ADIRONDACK TRAILS
Field Programs Newsletter - Adirondack Mountain Club
Field Programs Newsletter - Adirondack Mountain Club
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<strong>ADIRONDACK</strong><br />
<strong>TRAILS</strong><br />
Vol. 17, No. 1 Winter 2013<br />
The annual newsletter of the Adirondack Mountain Club Field Programs<br />
INSIDE:<br />
Introduction Page 2 Summit Steward Report Pages 10-13<br />
Supervised Trail Volunteer Report Pages 3-6<br />
Professional Trail Crew Report Pages 7-9
Page 2<br />
ADK FIELD PROGRAMS<br />
Another successful season of trail<br />
building and summit stewarding has passed. As<br />
you will see in the following pages, hundreds of<br />
people contributed to the enormous amount of<br />
work that was accomplished.<br />
For the trails program, many of the<br />
projects focused on repairing damage from<br />
tropical storm Irene. The hardest hit were the<br />
foot bridges. ADK trail crews replaced eight foot<br />
bridges in 2012, the shortest one measuring<br />
twenty two feet and the longest at fifty five feet.<br />
All of the bridges were located in the<br />
backcountry and were built (or rebuilt in some<br />
cases) using non-motorized hand tools.<br />
The summit stewards enjoyed many sun<br />
drenched days in the alpine zone last summer.<br />
The uncharacteristically hospitable weather,<br />
coupled with a motivated crew of stewards,<br />
resulted in some major improvements to the<br />
summit trails along with an unprecedented<br />
amount of public outreach. In fact, this year a<br />
new record was set. 20,567 hiker contacts were<br />
made over the five month long season. This is<br />
over a sixty percent increase from ten years ago<br />
in 2002.<br />
Looking ahead to the 2013 season, there<br />
are some exciting trail projects planned. The list<br />
is ambitious and hopefully there will be similar<br />
weather conditions as 2012. One of the highlights<br />
will be installing a portion of the Northville-<br />
Placid Trail reroute at the southern end.<br />
Approximately three miles of the trail will be<br />
taken off of the Benson Road near Northville<br />
and instead will take hikers through the Silver<br />
Lake Wilderness. Several foot bridges will need<br />
to be constructed to complete this reroute.<br />
Hopefully, in 2014, the rest of the southern<br />
reroute through the Shaker Mountain Wild<br />
Forest as outlined in the Unit Management Plan<br />
can be completed which would alleviate hikers<br />
from walking on the road for ten plus miles<br />
between Northville and the Benson Road.<br />
Another exciting trail project will take<br />
place between Algonquin and Iroquois<br />
Mountains in the High Peaks Region. For those<br />
of you that have recently walked this herd path<br />
you know how deteriorated the tread is and how<br />
difficult it is to navigate without getting your<br />
boots soaked. With generous funding from the<br />
Adirondack Forty-Sixers www.adk46er.org/ , an<br />
anonymous donation for materials, and the<br />
Department of Environmental Conservation<br />
(DEC) flying-in material, the Professional Trail<br />
Crew will be able to spend four weeks installing<br />
foot bridges in the worst sections of resource<br />
damage.<br />
TO CONTACT US:<br />
ADK FIELD PROGRAMS<br />
PO Box 867<br />
Lake Placid, NY 12946<br />
Phone: 518-523-3480 ext. 18<br />
Fax: 518-523-3518<br />
Wes Lampman, North Country Operations<br />
Director - fieldprograms@adk.org<br />
Julia Goren, Summit Steward Coordinator<br />
summit@adk.org<br />
Andrew Hamlin, Trails Coordinator<br />
trails@adk.org<br />
Frank Krueger, Trails Committee Chair<br />
fkkmek@frontiernet.net<br />
Herb Coles, Trail Steward Program Coordinator<br />
June.herb@verizon.net<br />
Hilary Moynihan, Adopt-a-Lean-To Prgm.<br />
Coordinator - adkleanto@gmail.com<br />
www.adk.org<br />
Photo Credits: Page 1-Evan Curtis, Alena Giesche,<br />
Dove Henry, Siri Larson, Rebecca VanDerWende<br />
Page 2-Rebecca VanDerWende<br />
Page 3-Evan Curtis
VOLUNTEER <strong>TRAILS</strong> PROGRAM Page 3<br />
FIELD PROGRAM VOLUNTEERS* 2012 – THANK YOU & we hope to see you again this season!<br />
CAROLYN ABDO, PATRICK ALLEN, ANA ALLY, DIMITRIOS ALMEIDA, ADAM AMBRUS, NATHAN AMIDON, MARC<br />
ATCHINSON, LYDIA BAKOWSKI, KELSEY BALDASCINI, MIKE BATTISTI, JULIE BAUM, RYAN BAXTER, CHRIS BEANS, AUGUST BEERS,<br />
REBECCA BENNETT, KEVIN BEREND, ELIE BIJOU, WADE BITTLE, RON BLACKMORE, THORA BLACKWOOD, HARRISON BLUESTONE,<br />
PETER & DIANNE BLY, KEITH BOLT, BRUCE BONACQUIST, THOMAS BOTH, CHRISTINE BOURJADE, JUSTIN BOYNTON, ROBERT<br />
BRADLEY, ALAN BRAMMER, HEIKE BRITTON, KATIE BRITTON, BILL BRIZZELL, BILL & CAROLINE BROOKS, SAMANTHA BROOKS,<br />
ELEANOR BROWN, ROBERT & WILLIAM BRUNO, KAREN BURKE, CHRIS BUSCH, CHRIS BYRNES, ZAK CAMPBELL, JOE CARDELLA,<br />
