KTA VOLUNTEERS BASTIAN AND ROBBINS REPAIR HUFF RUN BRIDGE: BETTER THAN ICE CREAM

by Ed Lawrence, KTA Trail Care Chair

​In October, a sizable oak fell and dealt a direct body blow to the bridge spanning Huff Run.  The bridge, originally built by a Keystone Trails Association (KTA) Trail Care Crew, is located on the Jack Paulhamus / Garby Trail in Sproul State Forest.  It is a yellow-blazed hiking-only trail that connects the Donut Hole Trail to the Chuck Keiper Trail and is also used during the Hyner View Challenge.  Coordinated by Sproul Forester Thaddeus Ligenza, the repair of the bridge began by having the Hyner Maintenance Crew cut and remove the tree.  KTA trail crew volunteers Tom Bastian and Tony Robbins then assessed the damage and determined what materials would be needed to make the repairs.  They then stripped the bridge down to what was still useable.  Next, local trail runners carried in the new lumber and hardware, supplied by forestry, to the bridge site and removed the damaged materials.  Bastian and Robbins then returned and made the necessary repairs.  Barely a month later, the bridge was as good as new thanks to the combined efforts of volunteers and Sproul Foresters.