Batona Hiking Club. Ray Roese made routed wooden signs for the Wolf Rocks bypass trail. They will be put up in March.

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1 APPENDIX: CLUB REPORTS Batona Hiking Club Spring 2014 report Batona Hiking Club Ray Roese made routed wooden signs for the Wolf Rocks bypass trail. They will be put up in March. Hunting mitigation work was done by Nicole Wooten and Todd Remaley on Dec 2d (first day of hunting season) and 3d. Nicole s report is excerpted here: It was very successful, and we were able to educate many folks and enforce the rules. I spoke to 6 hunters myself, and Todd spoke to those as well as 6 other hunters. Word spread quickly, and while the parking lot was getting full of trucks when Todd arrived at 4:30 AM, by the time Kevin and I joined at 6 AM people were already turning around. Ms. Cormier, trail neighbor, was also at the parking lot early, and we all worked together and shared information for a few hours. We worked mainly out of Fox Gap, although we did meet 3 of those hunters on the WTC side. (Hunting is allowed on that side in only a very small slice of land near the trail.) Todd is conferring with State Game wardens as far as the legal/citation aspect for a couple of the hunters. Otherwise, it was an education-intensive trip, and everyone was respectful of the rules after a little coaching. I would be surprised if this didn't make at least a small difference in the area. It was fantastic to hear from one of the hunters that, though the parking lot used to be used by hunters who would ride their jeeps on the trail itself up to the ridgetop, the boulder closure surrounding the lot now makes that impossible. It sounds like things have improved greatly; with the trail maintaners' help, it can keep improving. In Dec 2013 with help of Nicole Wooten, and Kevin and Glenn of MARO we put up a barrier to block ATV access to the trail via an old telephone line RoW, using a telephone pole and boulders. See photo. 18

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3 CVATC Report The club is currently working on the LMP and is in the final stage of compiling everyone s work together to create the final document. MARO office has helped us a great deal in getting information for the document and answering questions as they came up. This spring we will be improving two parking lots by adding about 2-3 of stone over the current parking area which is mud and grass. We will also be adding a sign to each parking area telling the public where to park made by one of our club members. The parking lots to be improved are Rt. 74 and Lisburn Rd. This spring CVATC will be working with the Boiling Spring Civic Association, ATC, NPS, South Middleton Township, PA Fish & Boat Commission, and Children s Lake Trust Advisory to replace the old concrete and wood benches that are around the Children s Lake. The first installation should be the end of April early May on the AT side of the lake. There is no word yet on the when second installment of benches will be. The club applied for the LLBean grant to help with the purchase of a new mower to help maintain our section of the trail. Joe Frasseta was voted in as Maintainer Coordinator to replace Frank Bohn, who moved to Florida We rescheduled the field half of our Boundary Workshop with Nicole Wooten to March 29 due to the snow that was still on the ground 20

4 Mountain Club of Maryland Club Report Spring 2014 Trails There has not been a lot of trail work over the recent winter months. However, individual maintainers have gotten out on their sections of trail. I recently went out following one of the ice storms to assess damage. In November, we planted trees at Hunters Run, which is part of our trail section in Pennsylvania. The ATC staff from Boiling Springs and volunteers from our club helped plant the trees. We will return to Hunters Run in May for more planting as well as invasive plant removal. The mid-atlantic ATC trail crew was scheduled to work on our Maryland section of trail near Raven Rock last Fall, but work was canceled due to the government shutdown. We expect the crew to return to Raven Rock (just North of Rt. 491) for some intense trail stabilization with sidehill and cribbing work. This year we should get the kiosk at Kuhn Rd. in PA at White Rocks. Materials have been acquired and design is complete. We are also planning to build a small parking lot in Duncannon, PA. It will be located near the A.T. trailhead at the base of Cove Mountain in Duncannon. Our club is funding the project. Shelters Work Completed In October 2013 and January 2014 volunteers performed routine maintenance at all four shelters: they replenished the supply of wood shavings in privies; removed trash, replaced hikers logs as needed, etc. They also demolished and removed the old privy at the Cove Mountain shelter. 21