KAYCI CARLSON, MARJORIE CELENTANO, SEEMA CHAUDHARI, DOROTHY CHAUVIN, JULIE CHEVALIER, YVONNE CHU, ROBERT<br />
CLARK, MADELINE COBB, ERIC COE, BILL & MARY COFFIN, HERBERT COLES, ETHAN COLLINS, JOSEPH CONNOLLY, BOB COOPER, JIM<br />
COVEY, JULIETTE CRELLIN, BRIAN CUNNINGHAM, CARRIE CURRY, EVAN CURTIS, ELIOT DALTON, LUKE DANA, MATT DAVIS, RICH<br />
DAVIS, DANIEL DAWSON, LORI DEVOE, ANNA AND JIM DICKSON, MARCY DILLON, KATHY DISQUE, MICHAEL DIVAK, DAN<br />
DOHMAN, JENNIFER AND ADAM DONOHUE, ANDY ECKLER, KAREN EDWARDS, KARYN EHMANN, IAN ELLBOGEN, KRISTINE<br />
ELLISWORTH, MEGAN EWALD, JUNE FAIT, DAVE FERGUSSON, CHARLES FININ, ROBIN FINLEY, ISAAC FISHER, JIM & JILL FLAHERTY,<br />
GAETAN FOISY, LEIGH FOSTER, JOSEPH FOX, BRITTANY FRANK, ADAM GARZA, JAKE GASKILL, GAIL GASKIN, MICHAEL GEROUX,<br />
KEVIN & SHARON GETMAN, DOMINIC GIAMBRA, ALENA GIESCHE, CATHY GILCHRIST, PETER & MARILYN GILLESPIE, KELLY GILSON,<br />
LEAH GIORDANO, TONY GOODWIN, MATT GORMLEY, TRACEY GOURLAY, RYAN GRAIG, MARK GRANFORS, SHARRI GRAY, ZACH<br />
GREEN, CHERYL HANES, WILLIAM HARRIS, HUNTER HARTSHORNE, DAN HAUSNER, MAXIME HEBERT, RACHEL HEINEMAN, DOVE<br />
HENRY, DAVID HERMAN, PETER HICKEY, MICHELLE HILLS, KIM HOFFAMN, KAREN HOFFMAN, ANN HURLEY, BOB HUSBAND, BILL<br />
INGERSOLL, ERIN JACKSON, LEO JANKS, LOIS JENSEN, ALAN JINEI, ADAM JOHNSON, TJ JOHNSTON, CAROLYN & GENE KACZKA,<br />
DIANNE KIERPIEC, CHRISTY KINNEY, JOHN KLAIBER, LARRY KOLWAITE, BEN KOSALEK, MAX KRACKER, ROBERT KREMENS, BRENDA<br />
KREMENS, MAX KRONSTADT, FRANK & MARY KRUEGER, NORM KUCHAR, DONNA LABOUNTY, REECE LAMB, TERESA LAMB,<br />
JONATHON LANE, SCOTT LARSON, ALEXANDRE LAUZON, VALERIE LAVINE, MARK LAWLER, SUSAN LERNER, PAUL LEVINE, AGNES<br />
LINK‐HARRINGTON, GAIL LINVINGSTON, SUSAN LIPE, BILL LIPE, CHARLIE LIPE, HANNA LIPE, SAM LIPE, ROBERT LISENO, RACHEL<br />
LUCH, STEPHANIE LYNN, LYNNE MACCO, JAN MACLAUCHLIN, GREG MAKLAE, DANIELLE MANGOLD, WESTON MARSZAL, PATRICK<br />
MASSIE, JONATHAN MCDONALD, TRISTAN MCDONALD, KEVIN MCDONOUGH, STEVE & CHERYL MCGRATTAN, ELISA MCINTOSH,<br />
ROBERT MEYER, KATHRYN MILES, TAMMIE & MICHAEL MILLER, BENJAMIN & TIMOTHY MODEL, CARRI MONTES, NATALIE<br />
MOORE, MOLLY MORAN, GENNY MORLEY, ALAN MORSE, RYAN MOWERS, LAUREN MOWERS, HILARY MOYNIHAN, MARGARET<br />
MURPHY, MAUREEN MURPHY, PATRICK MURPHY, JOYCE NAKADA, MARIE NAPLE, ELLIOT NARK, PHILLIP NATHAN, JEFF NEWSOME,<br />
HENRY NICRONKSI, DAVID NILSEN, MARGARET O'KEEFE, JOSEPH O’REILLY, COLBY OWEN, JACKIE & NEIL PARKER, CHRIS PARKER,<br />
REED PARVIS, LINDSEY PAUL, LUKE PEDUZZI, RICHELLE PENNINGTON, IVY PIERCE, MARTIN PIGEON, BRENDAN POPP, DONALD<br />
REAM, GLENN RECKAHN, BEN RECKAHN, CLAIRE REVEKANT, SUE RINGANESE, WILLIAM ROBERTS, ANDREA ROBINSON, JEANEISY<br />
RODRIGUEZ, MARIE ROSENBLATT, KAREN ROSS, JODY A. ROTHMEYER, MATTHEW ROTHROCK, DAVID RYDER, ELLEN SACKSTEIN,<br />
JOHN SASSO, TOM SCHAFER, TOM SCHENCK, TIM SCHLOSSE, KATHLEEN SCHLOTZHAUER, ROSELIE SCHMIDT, JOHN SCHNEIDER, BOB<br />
& DEBBIE SCHWARTING, JAMES SCOTT HAMMONS, PHIL SEWARD, WILLIAM SEYSE, JOHN SHEEHAN, OLIVIA SHEPPARD, BOB<br />
SHWAJLYK, JOSHUA SILVERBERG, BILL & ROSEMARY SNYDER, STEVEN & MERY SOKAL, DAVID SPINGARN, ALEX STALVEY, ANDREW<br />
SUSSMAN, JUSTIN THACHEIMER, JUDY THOLL, JIM THOLL, DAN THOMPSON, BEN THOMPSON, JAMES TOWNSEND, JOAN TURBEK,<br />
STEPHEN TURBEK, CRYSTAL TYNDALL, LEE VAN DE WATER, REBECCA VANDERWENDE, BRIAN VERMILYEA, PAUL VENEZIANO, GARY<br />
& SYLVIA VIDAL, CANDACE VIVIAN, ZACHARY WALSH, DAVID WARFIELD, COURTNEY WEBB, PAIGE WEARING, TOM WEMETT,<br />
CAMERON WEST, GREGORY WETMORE, PAT & PEGGY WHALEY, ANDY WHITE, ELEANOR WHITE, KAYLA WHITE, GARY WILCOX,<br />
KATHLEEN WILEY, KIM WINCH, DAVID WINNIE, PETER WIRTH, JIM WOODS, JOHN WOOD, NEIL & HOLLY WOODWORTH, SHEILA<br />
YOUNG, ALEX YOUNG<br />
*Every attempt was made to<br />
include everyone who participated<br />
in an ADK volunteer service<br />
project. Please forgive us if your<br />
name is not included or misspelled.<br />
The Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK) is dedicated to the protection and<br />
responsible recreational use of the New York State Forest Preserve, parks, &<br />
other wild lands and waters. The Club, founded in 1922, is a member-directed<br />
organization committed to public service and stewardship. ADK employs a<br />
balanced approach to outdoor recreation, environmental education, advocacy,<br />
and natural resource conservation.
Page 4<br />
ADK SUPERVISED VOLUNTEER <strong>TRAILS</strong> PROGRAM<br />
2012 Volunteer Trail Crew Leaders:<br />
Evan Curtis – 1 st year<br />
Julia Goren – Summit Steward Coordinator<br />
Andrew Hamlin – Trails Coordinator<br />
Crystal Tyndall – 1 st year<br />
Over 300 volunteers participated in ADK<br />
supervised volunteer trail projects for the 2012<br />
