Ready for Real Trail Magic

Spring is Coming--Really

We've put together another great project list for this upcoming season.  You can find it here <http://tinyurl.com/2015MassATProjects> Even though there's still 2ft of snow on the Trail, we've been busy planning and have some pretty interesting projects scheduled for the season.

As usual, we start off with some smaller projects in the valleys, where snow will be pretty much gone.  For our first project on April 11th, we'll tackle some sunken bog bridges in the wet area south of Shay's Rebellion.

Our Blowdown Blitz will commence on May 2nd in south County and proceed northward during the month.  This is the opportunity to remove any downed trees and limbs from this winter's storms--a key piece of getting the Trail ready for hiking season.  We ask our Trail Maintainers to scout their sections and report back anything that would need the efforts of a group to clear before May 30th.

Our big project this year is the replacement of the roof on Upper Goose Pond Cabin in late May.  We'll keep the Cabin open for hikers during the work, and erect some scaffolding to make it easier (and less scary) to access the roof.

 There's also plenty of work on the ground as well, receiving pieces of the old roof and getting them down to the dock for transport out to the dumpster, and passing up new materials to the roof team.  We've also scheduled the work on some consecutive days so you could include an overnight stay at the Cabin.

Other projects include clearing some viewpoints, making repairs to shelters and privies, and some good old fashioned rock step and water bar work on the Trail.

We also have two special events planned, we will be participating in AT Community get togethers for Great Barrington and North Adams.  These will involve cookouts at the end of the day with small work projects and hikes beforehand.  These events are a way to connect Trail-friendly community members with both long distance hikers and Trail volunteers.  More on these activities in a later post.

In the meantime, please check your personal calendar and plan to join us in one or two projects this year.  As always, if you have questions about a project feel free to contact us at at@amcberkshire.org 

Looking forward to seeing you in the woods!