5 Planned Activities for Next Six Months Perform spring preparation for the coming hiking season including replenish ing the storage can supply of wood savings at all privies; opening privy tanks: and adding worms to facilitate composting. Install new rodent-resistant food storage hanger at Fry shelter. Monitor porcupine activity at Cove Mountain shelter, take new preventive steps and make repairs as needed. When we receive National Park Service approval of pending permit request, we will plan and schedule construction of a replacement privy at the Kennedy shelter. Boundary Monitoring Since October, we filled one vacancy on Cove Mountain. We had a monitoring workshop in November that Nicole Wooten led. I attended the workshop and Nicole did a great job with classroom and field instruction. I learned a lot as a new monitor. Ten MCM members attended the workshop on Saturday and five 5 stayed overnight to do some additional monitoring the next day in Duncannon. They reported finding some large diameter pipe in the White Rocks area, which turned out to contain asbestos. For the next 6 months we plan on continuing monitoring activities. We received two new quadrant compasses, which should make things easier. The ATC will also be doing some new surveying along the corridor, but we don't know yet whether MCM will be involved. Overall, since October, we've logged 255 monitoring hours (including the workshop). Duncannon A.T. Community The Duncannon A.T. Committee continues to meet each month to plan for its upcoming festival scheduled for Saturday, June 21, Club-Related Activities Membership Eight new members joined in December. Total membership at the end of December was

6 2013 Trip Schedule This includes hikes and a few paddling outings. We had 293 trips with 4,392 attendees. There were 272 guests and 11 dogs. We now sponsor some dog friendly hikes. 23

7 Dutchess/Putnam AT Mgt Cmte (NY-NJ TC) Highlights March, 2014 MA-RPC Meeting 4,555 volunteer hours for 2013 New cylinder installed in Wiley Shelter hand pump supported by LL Bean Grant Nuclear Lake dam inspected by David Reus and Blaise Davi, NPS NE Region Dam Safety Coordinator Side trail around lake should be relocated to move it further away from dam spillway Land items Received 13 acre donation Resolution via land swap of issue where boundary went through home (Encouraging) Talks continue with AMC-CT regarding resolution of our ATCclub MOUs 24

8 NYNJTC Bear Mountain Trails Project Minutes from January 8, 2014 Meeting commenced at 1:50 pm at the Bear Mountain Administration Building Attendance: Jim Hall, Elizabeth O Loughlin, Edward Goodell, Ama Koenigshof, Joshua Howard, Gail Neffinger, Minutes taken by Joshua Howard 2013 Overview Exceeded goals for trail building and volunteer hours Major Welch portion of the project was completed; consisted of a relocation and repairs of current trail. Additional work still remains, but funding is not currently available. Upper East Face of the AT The Trail Conference formalized its AmeriCorps program. More comprehensive training which lead to increased productivity New relationships with large groups, who primarily focused on trail closure work The 2013 Federal Government shutdown added extra time for the Mid-Atlantic crew to work on the project LT -1 Camp Renovations for camp continue and we have improved our relationships with the park and the Group Camp staff 2014 Plans Upper East Face of the Appalachian Trail We plan on focusing our crews on the upper east face of the AT. We will be switching to a 4-day work week with one day to focus on volunteer recruitment, retention, recognition, project progress documentation, tool maintenance and other important tasks. Workshops will begin in March 2014 The ATC Mid-Atlantic Crew will arrive in April. The Trail Conference has decided to not reengage Tahawus Trails to manage the project. The will be using their in-house expertise. This decision was not made due to any dissatisfaction with the work of Tahawus Trails, but the desire to improve and enhance internal systems at the Trail 25