season. Overall, participant numbers have been<br />
excellent for all of the volunteer trail projects and<br />
workshops. The only volunteer trail project that was<br />
cancelled for 2012 due to low enrollment was a<br />
week long Road Scholar service project that would<br />
have occurred in early May.<br />
In Mid-February, Julia Goren led a crew of<br />
twelve volunteers on a week long trail project in the<br />
US Virgin Islands National Park on St. John. The<br />
volunteer crew repaired and rehabilitated a section<br />
of the Reef Bay Trail which is located on the<br />
southern shore of the island. Rock water bars, rock<br />
steps, and new drainage ditches were the main<br />
accomplishments.<br />
St. John Volunteers transporting scree rock. Photo: Julia Goren<br />
Trail Steward Workshop<br />
This one-day workshop took place once again on<br />
the trail to Blue Mountain in May. Due to an<br />
overwhelming number of requests, a separate<br />
workshop was also held in June on the trail to<br />
Severance Hill located nearby Schroon Lake. The<br />
trail steward workshop is intended to give trail<br />
maintainers an understanding of basic trail<br />
maintenance concepts and standards. Twenty<br />
volunteers on Blue Mountain and ten volunteers on<br />
Severance Hill learned the principles of cleaning<br />
drainage, blow-down removal, side-cutting, and<br />
trail marking. These new trail maintainers were<br />
provided the training necessary to become official<br />
trail stewards under ADK’s Adopt-A-Natural<br />
Resource with the DEC.<br />
National Trails Day<br />
For the first time, and hopefully not the last, the<br />
ADK volunteer trails program visited the Town of<br />
Caroga Lake to celebrate National Trails Day<br />
(NTD). Residents of the town came together with<br />
members of the recently formed ADK Foothills<br />
Chapter to sponsor a multi-day event that future<br />
NTD events will be measured by. Trail projects<br />
took place on Saturday under grey skies and rainy<br />
conditions. In spite of the rain, over 70 trail<br />
volunteers attended. There were a number of<br />
different kinds of trail projects that were completed.<br />
Projects included rebuilding a pit privy/outhouse,<br />
creating over 180 feet of new drainage ditching,<br />
side-cutting over three miles of trail and removing<br />
over 36 blown down trees. Thanks to the<br />
Department of Environmental Conservation, trail<br />
volunteers were allowed to stay for free at the<br />
Caroga Lake state campground both Friday and<br />
Saturday nights.<br />
Johns Brook Valley Trail Work Weekend<br />
ADK volunteers returned to the Klondike Trail this<br />
year to make more improvements. This weekend<br />
long trail project has been reinvigorated by<br />
members of the ADK Trails Committee with help<br />
from Field Program staff. 22 people came together<br />
to work on a number of different trail projects<br />
including replacing the upstream foot bridge on<br />
Black Brook that was washed away during Tropical<br />
Storm Irene. Long time trail supporters Neil &<br />
Jackie Parker organized this particular trail project.<br />
Other trail
ADK SUPERVISED VOLUNTEER <strong>TRAILS</strong> PROGRAM Page 5<br />
work that volunteers participated in varied between<br />
conducting drainage and blowdown patrols on the<br />
Big Slide & Yard Mountain Trails and installing<br />
turnpiking to firm up sections of the Klondike trail.<br />
Black Brook Bridge on the Klondike Trail Photo: Frank Krueger<br />
One Day Trail Projects<br />
ADK Supervised Volunteer Trails Program hosted<br />
two 1-day trail projects in June. On Cascade<br />
Mountain, a volunteer crew of nine spent the day<br />
installing 4 new rock water bars that contain 16<br />
boulders. Fifty feet of drainage ditches was created<br />
to accompany the rock water bars.<br />
This year’s famous Ruth’s Easy Trail<br />
Project was well attended with eleven volunteer’s<br />
side cutting back vegetation that was starting to<br />
obscure some of the trails around Heart Lake and<br />
the Adirondak Loj. Led by crew leaders Bethany<br />
and Wes Krawiec, almost two miles of trail were<br />
side cut and two blown down trees were removed.<br />
Multi-Day Front Country Trail Projects<br />
Two 5-day long front country trail projects were<br />
supervised by ADK volunteer leaders Crystal<br />
Tyndall and Evan Curtis at the end of June. The<br />
first week was spent repairing a section of the<br />
Goodnow Mountain Trail. The volunteer crew of<br />
eight reused wood timbers to build 13 wooden steps<br />
and armored the edges of the steps with scree rock.<br />
During the second week, a volunteer crew of twelve<br />
constructed a cedar turnpike on a section of trail<br />
Before & after on the Goodnow Mtn. Trail Photos: B. Breitmeyer<br />
