My wife and I had a great experience over the weekend. We recently adopted 2.6 miles of the AT. It’s our job to maintain from Full Goose Shelter to the top of Goose Eye Mtn on the Mahoosuc Trail on the ME-NH border (very close to the Notch). We took a basic training course over the weekend which was very eye opening. Most of the course was hands on working on a connector trail below Gentian Pond. In the 1.5 miles we covered there were 48 drainages. All of which need to be cleared at least 3 times yearly, not to mention brushing out the trail, dealing with blowdowns, litter pick up, blazing, etc.
While walking the AT I rarely thought about all the work that goes on behind the scenes. Sure there was an impressive set of steps, or a ladder, or something that caught my attention, but who thinks about all the countless hours volunteers spend doing simple maintenance so the AT stays a trail rather than a gully.
I invite you all to pitch in with a local trail crew one weekend. If you’re from the New England Area keep you eyes posted on this forum. We’ll be heading up to Full Goose in the next couple weeks to get started. We welcome any assistance.
Grimace
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