Work Hike to Smugglers Notch
| Location | Smugglers Notch | |
| Leader | John Buddington | |
| Date | 25 May 2002 | |
| Event | Work Hike | |
| Participants | 7 | Fred J, Kathy G, Bill C, Thomas W, Andrew N, Ed L |
The Plan
| Priority | Task | Tools |
| 1 | Clip and clean drainages on Elephants Head Trail from Watson Camp to ski road | Hazel hoes, clippers, hand saws |
| 2 | Cruise Long Trail from Sterling Pond to Chilcoot Pass: clean drainage and clip. | Hazel hoes, clippers, hand saws. |
| 3 | Clip Elephants Head Trail from Elephants Head Spur to Vermont 108. | Clippers and hand saws |
The Actuality
In contrast to the previous week's work hike, which was cold and snowy, the day was cloudless and dry, with temperatures in the 60's on the valley and perhaps 55 at the work site. There were small patches of snow on a few sections of the trail. These did not impede our work. We assembled in Montpelier at 8:00, drove to Smugglers Notch, and hiked up the Long Trail, arriving at the Sterling Pond Shelter at 10:15. We carried 1 shovel, 2 hazel hoes, 2 bow saws, 5 clippers, and 1 axe (unused). One saw blade sheath was lost. We clipped and dug drainage on the 0.7-mile section to Snuffy's Trail (the haul road). We stopped for lunch from 12:15 to 1:15. After lunch we continued working until 3:15, then hiked out and arrived back in Smugglers Notch at 4:15. The Section began its rehabilitation efforts of the Elephants Head Trail on the 19 May 2001 work hike. Because of peregrine nesting, the trail had been neglected for several years. On that work hike we clipped from Snuffy's trail to the Elephant Head spur. On later work hikes last summer, Bill C, the adopter, and others clipped a half mile south of the spur and cleaned out deadfalls on the lower section. The section of the EHT around Sterling Pond has received minimal maintenance in recent years. On the present hike, we widened the trail to the required 4x8-foot clearance and dug out drainages. Many of the drainages had been mucked-in with moss.Evaluation
We followed the plan suggested in the fall of 2001. We followed the above priorities. There turned out to be more work that we anticipated in the Sterling area, so the second priority was not addressed. (This task will be carried out by Kieth L, the adopter, next week.) As it turned out, the numbers who attended the tools carried (and not carried) matched the work we did.The lunchtime discussion centered on the manner in which the Section's activities are carried out. It was suggested that this discussion was more valuable than the actual trail work accomplished.
Last year's spring work hikes had 18 and 12 attendees. This year is was 16 and 7. Both numbers seem adequate. Conclusions: more people come out earlier in the month and fewer on the holiday weekend. Also, this year we worked on Bamforth in the earlier hike. This seems preferable because we found no snow on Bamforth and only a few patches on EHT.Suggested Plan for 2002
The Long Trail Patrol is scheduled to work the first 2 weeks of July on the EHT. The EHT is scheduled to be designated the Long Trail by the fall. After the completion of the Bamforth Ridge Shelter, we should reassess the Section's priorities in the Sterling Pond area. One priority, which would complete the Section's rehabilitation efforts, is to complete the trimming of the EHT in the area south of the spur trail.Effort
7 people, 9 hours each; total: 63 hours.