near the Elk Lake Lodge located at the southern<br />
edge of the High Peaks Region. Volunteers ate all<br />
of their meals and stayed at the Elk Lake Lodge<br />
during the trail project which offered a more<br />
luxurious experience.<br />
Multi-Day Teen Trail Projects<br />
Geared specifically for people between 14-17 years<br />
of age, five 5-day long back country trail projects<br />
took place. The projects were located in the West<br />
Canada Lake Wilderness and in the Johns Brook<br />
Valley. Participants used one of ADK’s lean-tos as<br />
a base camp each week while working near JBL.<br />
During the first week seven volunteers built<br />
a new foot bridge over Black Brook on the Phelps<br />
Trail. This bridge is downstream from the one that<br />
volunteers replaced during the Johns Brook Valley<br />
trail work weekend and similarly was taken out by<br />
Tropical Storm Irene. This crew also rerouted a<br />
short section of trail on ADK’s property nearby<br />
Camp Peggy O’Brien.<br />
The second week was used to continue<br />
hardening a section of trail near the beginning of the<br />
Orebed Trail. Picking up where last year’s volunteer<br />
trail crew left off, eight participants installed 27<br />
stepping stones and lined the edges with scree rock.<br />
The last week in the Johns Brook Valley<br />
was used to repair the beginning of the Big Slide<br />
Mountain Trail. Seven volunteers started by
Page 6<br />
ADK SUPERVISED VOLUNTEER <strong>TRAILS</strong> PROGRAM<br />
redefining a 100 foot long drainage ditch that<br />
captures storm water runoff. The trail volunteers<br />
then turned their attention to repairing the section of<br />
trail that was scoured down because the 100 foot<br />
long drainage ditch above it had been neglected.<br />
Four rock steps and turnpiking was used to fill in<br />
what was an eroded gully.<br />
During the first week in the West Canada<br />
Lake Wilderness, seven volunteers side cut just over<br />
two miles of the Northville-Placid Trail (NPT)<br />
between Cedar Lake and Mud Creek. Before this<br />
work was completed, portions of this section of the<br />
NPT were becoming difficult to walk through<br />
without getting scratched by the encroaching<br />
vegetation. Thirty five blown down trees were also<br />
removed from this NPT section.<br />
During the second week in the West<br />
Canada’s the volunteer trail crew worked on<br />
another section of the NPT near Spruce Lake. The<br />
goal was to replace bog bridges that were becoming<br />
unusable due to decay. The original set of bridges<br />
was also constructed by an ADK volunteer trail<br />
crew almost sixteen years earlier out of native red<br />
spruce. Nine volunteers were successful in<br />
replacing over thirty feet of bridges.<br />
One new bog bridge on the NPT Photo: Evan Curtis<br />
Multi-Day Long Lake Canoe Project<br />
The ADK Supervised Volunteer Trails Program<br />
returns to Long Lake annually to maintain the leanto<br />
sites and privies that are along its north western<br />
& eastern shorelines. Lean-tos on the eastern<br />
shoreline are also used by hikers since the NPT<br />
parallels this side of Long Lake. Fire rings are<br />
Sidecutting on the NPT near Cedar Lake Photo: Evan Curtis<br />
cleaned out, refuse is removed.If a privy hole is<br />
full, a new one is excavated and the privy structure<br />
is relocated.. This year, no privies needed to be<br />
relocated so the seven person volunteer trail crew<br />
concentrated on side cutting the NPT. Just over two<br />
miles of the NPT was side cut and eight fire rings<br />
were cleaned out.<br />
Randonee Volunteers<br />
Randonee trail volunteers have been helping ADK<br />
maintain trails for at least one weekend a year since<br />
the late nineties. The group is comprised of<br />
Canadians from Ontario and Quebec. On a weekend<br />
in September, trails coordinator Andrew Hamlin<br />
lead six Randonee volunteers on various trail<br />
projects on some multi-use trails in the Wilmington<br />
Wild Forest. Four miles of trail was patrolled which<br />
includes cleaning out existing drainage structures of<br />
any accumulated debris. Also, thirty six feet of new<br />
bog bridges were installed using dimensional<br />
lumber that had to be carried to the work sites.<br />
Fall Trails Day<br />
Every fall after most of the leaves have dropped,<br />
ADK leads volunteer trail crews into the High<br />
Peaks to patrol. The main emphasis of the patrol is<br />
to clean out leaves and any other organic debris that<br />
has filled up drainage ditches. Almost all of the<br />
drainage ditches were constructed by ADK trail<br />
crews in the past. This year’s event was a success<br />
with seventy four volunteers patrolling over<br />
seventeen miles of trail.
