Trip report

GO Adopted Trails Maintenance Day

Volunteering DATE: 05/29/2010 - 05/29/2010

Trip/Event Location: Waterville Valley, NH
US

Trip Leader(s): Gandalf

Max # People: 15

Trip Guiding / Event Fee: No, I will not be asking participants for money

Difficulty Level: Moderate to Strenuous

Join GayOutdoors for a day of trail work on its adopted trails - Smarts Brook and Drakes Brook! We will be cleaning water drainage, cutting back vegetation growing into the trail, and removing

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Driving directions to the location and spot to meet at:

Please meet at my house for 8:00 am so we can distribute tools, split the group in two and arrange for carpooling.

Directions:

Take I-93 and use Exit 28. At the end of the ramp take right onto Rte 49 East for 3.5 miles and take a left on Burbank Hill Road.

During this 3.5 miles, you'll pass a traffic light where there is a dam on your right, then pass a White Mountain National Forest campground and then see the William Tell Restaurant on your left. About a mile after the restaurant, you'll see Burbank Hill Road on the left (Goose Hollow Campground sign). If you cross the Mad River on the bridge, you just missed the left turn.

Take a left onto steep Burbank Hill Road and you’ll quickly reach the top of the hill where you take your first right onto Upper Mad River Road (Hiking Sign). The road will soon turn into gravel, you'll pass two apartments on your right and then a house. My property begins right after this house and after about 200 yards you’ll see a mailbox with "676" which is my house. The house is not very visible from the road.

Please park your car in the upper lot at my house and walk down the driveway.


Trip Report/Photos
Featured Photo

This past Saturday 12 GO members performed trail maintenance on its adopted trails: Smarts Brook and Drakes Brook, on the west side of Sandwich Mountain off of Route 49 in Waterville Valley, NH. Most members spend the weekend nearby at Mike's house with food paid for by GO.

A huge "thank you" to these GO members for taking the time on a Saturday to volunteer for trail maintenance on our adopted trails!

It was a beautiful day for trail maintenance. GayOutdoors devotes one day each year to keeping its adopted trails the safe and beautiful trails they are. Today's efforts were devoted to cutting back encroaching vegetation, removing fallen trees/limbs [blowdowns] and cleaning water bars. For clueless hikers, a water bar is any ditch, log or set of stones placed across the trail [usually diagonally] that drains water runoff away so it won't erode the trail.

But water bars don't work if they get clogged with leaves, soil, rocks, or other debris. We clean these up with a fire rake, making these water bars once again working the way it was supposed to.

Jon took a group of five up Smarts Brook and Mike took a group of seven. Together, we cleaned out 25 water bars and removed 30 blowdowns. Many of these were chainsaw sized that had to be cut with bow saws. Our adopted trails are in wilderness areas and chainsaws are not permitted to be used...even for trail maintenance. Both groups had a rendezvous on top of Jennings Peak!

Volunteers treat the day much like a hike: you bring your pack, some lunch and lots of water. We ask that they bring their own work gloves. All tools are provided by GO, however we ask that if they have large loppers, hedge clippers or bow saws, to bring them. And like a hike, you give it as much energy as you want. The day lasted 8:30 am to around 4:30 pm.

Hikers will now find it a joy to walk on these cleared and blowdown-free trails. And we've protected the trails from further erosion damage by ensuring that installed water bars will continue to work. There are now some fine expanses of wildflowers on these trails including lady slippers, trilliums and bunchberry.

One of the nice things about trail work is that everyone who passes by thanks you for your service. Here's an example of a thank you posted on the internet! If that's not enough for you, volunteers get free lodging and meals for the weekend paid for by GO. And after 16 hours of work the Forest Service will give them a free parking pass. If you're interested in giving trail work a try, look for next year's announcement for Memorial Day weekend. Hope to see you there!

Thanks, again, guys! The White Mountain National Forest rangers "thank you," as well.

What Members Are Saying About This Trip/Event

  • Who says work can't be fun? Thanks to the GO CROO(S) our Adopted Trails are in amazing shape! - JDNnh
  • It was great to give back to the resources we use. OUTSTANDING cooking by John, WOW! Thanks Mike for your hospitality. - WalkaboutBrian

Members That Participated

JDNnh

Outdoor Fitness Level: Very Strenuous


Thornton, NH


United States
DaveSchumaker

Outdoor Fitness Level: Moderate to Strenuous


Manchester, NH


United States
alex4mts

Outdoor Fitness Level: Very Strenuous


Lexington, MA


United States
HikerBiker

Outdoor Fitness Level: Moderate to Strenuous


Londonderry, NH


United States
JPHiker

Outdoor Fitness Level: Moderate


Lake Worth Beach, FL


United States
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