During the summer, efforts of AT Trails Committees throughout New England are supplemented by teen and adult volunteers, who participate through the Student Conservation Association (SCA) and through AMC-sponsored volunteer vacations.

Last year’s SCA crew arrived on July 27, 2006, and departed on August 25, 2006. The crew completed nineteen work days, with the remainder of their time dedicated to training, moving camp, days off, and a four day recreation trip. The crew consisted of two leaders, Jon Paulson and Talasi Brooks, and six high school aged crew members, hailing from Minnesota, California, Maine, Illinois, and New Jersey.

The crew leaders arrived very well trained and self sufficient in managing all aspects of crew life and crew member training. They required assistance from the AMC for work assignments, tools, emergency access information, and transportation needs.

The SCA crew worked on two major projects in Massachusetts and Connecticut. The first project was the hardening and rehabilitative work on the upper reroute of the Race Brook Falls Trail, a popular access to the Appalachian Trail. The upper reroute had originally been cut by a previous SCA crew to a sub-par level. The SCA crew raised the level of the tread, and installed drainage features to ensure proper water runoff. In total, the SCA crew raised 150 feet of trail. They repaired existing water bars and check dams, built six new rock water bars, dug two drainage dips, and installed five rock check dams. In addition, they re-vegetated all their installations and repairs per the guidance of Greg Western from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.

The second project location was in Sages Ravine, a remote scenic area located on the Appalachian Trail at the Massachusetts/Connecticut border. This is a rocky, eroding section of the Appalachian Trail that crosses and follows Sages Ravine Brook. The major accomplishment of the SCA crew was the installation of a 13 step rock staircase leading from the bridge crossing into Sages Ravine campground. The staircase rises eight feet in elevation and is 30 feet long. The previous stone steps were deeply eroded and caused hikers to navigate around them into a re-vegetation zone. In addition to the stone staircase, the crew completed 38 feet of stone cribbing, set in 30 feet of rock scree on a previously built staircase, and transplanted 34 ferns to re-vegetate a section of split trail. This work was completed north of the Sages Ravine campsite on the Appalachian Trail.

In 2006, teen crews (ages 15-19) participating in AMC’s volunteer vacations program logged 1800 volunteer hours in the Berkshires. Crew members came from states as close at Connecticut and Vermont, and as far away as North Carolina and Michigan. Each crew stayed in the backcountry for one or two weeks, accompanied by two trained trail crew leaders.
This year, teen crews will be focusing in on trail projects in the Berkshires and White Mountains, while adult crews will be busy in the White Mountains, Baxter State Park, and Acadia National Park.

To learn more about this year’s AMC volunteer vacations, visit: www.outdoors.org/volunteer.
Sara Sheehy, AMC’s Regional Trails Coordinator, oversees both the SCA and volunteer vacations teen crews. She can be reached at: ssheehy@outdoors.org.