ADK PROFESSIONAL <strong>TRAILS</strong> PROGRAM Page 7<br />
2012 Professional Trail Crew:<br />
4 th Year & Crew Boss – Ryan Baxter<br />
4 th Year – Madeline Cobb & Tom Schafer<br />
3 rd Year – Zack Campbell & Jon McDonald<br />
2 nd Year - Ryan Graig<br />
1 st Year – Marc Atchinson, Rich Davis, Dan<br />
Hausner, Dove Henry, Adam Johnson,<br />
Stephanie Lynn, Tristan McDonald, Molly<br />
Moran, Luke Peduzzi, Rebecca VanDerWende<br />
Food Coordinator – Chris Beans (5 th year)<br />
The Professional Trail Crew’s (pro crew) season<br />
began with a week of skills training. Evan Curtis<br />
and Crystal Tyndall, the Supervised Volunteer<br />
Program crew leaders, trained with the pro crew.<br />
Most of the training projects focused on repairing<br />
bridges that were damaged during Tropical Storm<br />
Irene.<br />
The first day of training the entire crew<br />
visited Klondike Brook where the Mr. Van ski trail<br />
bridge had been washed away during Tropical<br />
Storm Irene. Fortunately, the two log stringers only<br />
floated a quarter of a mile downstream from the<br />
bridge location. Since the bridge was just rebuilt in<br />
2010 by the pro crew, the decision to reuse the<br />
stringers was made so the entire crew teamed up to<br />
drag them upstream. The stringers measure 27 feet<br />
each. They were fairly dry from sitting in the sun<br />
but the size of the stringers presented the crew with<br />
some interesting problems to solve.<br />
The next day of training, the eighteen person<br />
crew split up into four different crews. One<br />
continued to work at the Mr. Van bridge site and<br />
began building log cribs for the stringers to rest on.<br />
The second crew started work on the Little Porter<br />
Bridge which is located just up the trail from the<br />
Garden parking lot. A third crew began work on<br />
rebuilding the South Meadows Bridge that spanned<br />
the Ausable River. And the fourth crew constructed<br />
new bridging on non-motorized multi-use trails in<br />
the Wilmington Wild Forest at the Flume. The four<br />
crews spent four days total at their respective<br />
locations.<br />
The entire crew including the volunteer<br />
leaders participated in a two day wilderness first aid<br />
course that was run by Wilderness Medical<br />
Associates.<br />
To finish up training, the entire crew<br />
embarked on two days of patrols of over 50 miles of<br />
trails primarily in the High Peaks Region. During<br />
patrols over 40 pieces of blown down trees were<br />
removed from trails along with all existing drainage<br />
structures were cleaned out. Training and patrols<br />
were made possible by funding from the 46ers.<br />
The “regular” trail work season for the pro<br />
crew wrapped up on August 14. Two thirds of the<br />
crew members returned to college at this time while<br />
the remaining members embarked on fall crew. This<br />
year the fall season ended on September 21.<br />
Catskills – Region 3<br />
Starting in mid-June and into August a crew spent<br />
seven weeks working at the foot bridge that crosses<br />
the Neversink River, allowing hikers to access<br />
Peekamoose and Table Mountains from the<br />
Denning trailhead. ADK trail crews have worked at<br />
this location on a number of seasons due to the<br />
dynamic and flash flood qualities of this drainage.<br />
As a result of Tropical Storm Irene, one of the cribs<br />
was undermined by the river and over six feet of<br />
stream bed was washed away. The trail crew’s task<br />
was to remove the 40 foot plus steel I-beam
Page 8<br />
ADK PROFESSIONAL <strong>TRAILS</strong> PROGRAM<br />
Lowering an I-beam off one of the cribs. Photo: Molly Moran<br />
Catskills – Region 4<br />
An ADK pro crew spent eight weeks repairing<br />
sections of the Kaaterskill Falls Trail. There was<br />
one section of this trail that was entirely washed<br />
away during Tropical Storm Irene. The trail was<br />
rebuilt using boulders found on site and this<br />
material was hoisted into place using Griphoists and<br />
a high line system. This trail has many visitors,<br />
usually hundreds each day, so the crew had a<br />
difficult time working while keeping a safe<br />
environment for pedestrians. A reroute was not<br />
feasible due to the steep, unstable slopes present at<br />
that location.<br />
stringers from the damaged crib, disassemble the<br />
crib which is spiked together with rebar, and then<br />
excavate a new location 15-20 feet further back<br />
from the stream to reassemble the crib. The crib is<br />
constructed of 10-15 inch diameter treated logs and<br />
measures 10 x 12 x 15 feet tall.<br />
The rock retaining wall under construction. Photo: W. Lampman<br />
New crib location back from the stream. Photo: W. Lampman<br />
In September, a crew returned to the foot<br />
bridge over the Neversink River to install hand<br />
rails. This task was finished in a couple of days<br />
allowing the crew to complete some patrols of<br />
nearby hiking trails. Sixteen miles of trails were<br />
covered. Existing drainage ditches were<br />
rehabilitated and sixty eight blown down trees were<br />
removed.<br />
Adirondacks – Region 5<br />
At the beginning of June, a pro crew spent the first<br />
week of the season constructing a new foot bridge<br />
near Marcy Dam. The bridge is built out of<br />
materials that were flown in via helicopter by the<br />
Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).<br />
The new bridge is located approximately 250 feet<br />
downstream from Marcy Dam. The bridge took just<br />
over two weeks to complete.<br />
Another crew returned to the upper section<br />
of the Orebed Trail to continue work that was<br />
started in 2011. The crew installed an amazing 180<br />
feet of wooden steps in just five weeks. Just 100<br />
feet more is needed to complete the project. The<br />
crew also managed to remove slide debris from over<br />
40 feet of steps that was deposited as result from
