A Tuesday Project Day

Ah, at last, a day without rain!  Our small Tuesday Project team took advantage of the drier weather to tackle a number of problems.  First up was a trip up the Race Brook Trail to remove a large hemlock, duck under blowdown.  Below is a shot of the hemlock (which was much infested with the wooly adelgid by the way) with the branches removed in preparation for bucking.

 With all in readiness, the area checked for dangers and an escape route planned and cleared, Cosmo set his saw to work cutting the trunk off at ~ 20' from the stump. 

 With a bit of persuasion, the deed was done and the root ball was stable enough to keep the trunk up in the air making for an easy cutoff at the root ball.  As you can see below we left the trunk on the trail at the far end, an easy step over.  We did this as Richard, the section Maintainer, intends to use the trunk as a retainer for a retaining wall along this steep side hill section of trail. 

Next we traveled to Goose Pond Rd. and the open area at the trail parking area.  Those black flies were out in force and biting so work was between slaps and waves to deal with the little buggers!  We loaded Cosmo's truck up with a busted up cast iron bathtub and some sheet steel; staked out a good number of rocks and obstructions to be avoided by the brushhog later in the season when we will mow the area; bucked up several deadfalls in the field and lugged the pieces to the nearby piles; and lastly mounted 2 new signs directing drivers to the parking area just beyond the AT crossing of Goose Pond Rd.  Hopefully, with will solve the problem of folks parking on our neighbors grass.  

After one more stop, at Perlman's in Pittsfield to get rid of the scrap metal, we called it a day.  Another satisfying day of Fun in the Woods!

Season's Opening of Upper Goose Pond Cabin

Yesterday was the day....long awaited by those who love the Upper Goose Pond area and we had a great opening crew of 9 volunteers.  It was a nice warm mostly sunny day for the event that started out as usual with initial opening, removal of the Grumman canoe from the cabin and removal of shutters to let in some light and air.  As this was happening our barge crew of Jim, Mike, Steve and Ellie set to work lashing the canoes together to form a catamaran.  As this year's cargo included a new bear box we needed the capacity afforded by the catamaran. 


Canoes lashed together for large cargo

Once we had transported the cargo from the Leisure Lee dock there was much lugging of the goods up to the cabin.

Above, Steve and Mike carry some heavy loads up the hill.

By mid afternoon we were nearing completion of the opening tasks with all the materials stored, cabin cleaned out, canoes out, water brought over from the spring, gas hooked up and pilots lit, etc.  There sure was an impressive supply of consumables including pancake mix and syrup to store!



Pete brings some supplies into the cabin

Last job for the day was floating and assembling the dock.  With the prep work done by Pete and now having done this a few times it didn't take long to get it all assembled and floating. 

With Mike and Penny's arrival for the first week of caretaking we took our leave and headed back down the hill, satisfied with another great day at Upper Goose Pond.  Pete returned to the cabin today (Sunday) to complete a few jobs and reports that Mike and Penny had a very successful first night with 7 guests! 

Thanks to all who helped out and welcome to Ruth, Michael and Ellie, our newest caretakers who joined in the days efforts.



 

Chainsaw Certification

It's a good thing

Saturday April 27th--
5 volunteer sawyers from Massachusetts and two from Connecticut met at ATC's Kellogg Conservation Center for a re-certification of their chainsaw operators skills.

In the dim and distant past (over 10 years ago), just about anyone could drag their chainsaw out of their garage and head into the woods to take out trees that had fallen across the trail.  You can well imagine some pretty scary scenarios, deep in the woods with lots of sharp power equipment roaring away--even without being in Texas.

The AT has an excellent record regarding maintainer safety.   The Trail is a unit of the National Park Service and works closely with the National Forest Service.  Responsible managers from both agencies want to make sure that workers have access to the best possible training and education regarding work hazards they are likely to face on the job--even if they are "just" volunteers.  To that end the Park Service and Forest service require that anyone operating a chain saw on the AT (or cross cut saw--more about this later) must be be qualified to perform the work.  That is, they must know  correct techniques for maintaining and operating the equipment, have the required personal safety gear, and have a clear understanding of the physical forces involved when trees (or parts of trees) weighing 1000's of pounds are cut apart.  This applies also to crosscut (hand powered) saws, too.  Even 'tho the danger of being badly cut may be less, the forces released while cutting are still the same--and must be clearly understood and anticipated.

A volunteer explains to the instructor how he will cut and remove this fallen tree.

As you can imagine, the initial reaction by volunteer maintainers to this "nanny-state" interference with their work was vocal.  In some clubs it amounted to a minor rebellion.  Now, a decade down the road, certification is considered a reasonable and normal requirement by all but a small minority of volunteers.

