Active Outdoors by syndicated columnist Tim Jones
June 9, 2006
Recently, I found myself way up in north-central Maine, at the Appalachian Mountain Club’s camp at Little Lyford Pond. Hidden away on 37,000 acres of land that the AMC acquired two years ago, this rustic old-time sporting camp is a throw-back to another era. Most of the log cabins were built in the 1880s and look like they belong in this grassy clearing. There’s a new kitchen/dining room building and a new bath house with a sauna for winter use, modern showers and composting toilets, but, otherwise, everything’s pretty much as it was at the end of the 19th century. You still spend your evenings listening to frogs and loons, reading a little by the light of gas or kerosene lamps.
All of this is part of the AMC’s Maine Woods Initiative, a plan to protect and manage large tracts of land while enhancing outdoor recreation opportunities in the area, and still allowing for more traditional land uses such as logging, hunting and fishing.
The Little Lyford Pond Camp is a magic place, deep in the woods. I spent my time there hiking some beautiful trails, paddling on ponds with no sign of human habitation along the shores, watching moose, loons, beavers and mergansers going about their daily business, and catching lots of small, brightly colored, wild, native brook trout. It was a wonderful getaway, lots of fun, and I’d highly recommend it.
But while I was there, I met some folks who were (possibly) having more fun than I was, certainly burning more calories, working their muscles harder. At the same time, they were enjoying the camaraderie of sharing a chore with like-minded people and the challenge of trying something new. This was a trail crew that was working to maintain some of the many miles of trails threading this lovely property.
Sure, they were working really hard. The two days I was there, they spent their time cutting brush and building a boardwalk across a low-lying section of trail near the main camps. They were getting sweaty and dirty and bug-bit. But they were also laughing, joking and, apparently, thoroughly enjoying the setting, the work and the company. I imagine they rolled into their sleeping bags at the end of each day with both a sense of accomplishment and the pleasant exhaustion of muscles well used.
In a way, I envied them. At the end of my stay, I just packed up and went home. They left behind them a cedar boardwalk that hikers can enjoy for the next 15 or 20 years before it will have to be replaced. I wonder how many of the hikers who walk that trail in the next couple of decades will take the time to appreciate the work that was done by these hard-working folks.
This happened to be a “professional” trail crew (though several of them were working on their first project). But in just a couple of weeks, June 30 to July 4, there’s going to be a crew of volunteers, lead by professional maintainers working in this same area. For a weekend that would normally cost a couple of hundred dollars, they’ll pay just $40 for the entire experience. They’ll get to be in the same beautiful country, spend their “off” hours paddling the same ponds, hiking the same trails. But they’ll have a whole different perspective.
In these days of rising gas prices and subsequently pinched budgets, volunteer vacations can make a whole lot of sense. You get a chance to change your entire perspective on the world, and, at the same time, do both yourself and the world some good. And you save money. What more could you ask for? Life isn’t a spectator sport. Get out and enjoy!
FINDING VOLUNTEER VACATIONS If you have the free time, there are still plenty of vacation opportunities available for this summer. Not all volunteer vacations require hard physical labor. Some let you use your every-day skills to help these good organizations and help other people enjoy the outdoors. Though many are for youngsters, a number are available for families and the older crowd. Here are some links to help you check out all the volunteer vacation opportunities: The Appalachian Mountain Club has programs all over the northeast in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and throughout New England. Individual chapters in each region often offer one-day events