ADK PROFESSIONAL <strong>TRAILS</strong> PROGRAM Page 9<br />
Tropical Storm Irene.<br />
twenty feet in length. Both bridges were constructed<br />
out of native material.<br />
Before & After Irene Photos: Christine Bourjade L., W. Lampman R<br />
At the end of July the bridge over West<br />
Canada Creek on the Northville-Lake Placid Trail<br />
in the West Canada Lakes Wilderness was replaced.<br />
At this remote location, a pro crew spent three<br />
weeks replacing this 45 foot long bridge including<br />
constructing new bridge abutments and two railings.<br />
Pro crew members standing on the new West Canada Creek Bridge<br />
In August, a pro crew returned to the<br />
Opalescent and Feldspar Rivers in the High Peaks<br />
Region to replace bridges that were washed away<br />
during Tropical Storm Irene. The first bridge that<br />
the crew worked on was the one that provides<br />
access to the Feldspar lean-to. This forty foot long<br />
bridge took just over two weeks to complete and<br />
required the construction of new cribbing and<br />
handrails. The second bridge is located just<br />
upstream from the Feldspar lean-to and was<br />
completed in a week. This bridge was just over<br />
Pro crew posing on the Feldspar bridge. Photo: R. Vanderwende<br />
On Jay Mountain, a pro crew spent just over<br />
two weeks completing a new hiking trail that was<br />
started by a Student Conservation Association trail<br />
crew. ADK designed and constructed the last mile<br />
and a half of the trail. Over one hundred and<br />
seventy blown down trees were removed from the<br />
trail corridor along with excavating soil to create a<br />
tread. The ADK Hurricane Chapter generously<br />
donated the funds necessary to field a pro crew for a<br />
week and a half on this project.<br />
Adirondacks – Region 6<br />
A pro crew spent three weeks repairing sections of<br />
the Mt. Arab trail located near Tupper Lake. This<br />
steep fire tower trail receives a lot of use. To halt<br />
future erosion and to provide a safer walking<br />
surface to visitors, the crew installed a combination<br />
of seventeen rock steps and forty five wooden steps<br />
that were fastened to exposed sections of bedrock.<br />
The pro crew also built eight new rock water bars<br />
and over fifty feet of new ditches. ADK plans on<br />
returning to Mt. Arab in 2013 to continue this work.
Page 10<br />
ADK SUMMIT STEWARD PROGRAM<br />
The following report was submitted by Julia Goren,<br />
ADK’s Summit Steward Coordinator. It’s hard to<br />
believe that another year has already gone by and<br />
the 23 rd season of the Summit Steward program has<br />
drawn to a close! Columbus Day weekend ended<br />
with a few inches of snow up on the peaks, a sure<br />
sign that the summer hiking season is officially over<br />
and winter is on the way. The summer was<br />
beautiful, sunny, and BUSY, with record numbers<br />
of visitors.<br />
As our visitation numbers continue to<br />
increase, the need for the Summit Steward program<br />
remains clear. While hiker ethics have changed<br />
dramatically in the past 23 years and many visitors<br />
to the summit have met stewards before or are<br />
familiar with the message, we still have many new<br />
hikers to the area. There are always new people to<br />
educate and to enlist in the cause of alpine<br />
stewardship!<br />
Personnel and Scheduling: The 2012 Summit<br />
Stewards were a pleasure to work with. They were<br />
hard-working, eager to learn, and enthusiastic about<br />
alpine stewardship. It was an entirely new crew to<br />
stewarding, yet they brought a wealth of field<br />
experience and boundless energy to the job.<br />
Kevin Berend—Kevin was new to the Summit<br />
Steward program, but very familiar with the High<br />
Peaks. He spent last summer working as an SCA<br />
Backcountry Steward in this area, during which he<br />
weathered Tropical Storm Irene at the Lake Colden<br />
Interior Outpost. He is studying at Monroe<br />
Community College and is hoping to pursue a<br />
career in the environmental field. Kevin’s extensive<br />
experience and ability to handle any situation were<br />
a real asset to the program.<br />
Eric Coe—Eric was new to the Summit Steward<br />
program, but is studying Biology at SUNY Oneonta<br />
under Dr. Sean Robinson, a former steward. Eric is<br />
an experienced rock climber and a cycling<br />
enthusiast. His unflagging energy always kept<br />
things lively on the summits.<br />
Alena Giesche—Alena graduated from Middlebury<br />
College where she studied geology and dance as<br />
part of her Environmental Studies degree. She was<br />
new to the Summit Steward program, but has<br />
extensive experience as an educator. Her fluency in<br />
French was greatly appreciated by our Canadian<br />
visitors. Alena spent 6 weeks of the summer out on<br />
crutches with a broken foot (a souvenir of a busy<br />
Fourth of July weekend), but managed to make a<br />
triumphant return right before Labor Day.<br />
Patrick Murphy—Patrick recently graduated from<br />
Marshall University with a degree in Evolutionary<br />
Biology. Also new to the program, Patrick wasted<br />
little time in mastering identification of the alpine<br />
plants. His skills in plant identification were<br />
invaluable for our Botany projects this summer.<br />
Cameron West—Cam is a graduate of St.<br />
Lawrence University. During the summer of 2009,<br />
he did an independent study hiking all of the 46<br />
high peaks and photographing and speaking with<br />
hikers on each summit. Thus, Cam came to the<br />
program with considerable knowledge of the area<br />
and comfort interacting with visitors. In addition to<br />
his stewarding skills, Cam is an accomplished<br />
backcountry baker!<br />
Julia Goren—I’ve been a part of the summit<br />
steward program since 2006 and enjoyed this sunny<br />
summer when I was not melting in the heat!