9 Conference. A discussion of future funding needs ensued and Jim Hall and Josh Howard agreed to meet to discuss ways to extend the available funding. Trails for People I 2014 goal is to complete the gateway and demo trail signage Jim Hall expressed concerns about the design of the signs, as to not be a tripping hazard, durable and fit the surroundings. Ama agreed to submit a final design for his approval. Ama and Liz agreed to meet to review donated services from PIPC for the Trails for People grant and look at other opportunities for the park to donate the services of their staff for moving materials and providing other logistical support. In March of 2104, Ama will have an updated site plan. Trails for People II Discussion about the feasibility of completing the entire project, as originally proposed. With an adjusted scope, plus park match, volunteer labor match and cash match, the project might be feasible. 26

10 2014 PATC Activities Summary for Spring MA-RPC Meeting PATC scope: ~7000 members. Estimated total trail miles maintained is AT maintenance of 240 miles Trails maintained other than the AT: AT side trails Tuscarora Trail in Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, & Virginia Tuscarora side trails Most of the trails in Shenandoah Park Trails in Prince William Forest Park in Virginia Trails in Manassas National Battlefield Park Trails in Great Falls of the Potomac National Park Trails in Rock Creek Park in Washington, DC Trails in the DC metropolitan area The Potomac Heritage Trail Trails in the George Washington National Forest Trail facilities being maintained for all of PATC's trail regions consist of: 52 trail shelters, maintenance huts, & campgrounds - 38 cabins & 1 being built. AT Related Activities and Issues: Waynesboro, PA, will hold its AT Community Designation ceremony on Saturday, April 26. Approval was received to build a new Dicks Dome shelter in Northern Virginia. It took about a year of waiting for agency action to be able to proceed. The old shelter will be moved to Bears Den to provide overflow capacity there. PATC, who manages Bears Den for ATC, plans to install a generator there to provide emergency power by May. The Tom's Run trail shelter that burned down on October 8, 2013, will not be replaced in the immediate future or possibly ever. One of the two original shelters is still in good condition and there are many prepared tent pads for the large number of hikers that use the site. However, a roof was built over the burned site and a picnic table placed there. PATC now has a U.S. Forest Service certified chainsaw instructor. This person is not certifying sawyers but will provide assistance at training sessions in Shenandoah Park where PATC has most of its sawyers trained. ATC may wish to consider using trained club members to help at other training locations to increase the number of persons being trained or re-certified. PATC's GPS Rangers have been surveying trails on its maps resulting in many corrections, added trails, and improved accuracy. Planning for the 2015 Biennial is proceeding. PATC Council has authorized a MOU between PATC, MCM, and ATC for the event. 27

11 Training workshops are scheduled for the following: Overseer skills Griphoist rigging Traditional tools (Axe and Crosscut Saw) Chainsaws Backpacking Leave No Trace 28

12 The Philadelphia Trail Club report to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Partnership Committee at Its Spring, 2014 Meeting Our Appalachian Trail Report: The season was kicked off on 3/23/2013, when a local man affiliated with our club did a walk-through and reported on trail conditions, inclusive of the location of any blowdowns. Our Sping Work Day was held on 4/6/2013, attended by 13 volunteers. Crews took care of blowdowns, trimmed brush, cleaning up trash, and cleaning water bars. On 6/13/2013, a late Spring work day was done trim greenbriar and remove blowdowns from Spruing storms. Also there was a campsite cleanup and removal of fire rings and trash. Attended by 8 volunteers and the NE PA ridgerunner. On 7/13/2013, two volunteers worked with the ridgerunner to trim tall grass on the North Trail and trim greenbriar. Very heavy growth of grass on the northeastern section of the North Trail due to a wet spring and an early Summer. This is the first time we have ever seen the grass chest high and virtually obliterating sections of the North Trail. 7/25, 8/1 and 9/8/13: A local man who is a club member went out with his son and refreshed blazes throughout the trail section, and also trimmed brush. 8/30/2013: Two volunteers went up to the Winter Trail and AT junction to trim very tall grass with a weedwacker. They also refreshed some trail blazes. This was a new phenomenon this season and represented the first time we had tall grass obliterating the upper parts of the Winter Trail. 10/30/2013 Boundary Maintenance trip: Our lead boundary worker went out with ATC's boundary technicians and finished completing the west side of Lehigh Gap. 29