Speaking personally, I took my first certification course in 1999.  While I was familiar with conventional carpentry tools like table saws and circular saws, I soon discovered I had much to learn and that cutting tree trunks in the woods is a lot different than cutting dressed lumber in the shop. 

A volunteer in the process of cutting a downed tree while instructor Peter Jensen observes her work.

 

 

 

 

Truthfully, most volunteers (in a normal year) might go through at most a tank or two of gas operating their saws on the Trail--there just aren't that many situations where a chainsaw is truly needed.  The recent series of storms in New England and the Central Atlantic states have created many more situations where powered equipment is necessary--and there is the potential problem.  Sawyers with limited experience being put in a situation where they literally have days of work required to recover the Trail from storm damage.  In my first certification class in '99, I learned just enough to keep me from cutting my feet off by accident.  4 re-certifications later, I'm fairly competent--but learn new things with every class.  Most importantly, I know when to walk away from a situation that I can't handle.  When the trees trunks are piled like pick-up-sticks from a big storm along miles of trail, it takes a cautious and experienced team of sawyers to get the work done safely.

Sawyers are certified in two skill Classes:  Class A are certified for small limbs and branches in 'non-complex' situations (usually single logs across relatively flat terrain) and are typically first-time operators.  After 3 years, 'A' Sawyers are eligible to re-certify as Class B and take training that addresses more complex situations involving larger trunks and complex interactions between multiple downed trees.  Sawyers of either classification must renew (or 're-cert') every three years.  Class C sawyers are typically professional instructors.

Instructor Peter Jensen (partially behind tree) discusses the cuts needed to fell this tree.

Most trail maintenance situations can usually be handled by hand tools like axes and bow saws--but an understanding of the forces involved when an uprooted tree lies across the treadway makes the work safer and more efficient--regardless of the tools at hand.

Chainsaw operation is pretty rare for most Trail maintainers.  Trail clubs typically have a corps of certified sawyers who are able to tackle specific situations where the regular maintainer may be out of their comfort zone.  Clubs can also bring certified volunteer sawyers to bear when natural events create wide-spread or localized heavy damage.  Only the saw operator needs certification, other can assist by being 'swampers' helping to remove the cut debris under the direction of the sawyer.

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) provides funding for volunteers to train and certify with professional instructors and provides funding for all required safety equipment (including those fashionable orange chaps).

Hubbard Brook Boardwalk, 2013 Edition

March 30, 2013:  Hubbard Brook...again.

Almost a year ago, we made our first concerted effort at re-building the underpinnings of a long board walk between Shays' Rebellion and Hubbard Brook in Sheffield.  For your review, here's the Link to that post.

Still passable, but treacherous

Here we are again, fixing another section with the same problem.  Why didn't we fix the whole thing a year ago?  Because it wasn't broken, yet.  Seriously, we think we have the walkway pretty well stabilized at this point, the remaining sections have all been addressed, at least for the next couple of seasons.

This walkway was installed in the late 80's/early 90's when the NPS purchased land in the Berkshires to help reduces the number of AT miles on roads.  Of course most of the land that was available was not suitable for houses or agriculture--so basically we got the swamps.

To build the initial walkway, the 10ft x 4ft platforms that make it up were supported in helical piles that look like this:
 

Each 10ft section is supported by a pair of these

They are about 4ft long and installed by slipping a large rock bar through the eye at the top and turning them into the ground like a giant screw.

Back then, AT maintainers did not have experience building large boardwalks such as are now found at Pawling NY, Pochuck NJ, or Thundering Falls VT.   These modern ones are designed to be universally accessible portions of the AT,  capable of supporting powered wheelchairs, and large numbers of hikers at once.  Their piles are much larger, and must be driven in by a machine.  Some of the piles at Thundering Falls were driven 90ft down before they were solid enough to support that boardwalk.

Our installation at Hubbard Brook was not intended to meet this type of structural load--over time, the smaller piles we installed 20 years ago have begun to tilt sideways as the ground freezes and thaws.

To provide better support, we've constructed cribs:

Completed Crib being moved into position, see video below

Basically, stack of timbers fastened together "Lincoln log" style and covered with a flat bottom to spread the load out on the soft soil under the boardwalk.  Sometimes, cribs are filled with rocks when used as abutments for trail bridges over streams.

About 800lbs of materials....

To make all this happen, the crib materials are carried to the jobsite--in this case about 1/4 mile from the Shays' parking area. 

A good view of the tilt problem

Once all of the materials have been delivered, it's time to get your boots on

Jacking up the east side...

The sagging sections are then jacked up on each side.  Because the entire boardwalk is connected, the work needs to take place at multiple points at the same time--otherwise, we'll pull the sections apart.  Placing the jacks under the support helps to straighten out the sagging helical piles as the bridge is raised up.