ADK SUMMIT STEWARD PROGRAM Page 11<br />
Danielle holds the record for interacting with the<br />
most people in a single day—a whopping 403<br />
people on one Saturday on Cascade!<br />
2012 Crew L to R: Patrick Murphy, Julia Goren, Alena<br />
Giesche, Cameron West, Kevin Berend, Eric Coe<br />
Volunteer Stewards: As always, we couldn’t do<br />
the work that we do without our volunteers.<br />
Volunteers provided 37 coverage days this past<br />
season!<br />
Frank Krueger – Frank has been with the program<br />
for ELEVEN years now and has been a major asset<br />
to the stewards, the program, and the new<br />
volunteers.<br />
Ian Ellbogen – Ian has been with the volunteer<br />
program for three years and has been an invaluable<br />
help on busy holidays and with the program in<br />
general. His help extends during the off-season as<br />
well, during which he helped the steward program<br />
initiate sponsorship with OR.<br />
David Warfield – This was Dave’s second year<br />
with the steward program. He has spent a great deal<br />
of time hiking above treeline, and did some<br />
mountaineering in Chamonix, France, this past<br />
August.<br />
Ethan Collins—Ethan was back for a second<br />
season as a volunteer with the steward program this<br />
year. He is a high school student, ardent fly<br />
fisherman, and dedicated rower from Avon, NY.<br />
Ethan’s spirit and sense of humor are always<br />
invigorating.<br />
Danielle Mangold—Danielle was new to the<br />
Summit Steward program as a volunteer. A past<br />
ADK employee, she has extensive experience<br />
hiking in the High Peaks and educating the public.<br />
Education - Usage and Outreach: The weather<br />
this summer was atypical for the Adirondacks. It<br />
was overwhelmingly sunny, dry, and beautiful<br />
throughout May, June, July, and August. September<br />
and October brought some much needed rain to fill<br />
the streams, including some cold, wet days. Not<br />
surprisingly, the gorgeous weather brought hikers to<br />
the peaks in droves. Contact numbers were very<br />
high, no matter how you choose to count them. We<br />
hit a new record for overall contacts (20,567), a new<br />
record for contacts for a single day (403), and this<br />
year was in the top three for average contacts per<br />
day.<br />
Year Total Contacts Days Covered Average<br />
2012 20,567 269 77<br />
2011 19,211 275 70<br />
2010 16,539 243 68<br />
2009 18,420 283 65<br />
2008 12,350 198 62<br />
2007 14,043 199 70<br />
2006 14,004 242 58<br />
2005 12,541 195 62<br />
2004 11,217 157 71<br />
2003 11,177 139 80<br />
2002 12,663 205 61<br />
Total Contacts 1990‐2012: 327,597<br />
Public outreach in addition to the coverage<br />
on the peaks continues to be an important part of the<br />
Summit Steward program. In addition to programs<br />
(Antioch University, Massachusetts College of<br />
Liberal Arts, Northeastern Alpine Stewardship<br />
Gathering, Adirondack Botanical Society, Johns<br />
Brook Lodge, Gordon College’s La Vida Program,<br />
Adirondack Research Consortium, (to name a few),<br />
I also published an article on the program in Peeks,<br />
the magazine of the Adirondack 46ers. This article<br />
was reprinted in Adirondac, next to an article about<br />
the Summit Steward program written by Christine<br />
Bourjade. This piece (particularly when paired with
Page 12<br />
ADK SUMMIT STEWARD PROGRAM<br />
Christine’s extremely thorough article) has<br />
generated some additional recognition and interest<br />
in the program. More and more people expect to see<br />
Summit Stewards when they reach the summits, and<br />
awareness can only be a good thing for the alpine<br />
vegetation. This past winter/spring/summer I also<br />
provided some assistance to The Wild Center with<br />
new alpine signs on the summit of Whiteface. These<br />
signs are part of a new series of interpretive signs<br />
throughout the mountain. They will be a great asset<br />
to Whiteface and to visitors wanting to learn more<br />
about the alpine zone.<br />
Botany projects and other research: This past<br />
year was another active year for Summit Steward<br />
research. We continued our participation in regional<br />
efforts such as Mountain Watch, completed the<br />
photographic analysis project funded by the<br />
Northern States Research Cooperative, and located<br />
and mapped rare plants that had not been seen in<br />
decades.<br />
The 2012 stewards excelled at looking for<br />
and locating rare plants. This type of work can be<br />
similar to looking for a needle in a haystack—the<br />
plants are small, the mountains are large, and<br />
directions to the plants may be very specific (ex:<br />
look around a boulder west of the third cairn above<br />
treeline), or very vague (ex: west side of Mt.<br />
Marcy). Additionally, identification of the very rare<br />
species often requires the ability to distinguish<br />
between very minute plant characteristics. All this is<br />
to say, it’s not easy work! I was impressed with the<br />
crew’s dedication and ability to locate plants which<br />
had last been seen before they were born.<br />
Over the summer, plants were relocated on<br />
Steward Alena Giesche and volunteer Ethan Collins point<br />
to the elusive Purple Comandra on Wright.<br />
Algonquin, Armstrong, Dix, Gothics, Marcy,<br />
Skylight, and Wright. During her recuperation in<br />
August, Alena was able create maps showing the<br />
location of these plants using GIS and the data from<br />
our GPS unit. These maps are beautiful and will be<br />
