Who knew grueling labor, mud, and blisters would be so appealing to teens?
Take AMC’s Berkshire Teen Trail Crew, whose members—ages 15 to 19—spend a week of their summer vacation maintaining sections of the Appalachian Trail in Massachusetts. Participation has doubled in only a year (70 teens joined this summer), thanks to returnees and word of mouth. One of the top projects this year was constructing a rock staircase along the steep Haley Farm Trail on Mount Greylock.
“The trail was eroded and widened and in dire need of fortification, hardening, and retention,” says AMC Regional Trails Coordinator Matt Moore. “The problem was so severe that it typically would be reserved for professional crews. I knew [the teens] would be excited to step up to this challenging project. And step up they did.”
“Strength in numbers” sums up AMC’s top trail projects this year. Increased partnerships with land trusts and state agencies and renewed interest in trail upkeep has enticed a record number of workers to AMC-maintained areas.
AMC’s professional trail crew also hit a high this year, with 33 seasonal employees performing work across the region. For the first time, workers reconstructed trails at the Middlesex Fells Reservation in Melrose, Mass. The Access Fund, which aims to conserve climbing areas, and the U.S. Forest Service collectively gave AMC more than $10,000 to reconstruct the Rumney Rocks climbing area in New Hampshire. And Maine Island Trails Association Network, another new partner, sought AMC’s help to improve four miles of existing trails on the 265-acre Burnt Island off the mid-coast of Maine. Nine volunteers, two volunteer trail crew leaders, and six trail crewmembers completed the project in a week.
The trail crew’s reach also extended to AMC’s Gorman Chairback Lodges and Cabins in Maine, which are scheduled to open in 2011. Construction began on the new Henderson Brook Trail, a path leading to the Gulf Hagas parking lot, and the Long Pond Trail, which will be approximately 4 miles and goes past AMC’s Moose Point Cabin.
“We’ve been all over the place,” says Andrew Norkin, AMC White Mountain trails manager. “There’s a growing need by a number of agencies and land trusts…to put trails on their conserved lands. Our name is out there—and it’s growing. We’re receiving a lot more attention and calls from various partners.”
Luckily, this year’s excessive precipitation hasn’t dampened efforts. “The rain might have slowed [workers] down at some spots,” says Norkin, “but the crews did a wonderful job regardless of the weather.”
Members of the Berkshire teen trail crew work up a sweat. Photo courtesy of Matthew Moore.
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