trail maintenance trip report

“this weekend i went to PA's link trail to help with maintenance. the weather was incredible and even got a tan on my arms. on saturday, i helped stabilize and control erosion on the 1000 Steps. lots of dayhikers were out. we piled rocks along side the steps to stop erosion, this is called "cribbing". lots of hard work and sore muscles. but it's worth it, the 1000 Steps are a great place to visit with greater views.

we all went back to the cabin, drank beer, socialized, had a meeting, went to bed.

on sunday, ginny, her husband, and i walked my section to clear brush and can lids that were used for mile markers. it was a tough, long hike, but worth it. the section through hoopers gap was particularly scenic, i drank right from the spring there, the water was delicious. the three of us did a lot of work and were exhausted. thanks for your help.

the link trail is going to survive; this trail has an excellent collection of vistas. it's worth a visit.

note to everyone, please consider hiking lesser-known trails, it helps keep them alive.

also, please do your part and help with trail maintenance.”

“A further note - if you hike in Pennsylvania, be aware that the winter was really hard on the forest - and thus the trails. There was a lot of ice damage, so parts of the trail (the ridge tops especially) looked like a giant game of pick up sticks, with downed branches everywhere. It was much more than the usual winter damage. Since most of the trails have no local maintainers, you may find some trails very hard to follow, with hundreds of blowdowns. Do your part: if you see branches across the trail that are small enough to pick up, move them off. It may slow you down, but so does trying to bushwhack around them. If you know anyone who maintains trail, offer to go out with them, believe me, they will appreciate the assistance. Jeff's section is likely to need at least two more weekends of work to get clear - even with the help of a chainsaw.”

“I did a day hike this past Sunday in Delaware State Forest in the Bruce Lake Natural Area and surrounding area. I picked up so much garbage clothing, beer cans, plastic water bottles, cigarette buts and various other trash what a mess. When I got back to my car I had a pack full of garbage. Hey you slob’s pack it in pack it out!”

“thank you very much for doing maintenance. i may never hike that trail, but i'm really grateful to you for maintaining it.”

“I agree with you must hike. Its bad enough trying to clear blow down and weather related trail damage. For some idiot to through their trash around is a sin. Litter sucks. Worse then that, its dangerous to the wildlife.”

“I know what you mean about the blow down problems , Cant go more then two minutes without having to work around some brush. Started to carry a small saw on my dayhikes to help remove some of it. Frankly I dread what a fire would do to some of these areas.”