’s Trail Care Program is celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year, making it the perfect time to get involved! Because KTA is a statewide organization, its Trail Care Program hosts events all over Pennsylvania. This makes it pretty easy to find an event close to you, or use a trail care event as an opportunity to explore a new trail!
Here are just a few reasons KTA’s Trail Care Program is special:
To find and sign up for a volunteer event near you, check out KTA’s 2024 Trail Care Program Schedule at www.kta-hike.org/trail-care-program. Happy hiking! Author Bio: Tory is a Western Pennsylvania local who discovered hiking as an adult and hiked over 400 miles in Pennsylvania in 2023. She loves backpacking, adventuring with her dog, and maintains that food tastes better on trail. Tory shares her adventures exploring our beautiful state on socials at @torytalkstrails and her blog at www.mytrailsaremany.com.  Photo by DCNR In May 2023, KTA hosted a trail care event to maintain the West Rim Trail. Located in the PA Wilds region, the WRT is a ~30-mile hiking trail on the western rim of the PA Grand Canyon. It is one of the 18 state forest-designated hiking trails and is blazed orange. Parts of the WRT pass through mixed Allegheny hardwoods, featuring white ash, cherry, and hemlock. In other areas, the trail winds along ridges of oak forest with abundant mountain laurel, and it also passes through boggy meadows near beaver dams.
Tom Oliver, DCNR Recreation Forester in Tioga State Forest, shares this month's exclusive trail story about the West Rim Trail: "I have worked pretty closely with KTA over the years here in Tioga. There were volunteers here this year in May working on the West Rim Trail and back in May of 2021. In May of 2021, the volunteers worked on clearing downed trees, blazing and brush cutting mountain laurel that was crowding the trail. May of this year was about the same minus downed trees. I had cleared all the downed trees before their arrival. So, the crews mainly worked on brush clearing/trimming sections where the trail was getting tight. The blazing was also finished this year! Their work and time are incredibly valuable and appreciated. I am the only person employed here who takes care of trails, so there is no possible way I can take care of everything myself. Their help on West Rim Trail has improved the trail and hiking experience for all users." Join us for trail care! Find a trail maintenance event in your region, or travel across the state to explore a new place! View our trail maintenance schedule here. Without regular trail maintenance, wonder-full moments like the following from Logan Goddard, a DCNR Service Forester, Delaware District, would not be possible. Thanks to KTA's Trail Care Program, the Thunder Swamp Trail System remains an oasis for wildlife and hikers! In August 2023, KTA's Trail Care Program focused on clearing heavy blowdowns and brushing/lopping the trail in the Pennel Run and Stillwater Natural Areas, as well as rehabbing a couple of side trails. Below, Goddard recalls a curious encounter with a community of eastern newts along the Thunder Swamp Trail: "I had the pleasure of exploring a couple miles of the Thunder Swamp trail system in late September. It is on the surface a quiet trail which immediately endears the visitor with both it’s gentle rolling landscape and quiet atmosphere. This welcome break from the world is both tranquil and fascinating, as it hosts a rich level of biodiversity just waiting to be discovered. Many are aware of the eastern newt (Notophthalmus viridescens), a curious orange salamander that is often easily found in areas with high water quality. It wasn’t until my time in Thunder Swamp that it occurred to me just how funny these creatures really are.  Despite their bright orange coloration and size, the eastern newt often tries to hide from potential threats. Usually, they pull off this instinctive survival mechanism with the skill and mastery of a child who hasn’t quite figured out where the human goes when playing peek-a-boo. After seeing this particular newt, I assumed that this was simply a case of catching him at an awkward moment and assumed that there were surely dozens if not hundreds that were more capable. So I began to pay attention, and – like many times in the forest – I was generously rewarded for my interest. It seemed every time I stopped, I could find 5-6 newts within 10 feet of me, often, in the same curious state of half-visibility.
Within 40 minutes of actively searching for this comedy of survival, I hit the jackpot. In the middle of the trail a five-inch mushroom was in its prime, and yet, a small fleck of orange drew my curiosity. I – in the nosy need-to-know that few can match – looked under the mushroom. I was rewarded with a dozen eyes staring back at me, a mass of bodies quickly untangled, and a foot race was on as SIX newts fled from the giant who had just disturbed their quiet rest. On its surface, this is a cute story about an accidental discovery leading to seeing something a little unusual. But it is more than that, every outdoorsman has at some point begun paying attention to something new – game trails, bird calls, arrowheads, mushrooms, geology – and almost immediately, everyone has been rewarded with something they wouldn’t have seen had they not been focused on finding out more. This is the nature of our forests, a beautiful complex ecosystem which loves to hide its secrets and tease visitors with the promise of more, if only they’re willing to look for it." Celebrate 40 years with us! Join the movement to protect PA's hiking trails. It wouldn't be surprising if you have stories of your own just like this one. It's our mission to protect and preserve PA's hiking trails so moments like these can continue for generations to come! Is that your hope too? If so, we encourage and invite you, as we celebrate 40 years of maintaining PA's hiking trails, to join us for a special trail care event this year! On Sunday December 3, 2023, KTA had the opportunity to show our appreciation (and that of hikers statewide) at the 1st Annual Trail Care Volunteer Celebration! We started with some pizza and other goodies while socializing and viewing photos from this year's work. Then, Manager of Trail Maintenance and Training, Jenn Ulmer, presented a slideshow with some stats and accomplishments and preliminary plans for next year. We thankfully acknowledged 2023 Trail Care Volunteer Event Leaders and monetary donations to the Trail Care program. And then the fun part - recognizing those volunteers who went above and beyond and attended 3 or more events. Stay tuned for next year's schedule of Trail Care events for your opportunity to give back! Special thanks to Rock God Brewing Company for donating the staff and venue fees for our event.
Congratulations and thank you to the following volunteers, who received rewards in the form of patches or shirts:
During the month of July, there was one Trail Care event, July 6-9 on the remote Chuck Keiper Trail (CKT) in Sproul State Forest. On Friday and Saturday, determined crews tackled the >120 reported downed trees over the CKT in a 5-mile stretch from Petes Run Road to Grugan Hollow Road (as well as some brushcutting).
Unfortunately, due to a number of factors (high humidity, lower than ideal turnout), our two crews did not meet in the middle. A short stretch of blowdowns remains, including the worst part near Boggs Run where the trail has been rerouted from the original path. On Sunday, a crew scouted a possible reroute around the swampy area on the Chuck Keiper cross connector trail south of PA 144 in the East Branch Swamp Area. We found a very plausible path that will keep hikers' feet dry! Sproul State Forest is working to submit this for approval from DCNR. We continued to hike the East Branch Swamp loop and discovered the western half of the loop to be very overgrown. Stay tuned for a possible KTA Trail Care Code Orange workday in the Fall, finishing the chainsaw work in Boggs Run and brushing and re-blazing the East Branch Swamp Trail. Many, many thanks to the hearty volunteers who logged a tough 100 hours on the CKT: Tom Bastian, Woody Loudenslager, Tom O'Donnell, Tony Robbins, Dave Updegrave, and Jenn Ulmer, as well as two members of Forestry staff. If you were thinking of trying Trail Care, but have not yet, consider joining us for a day or weekend! Upcoming August events include:
Check out the links above for more information about each event, including camping options, logistics, etc. Many hands make light work -- let me know if you can offer yours! Jenn Ulmer Manager of Trail Maintenance & Training; [email protected] |
Categories
All
Keystone Trails AssociationSubmissions welcome! |
RSS Feed
Sign up for our newsletter: |
|
Learn |
Contact |
|