...then the west side.

Boardwalk must be lifted high enough for crib to be set in place underneath it.

Crib Construction

Cribs are built, slid into location, and dumped over the edge, right side up into the mud.









A period of shoving the crib into place under the supports then follows.  This is usually accomplished by some mild cursing and grunting as the thing is wiggled through the mud into place.

Crib in place.  Water below, boardwalk above.

We installed 4 cribs in all, ready for hikers.  We'll see what next winter brings.  The video and most of the photos in this post were taken by Christine Ward, the maintainer for this section of the AT.

Good to go

March 27th--Hazard Trees at Crystal Mtn Campsite

For our 2nd project of the season we scheduled a hazard tree removal at Crystal Mtn Campsite.  What area 'hazard trees'?    These are trees that are either dead, dying or uprooted in areas where hikers are likely to congregate such as campsites, trail junctions or viewpoints.

Clearly we can't begin to take down every tree along the trail that is not 100% healthy--nor would we want to.  All parts of a tree's life cycle are important to a healthy forest.  Standing dead trees provide valuable wildlife habitat.  I would imagine you have seen the large oblong holes above a mound of wood chips at the base of a dead tree.  This is the work of the Piliated Woodpecker looking for insects. These holes in turn provide habitat to other animals.  Trees that are down on the ground provide soil nutrients and more insect habitat as they decay further.

Hikers are expected to be responsible for their own safety while in the backcountry.  However, when places for hikers to camp or congregated are created, there is an added level of responsibility for trail managers.  So at an overnight site, as trees near shelters, or tenting and eating areas reach the end of their lifespan, or a weather event damages large branches or tips trees over, we need to cut them down proactively to reduce the likelyhood they will collapse unexpectedly injuring hikers or damaging structures.

So that mission found Jim, Don and Cosmo headed up the power line right of way that provides the most direct access to the AT.  While very steep and eroded by ATV use in several locations, it saves a five mile hike on the AT.

The lingering snow was crusty as we made the steep climb providing good footing in most places.  Under the ice in the rutted ATV tracks water was flowing well, and although we postholed in a few places, snow conditions were pretty good.  At the Trail we found about a foot of snow, fairly well packed by previous travelers.

Cosmo fells two hazard trees

Upon reaching the campsite (be advised that there are neither mountains or crystals at this location--but that's what it's called), we identified 4-5 damaged trees or standing trunks that were near tentsites and the central fire ring area, and proceeded to fell them and buck them up where they blocked access.


 Note that unlike most of our overnight sites, Crystal Mtn has no shelter or tent platforms.  There are areas that have been cleared of vegetation where tents can be pitched as well as a privy.  Last season, we carried in a picnic table and a 'bear box' for food storage--significantly upgrading this 'primitive' site.  In addition,  this campsite is also the the furthest one from a road crossing on the AT in Massachusetts.

"Tapping" a maple to install the register box

While felling was under way, Don and Jim replaced the deteriorated register storage box.  After some effort to get the old box off of the tree a new one was bolted in place.  A sure sign of spring, as they drilled holes in the tree for the bolts, a steady stream of sap ran out.  








After a quick lunch at the picnic table (nice not to have to sit in the snow), we let Don have the 'honor' of toting the old box back down--he had the same honor of bringing up the new one.

Look, a walking register box.

Despite a stiff breeze that had sprung up, the snow had softened considerably under the strong sun and things were a bit slick on the steeper sections of the power line on the way down.  In a few more weeks hikers will become more numerous and have a campsite with less hazards from falling trees--as well as a nice, dry register book.

The RPC Committee???

 

What the heck is an RPC Committee?  

Well, before you start, be advised that this post has no photos of people having fun in the woods--it has no photos at all.  So if you'd rather not dig into the management of the AT,  feel free to skip to the next post where Jim, Don and Cosmo are messing around in the snow at Crystal Mtn Campsite.

So, for those of you brave enough to keep reading, an RPC Committee is a "Regional Partnership Committee".  At a minimum it has representatives (trail volunteers) from each AT maintaining club in the region (ours is the New England Region: CT, MA, VT, NH, and Maine) and staff from the ATC (Appalachian Trail Conservancy) and the NPS (National Park Service).  At every other meeting, staff from other agency partners (US Forest Service, various State Parks, and even occasionally Baxter Park) also join us.  Our New England RPC just met last week to address upcoming trail projects in Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut--as well as discuss policy regarding overnight fees at campsites, wind turbine development in Maine, maintenance of the Trail Corridor Boundary and invasive plant mitigation on some sections of Trail.

What is it for? 

