My love for the Appalachian Trail goes beyond what some of you might feel.....then there's the few of you that I find along the path that share my passion.
That passion comes in many forms.
It can be in the form of hiking - of course! It can also be in the form of trail magic, hiker feeds, shuttlers, volunteer medical people, just doing good deeds along the Trail....and then you encounter......
The Trail Crew.....or work done by a trail crew.....and it makes you wonder why are there people like this? What makes a trail crew? What makes a trail maintainer?
Projects, crews, sweat, splinters, blisters, heat....gosh what possible reward could there be for that labor?
They ask for no rewards.
They are volunteers.
It is an unspoken, gratifying, self-encouraging job that begins with one person.....you, me.
Last year as I traveled along the A.T.....I met many of these people. What I thought was just a simple "passion" as I say for the A.T. was taken to a whole different level of enthusiasm, love and determination. It blew me away.
This is my year to give to those people: trail volunteers, trail crews, trail maintainers and Trail Bosses encouraging recognition for their hard work.
Your contribution to this can be in any form. An example is
Fishin' Fred.
There are also many events organized to bring together these people to discuss trail work:
ATC Biennial Conference
Check out the opening picture in that link!
If you are curious, want to become involved a LITTLE or a lot....this link to the
ATC will direct you to many different articles about trail work and good deeds performed.
Awareness.
Thank you.
Thank you Trail Crews & Trail Maintainers!
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I have been a trail maintainer for going on 20 yrs, the last 15 with the CMC on my section as well as many others. I worked for about 10 yrs with the Konnarock crews basecamping for a week or two at a time doing some incredible projects, learning alot of techniques and meeting some of the coolest people from all walks of life not to mention having the most fun that could never be imagined during the hard work. Having met many hikers during these times has been another great pleasure and when you get a heartfelt thank you from them it makes it all worth while. Some have even stopped long enough to help out !!! It is great excercise altho I have sustained a few injuries in all this time but with the great feeling you have at the end of the day and all the lifelong friends I have made it is priceless (even tho I have spent alot of my own money in doing this) and I would not trade a single minute of it nor will I ever quit until I am unable to do it anymore which I am hoping my kids continue my work. I take alot of pride in my work and try to spread the trail work magic to all i can in hopes of getting others motivated to help out too as the maintaining clubs have less and less young people and it seems the older ones are able to do less and are retiring or dying off more and more each yr. Would be a great subject to speak to schools, youth groups, etc., about and to volunteer trips to take them out and let them get a taste of it all. Thanks for posting this Starlyte ;-) Lets hope it continues as the trail would quickly disappear and become very hard to hike (compared to the way it is now) if there were suddenly alot less volunteers. I applaud each and everyone who donates their time and hard work to the upkeep of the trail.
Originally Posted by StarLyte
You're welcome!!!
