I am interested in volunteering some time on the AT in the New England area. Any help on contacts or where to get started would be appreciated.
Thanks.
A
I am interested in volunteering some time on the AT in the New England area. Any help on contacts or where to get started would be appreciated.
Thanks.
A
Ann
Contact Marge Fish. She is the President of the Green Mountain Club of Vermont and also the maintenance section leader for the Manchester, VT area. I will PM you with her email address!!
Order your copy of the Appalachian Trail Passport at www.ATPassport.com
Green Mountain House Hostel
Manchester Center, VT
http://www.greenmountainhouse.net
www.matc.org is the maintaining club in Maine. Though it isn't always as easy to find casual volunteering opportunities as hikers sometimes expect.
Someone is assigned to be responsible for every section of the trail in Maine. Most assigned maintainers work with friends, neighbors, and sometimes youth groups to keep the trail up to snuff.
Maintaining trails tends to be more complex than most hikers realize. Something as simple as cutting back brush needs some instruction. "Cut intruding branches back to the trunk of the tree if possible." "Don't cut down nearby trees."
Why? If you don't cut back to the trunk, the brush grows back in quickly. If you overcut abutting trees, you remove the shade that discourages new growth, making future maintenance more difficult, not easier.There are more than 100 assigned maintainers. People compete for vacant assignments. The system pretty much works by itself. There is no central direction. Arranging for someone walking through to work for a specific few hours or a specific afternoon, sometimes is more of a hassle than it is worth.
If you see a maintaining crew on the trail, talk to them. They'll welcome your interest. Sometimes your help. There is always more to be done. It's arranging the details that is difficult.
We do have volunteer trail crews that work for a week or so under trained leaders on special projects that are outside the regular maintenance regime. Volunteers come from all over the country.
We typically put out a call for these Maine Trail Crew volunteers early each year. The crews eagerly welcome qualified volunteers for projects of varying difficulty. Watch the MATC website if you're interested. The details are beyond my knowledge, though the website tells all.
Weary
Last edited by weary; 10-27-2010 at 18:30.
Here is the ATC volunteer links page: http://www.appalachiantrail.org/site.../Volunteer.htm
try here http://www.outdoors.org/
:d :d :dOriginally Posted by lone wolf
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Last edited by Skidsteer; 10-27-2010 at 20:57.
Skids
Insanity: Asking about inseams over and over again and expecting different results.
Albert Einstein, (attributed)
Skids
Insanity: Asking about inseams over and over again and expecting different results.
Albert Einstein, (attributed)
Ann-
I'm the volunteer coordinator for the Mass AT Committee. Feel free to PM me, or better yet, come to our annual AT Volunteers meeting at the Mt Greylock Visitors Center on Feb 5th.
Cosmo