Briefly (a nearly impossible task), the four RPC's (New England, Mid-Atlantic, Virginia, and Deep South) are the way for both ATC and NPS to connect to the trail maintaining clubs in each region.  NPS is the overarching Federal administrator; the "APPA" park office is the lead agency for land acquisition, law enforcement and natural resource management.   They address encroachment or misuse of Trail Corridor Lands, criminal activity, and inventory and monitor historical/cultural sites and rare plants and animals on the Corridor.  They also maintain an inventory of all trail 'deficiencies'--places where the treaway is eroded, damaged, or requires other physical repair.  They collaborate with the US Forest Service where the Trail is on National Forest lands. APPA is also the conduit for Federal funding for the Trail.  They are big brother, but in a friendly way--as long a communication remains open.

ATC staff assists the clubs in compliance with NPS regulations and supports volunteers in the 31 trail maintaining clubs in the areas of trail and overnight site construction, Corridor Monitoring and Natural Heritage monitoring; and in general, navigating the federal regulatory and funding maze. 

All of this is stitched together with "Delegation Agreements" (documents transferring responsibility from the NPS to ATC, and then from ATC to the individual trail clubs).  Further, each trail club has an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with all of the partners in their state.  In Mass, for example, there are 12 different signatories from MassHighway to the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Finally, all of this is put together in a "Local Management Plan" (LMP) created by each club and ATC that describes how everything from Hang Gliding to Military Manouvers on trail lands will be addressed.

So back to the RPC.  

As you can see, it's Complicated.  Its a long trail that must address a wide range of regulatory environments, and the different styles and resources of all of the Trail Clubs.  Regular face to face meetings--as well as e-mails and phone calls are necessary to discuss current issues and plan for new and ongoing work projects and maintenance. 

ATC is governed by a Board of Directors who are advised by a Stewardship Council.  The Council advises the Board on Trailwide policy, and the RPC is that critical connection between the Council and the trail clubs.  It pretty much works, but it requires a lot of open communication between all parties.  Especially since our agency partners (NPS, USFS and various state agencies through out the Trail) can have significant staff turnover, the voice of the volunteer clubs and their collective historical knowledge resides with the RPC--they play a crucial role in putting the words in all of the documents listed above into physical results on the trail and the experiences of every hiker.

For more info, contact your local AT Trail Club, or check out the ATC website at www.appalachiantrail.org.  It's actually not a grim as it sounds, you are working with great people who have a passion for the Trail and are committed not only to its physical maintenance and protection, but also to maintaining the unique hiking experience that can only be found on the AT.

A Snow Day

March 9, 2013--First Tracks

Don and Cosmo headed in to check on the overnight sites at Glen Brook and Hemlocks shelters.  The Glen Brook campsites had suffered some damage from "Superstorm" Sandy, and we have a project day scheduled in June to fix things up.

Yesterday we got about a foot of snow.  With highs expected in the 40's today, we thought we'd get a snowshoe in up from the bottom of the access road to the shelters for a last fling at winter. 

Under sparkling blue skies and a light wind, we arrived at the entry road to Mt Everett before it had been plowed, but shortly the DCR truck came by and plowed out the parking area in front of the gate and we were able to go right in.

With our snowshoes on, we made steady progress up the road.  The only other tracks were from a skier, who stopped about a 1/4 mile in.  After that we took turns breaking fresh trail through the powder.

We passed a completely frozen over Guilder Pond, but in the quiet, sunny morning, we could hear water trickling out somewhere.

At the parking area we turned left and headed north on the AT--again making fresh tracks.  After bypassing a couple of blowdowns, we came to the junction of the Hemlocks and Glen Brook access trails where we found boot tracks coming in from the north.   We continued on to Glen Brook Shelter, where we found all in order.

Next stop, the tent platform area. Here a number of large trees blew down during Sandy--one landing right on the platform.  Fortunately, no one was camped there at the time.  Don is standing on the edge of the tent platform in the photo.  We have a work project scheduled for June 1st (National Trails Day) to clean up this campsite.



How deep was the snow?  Here's the bear box at the entry to the campsite:

On to the Hemlocks Shelter, where we met three men out for a couple of nights.  They had hiked up in the snow yesterday.  Originally intending to come up from Jug End, they chose to use the shorter Elbow Trail instead, since they did not have snowshoes.  While we stopped for lunch, they headed up for a day hike to Mt Everett.

After lunch, Don and I headed back to the car.  On the way, we met a hiker coming north from Salisbury CT.  He reported waist-deep drifts on the south side of Race, as well as multiple downed trees.

As we headed down the access road, the snow began to change consistency.  In areas in the sun, it became wet and slippery; in the shade, still light and fluffy.   While Winter still retains his grip on the mountains, it is starting to loosen.  Maples are making sap on these warm afternoons, soon we'll be able to walk on dirt again.