13 Throughout the summer and into early fall, we received assistance from the NE PA ridgerunner in monitoring the trail and side trails, and removing trash and fire rings. He also reblazed the spur trail off the North Trail to Devil's Pulpit with yellow blazes due to hikers being confused by 2 blue trails (North and Devil's Pulpit spur trail). The extended season for the ridgerunner was very helpful due to the government shutdown and the cancellation of our scheduled Fall Work Day. 3/13/2014 Meeting at the Lehigh Gap Nature Center in Slatington, PA: This meeting was held to discuss the eventual and now near term trail redesign of the Philadelphia Trail Club's entire - or much of it - section. Leading this redesign will be Peter Jensen, a proven veteran trail designer. Our club will have some degree of participation and voice in how this work is done. Upcoming will be several workshops having to do with trail design related matters. Apparently in certain areas of the section the manner in which slopes are approached will be altered but one specific location will not be all that much changed, the high rocks (which sit atop the East side of Lehigh Gap) - which are a high attraction for many area hikers - will be left intact. An Associated AT activity in North Philadelphia, PA: ATC, as ATC knows, scheduled a series of presentations throughout the range of the Appalachian Trail for the main purpose of a membership upgrade. Its meeting in the Philadelphia region was hosted at a movie theater in the Temple University area of North Philadelphia on October 17, Paul Schubert, the Phila Trail Club's AT outreach person, participated in this meeting along with Javier Folgar (inclusive of several other ATC staff members) of ATC's regular staff. After Javier Folgar gave a short introduction, Ron Tipton, ATC's executive director, led off the evening with a 15 minute presentation about the AT. This was followed by a through hiker's presentation and Paul Schubert's 5 minute talk on the Philadelphia Trail Club, hiking in the Philadelphia region, outdoor recreation in the overall area, and conservation as well. Following the opening presentations was an hour (or so) long film on 30

14 through hiking on the Appalchian Trail. Attending the get together were some 130 interested outdoor recreationalists. Both the Philadelphia Trail Club and ATC set up their own displays and an array of takeaway items for visitors. General Club Report Current Club numbers: Dues paying members 202, includes 5 with > 50 years membership. Social Media activities: Our club council - via the efforts of the club's current vice president mainly - has been carrying on a sustained effort to expand and further develop hike attendance as well as club membership via this developing and very popular social media device. It appears that the club has been gaining at least a minimal to moderate response from this effort. Our club's website: Our website continues to function well, giving us a better presence in the general area and to be a useful tool for our membership as well. Further developments: Our club council has both sustained new leadership moving onto the board and also continued to suffer from a lack of participation on the part of those who would rather that others do things for them. A new partnership with the REI Store in Conshohocken: This partnership is a very new, quite recent development. Please know several things to begin with: REI (Recreational Equipment, Inc.) is known in the Philadelphia region for its Quality Outdoor Gear & Clothing - inclusive of its sponsored activities at the store and in the outdoors - and the fact that it is a national brand of outdoor equipment. The Philadelphia Trail Club's members have been utilizing this store's assets for many years and also happen to hold the club's council meetings mere minutes away. Nonetheless, aside from a presentation given at the store by Susan Charkes and Paul Schubert 4 years or so ago, no club relationship had 31

15 ever been established with the store. Now, however, via an effort by the club to expand its Appalachian Trail group participation via partnering with REI (in recognition of the sizable numbers of hikers and outdoor recreationalists who frequent the store), a new window for the club to expand its area recognition has opened. Upon connecting with the store's outreach director for the expansion of its AT effort, the club was also offered a partnership for general promotion as well. We now have our bulletins and flyers at the store, as well as some online listings by the store. Coming up in this regard, will likely be a new/old club poster being placed in the store as a further promotional feature. 32