a huge asset to the program—future generations of<br />
stewards will find these species much easier to<br />
locate thanks to Alena’s work.<br />
This year marks the fifth year of our<br />
participation in the AMC Mountain Watch<br />
phenology program. The data collected is being<br />
stored in hard copy here at the Adirondack<br />
Mountain Club and being submitted electronically<br />
to the AMC’s Mountain Watch Program. AMC will<br />
use these data to analyze long term trends in the<br />
timing of the different phenological stages, which<br />
could be an indication of the effects of climate<br />
change on the alpine ecosystem. We collected over<br />
40 observations for this project over the course of<br />
the summer.<br />
Trail Work and Project Days: As mentioned<br />
above, it was a very productive year for various trail<br />
projects. This summer’s crew took brushing in<br />
impacted trailside areas very, very seriously. Major<br />
and routine trail projects were completed<br />
throughout the summer on the following summits:<br />
Marcy, Algonquin, Wright, Cascade, Colden,
ADK SUMMIT STEWARD PROGRAM Page 13<br />
Haystack, Iroquois, Giant, and Skylight. Work<br />
totals for the season: 800 square feet of brushing,<br />
449 square feet of rock packing & scree walls, 22<br />
Cairns repaired, 230 new Blazes, 1600 feet of trail<br />
side cut, and 6 stepping stones.<br />
Equipment and Gear: As is to be expected, our<br />
equipment receives heavy use and something is<br />
always in need of repair or replacement. Many<br />
thanks go to the companies that provide us with<br />
equipment and clothing for supporting the summit<br />
steward program. Stalwart program sustainers, such<br />
as Campmor, Vasque, and Darn Tough were joined<br />
this year by some new supporters, Outdoor<br />
Research, Lorpen, Manzella, and Black Diamond.<br />
Each donated some critically important piece of<br />
equipment which helped to improve the program<br />
and the experience of the stewards. We are very<br />
grateful for the support!<br />
Campmor donated synthetic down jackets<br />
and a new sleeping pad for the Marcy site, both of<br />
which had been topping the list of requests from the<br />
2011 stewards. The synthetic jackets in particular<br />
helped keep everyone warm in wet weather,<br />
particularly in the fall.<br />
Vasque again donated boots and Darn<br />
Tough donated socks to the summit stewards<br />
through the Mountaineer in Keene Valley. The<br />
Mountaineer also provided stewards with the<br />
opportunity to purchase personal gear at cost. We<br />
are greatly appreciative of the donations of time and<br />
equipment to the individual stewards—thank you!<br />
Outdoor Research (OR) outfitted the<br />
stewards in new zip-off pants, rain pants, wicking<br />
T-shirts, and rain jackets. As I mention every year,<br />
stewarding is very hard on rain gear! Jackets and<br />
rain pants typically only last about a season before<br />
they wear out from the use we put them through. It<br />
was great to have quality rain gear this year; spirits<br />
are always higher when the stewards are able to stay<br />
dry! Additionally, the wicking base layers were<br />
great! They helped everyone stay relatively dry<br />
under the uniform shirts.<br />
Lorpen generously gave each steward<br />
several pairs of socks and Manzella gave the<br />
steward program new hats, liner and windstopper<br />
fleece gloves. These kept feet dry and hands<br />
warm—all of which contributes to content stewards.<br />
Black Diamond generously donated 6 new<br />
overnight packs to the program (one for each<br />
steward to use), 6 pair of ultra light trekking poles,<br />
and a headlamp to each steward. All were<br />
appreciated and received a great deal of use.<br />
In addition to the donations, the Summit<br />
Steward program purchased one additional Vertex<br />
824 radio and enough 5 day batteries to insure that<br />
every steward could have two. These meant that<br />
there were always enough radios and battery power,<br />
even with an increased staff size and additional<br />
volunteers.<br />
Program Supporters: As always, the summit<br />
steward program would not be possible without the<br />
support and funding of a number of various<br />
organizations and individuals. I would like to thank<br />
the following organizations:<br />
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation<br />
46er Conservation Trust<br />
ADK High Peaks Foundation<br />
Northern States Research Cooperative<br />
The Adirondack 46ers<br />
ORDA for access to the summit of Whiteface via the<br />
Memorial Highway<br />
The Mountaineer<br />
Vasque for boots for stewards<br />
Campmor<br />
Darn Tough Socks<br />
Outdoor Research<br />
Lorpen Socks<br />
Manzella for gloves and hats for the stewards<br />
Black Diamond<br />
W.L. Gore and Associates<br />
And individuals: Wes Lampman (ADK), Doug Munro<br />
(TNC), Jim Giglinto (DEC), Kris Alberga (DEC),<br />
L.John Van Norden, (46er Conservation Trust), Jack<br />
Coleman (ADK High Peaks Foundation), Frank<br />
Krueger, Ian Ellbogen, Ethan Collins, Seth Jones,<br />
Danielle Mangold, David Warfield, Brendan Wiltse,<br />
Christine Bourjade, Sean Robinson (SUNY Oneonta),<br />
Steve Young (NYNHP), Tim Howard (NYNHP), Dr.<br />
Mary Roden-Tice (SUNY Plattsburgh), Ryan Doyle<br />
(ADK), Kathy Regan (APA), Vinnie McClelland, Chuck<br />
Bruja and the entire staff of The Mountaineer, Jack<br />
Kirsch, Christian Folk, John Trouba, Erik O’Brien, Thea<br />
Moruzzi, Libby Nichols, and Adrien Vlach.<br />
Thank you all!