16 Susquehanna Appalachian Trail Club (SATC) Activities Report for the MARPC Meeting (March2014) Last Sept-Oct, the SATC Trail Crew installed 11 rock water bars to control erosion on the Victoria Trail in Ibberson Conservation Area (ICA) on the north side of Peters Mountain. We worked on this AT side trail in cooperation with the staff at Little Buffalo State Park who administers the ICA. In November, the SATC Trail Crew carried in lumber 3 miles along the AT to Peters Mountain Shelter to replace some rotting steps on the shelter. On another work trip we built a dozen rock steps on the AT near Shikellimy Rocks on Peters Mountain and we also did some crush & fill to better define the trail route over the rocks for hikers. For the past federal fiscal year (Oct 1, 2012-Sept 30, 2013), 63 volunteers contributed almost 1000 hours to SATC sponsored trail work trips on the Club s assigned section of the Appalachian Trail (AT) between PA Rt. 225 north to the Rausch Gap Shelter side trail and the various side trails that junction with the AT that we also maintain. This includes time spent working in the field and estimated travel time for volunteers. SATC assigns individual trail maintainers to AT sections and side trails to perform routine basic maintenance such as clearing vegetation and removing fallen branches and debris. SATC trail maintainers reported an additional 679 hours of combined field and travel time during the past FFY. The SATC board voted in Oct 2013 to reduce the term of the Immediate Past President on the Board of Directors. Previously the past president served until an eligible successor accepts the position. The new By-law will read The Immediate Past President shall be a member of the Board of Directors for one year after an eligible successor accepts the position of president. SATC will once again hold a one day Hike Leader Training in April 2014 to teach participants the basics of being good hike leader for the Club. SATC will start celebrating its 60th birthday year at our annual banquet on March 28, This will be the start of year-long activities the Club has planned to commemorate the milestone. Some of the activities will include hiking 60 miles of the AT in PA in one day by breaking it up into nine section-hikes; A 60 point challenge where club members will earn up to 60 points by participating in various club activities and then be entered into a drawing for prizes at the 2015 annual banquet; a 60th anniversary photo contest; and more. SATC will again partner with the Central PA Conservancy this year to host the 5th Annual Ironmaster s Challenge on April 27, This hiking/running event raises funds for the support and maintenance of the Ironmaster s Mansion in Pine Grove State Park and includes 50k, 25k, and 15k courses through the beautiful woodlands of the park. SATC will once again participate in the PA Hiking Week sponsored by the PA DCNR during the week of May 24-June 1 by leading various hikes in Central PA. 33

17 SATC will again work with a representative of the PA Game Commission and help plant white pine seedlings along the AT/side trails in game lands this spring as an alternative tree species to replace hemlock trees dying from invasive pests. SATC plans on installing two steel bear boxes at our Peters Mountain Shelter for overnight hikers to store their food properly. Other shelter projects include installing a steel fire ring to help control fire size; maintenance of the composting privy; possible re-roofing the shelter; and designating additional camping areas near the shelter for tent camping. 34

18 Wilmington Trail Club Report March 2014 The Wilmington Trail Club has had no field activities since the Fall (November 2013) report. Our field activity year is planned to start in April, with a scouting trip to our AT section, to see the condition of the trail, and to select areas needing repair and maintenance. Work trips will then be scheduled, probably at monthly intervals, for the next 4-6 months. We anticipate that brushing, blazing, some treadway maintenance (water bar cleanouts and repair of check dams) and shelter/privy maintenance will be the 2014 priorities. A Boundary inspection trip is planned for April. Our Boundary survey/maintenance cycle began in 2011 and was completed in We will be participating in the Delaware Water Gap AT Community celebration on June