Spring 2015 MA-RPC Meeting Attach #1 CLUB REPORTS SUBMITTED FOR OCTOBER 2014 MEETING AHC Spring 2014 club report We installed a new metal fire ring at Outerbridge shelter. The installation process was published in the Register. The club made a monetary donation to ATC in the memory of Dave Hoffman. Ginny Musser is making steady progress on her recovery. (She has friends at ATC) The club has an invasive plant eradication scheduled for May with Marian Orlousky. ATC has contacted the owner of the wood pile that is an encroachment on our section of the trail and we hope to have a resolution to the encroachment soon. We are working with ATC to also have the track loader another encroachment on our section removed as well.

Spring 2015 MA-RPC Meeting Attach #1

Allentown Hiking Club - Fall 2014

We received a grant for the purchase of a chain saw & week eater. The club has had several maintenance days this year. We have found that fighting invasive plants requires action in the summer & fall. Wood preservative was applied to both shelters & the privy. We have made some progress on the removal of both encroachments on our section of the AT, the wood pile & track loader; we hope to have both removed by the time we meet in the spring.

Monitoring has started. In the section north of 309 the area past the tower line as you pass PA-8 monument looks like the game commission reblazed the area moving farther north. There used to be yellow blazes moving north from around PA-8 to PA-10 monuments. Now they are panted over white, you can still see some yellow but mostly white paint. They have also added some red numbers to some of the rocks at these monuments.

The club had 6 members attend the trail building workshop conducted by Peter Jensen for the relocation work to be done at Lehigh Gap. Club president Lucy Cantwell & vice president Karen Gradel attended the ATC leadership meeting.

The club will be applying for an annual permit to hike on game lands. The club donated $250 to the ATC Ridge Runner Program. We also donated a $100 to ATC in memory of honorary member Meredith Zimmerman who passed away in September. Meredith was a past president of the AHC & held several key roles in KTA.

The club adopted the Chestnut Oak & Double G trails at the Lehigh Gap Nature Center. We will be responsible for maintenance of these trails. We continue to work with the DLHC and do semi-annual maintenance work on Lock 2.

Karen Gradel has been out with local girl scouts working on their hiking badges. The club had a trail magic day June 23rd at Bake Oven Road Parking lot. Food was donated by local merchants & club members.

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Batona Hiking Club Report to MARPC Oct. 2014

Activities since March 2014: The club did boundary monitoring and maintenance on April 8-9, May 23-24, and Oct 8-9. The 2014 segment was fully completed in May; additional work in October was done to locate missing monuments and to monitor encroachments and remove hunting paraphernalia. Nicole Wooten and Glenn accompanied the crew in May; Shawn and Glenn accompanied the crew in April; Ryan Seltzer accompanied them for the October trip. Unfortunately, despite apparent success communicating with hunters by Ranger Remaley last December, there appears to be a continuing presence of hunters stashing gear, marking trails and constructing shelters and tree stands. ATV incursions along the “telephone  trail”  from route 191 seem to have abated with the placement of large boulders, but ATV usage is continuing 2.8 miles from Wind Gap, near the Gravel Road that accesses the transmission tower. Also, severe erosion is occurring from truck damage last year to the Gravel Road where a contractor for the Water Co. used the Trail as a turnaround. Ryan is pursuing an inquiry whether the Water Co. will repair this and install water diversions. Also of interest was that in April the crew removed a large amount of plastic piping from an abandoned campsite that may at one time have been used for growing illicit plants. The club did Trail maintenance on March 29, May 3-4, Sept. 17-18 and Oct. 18th. Volunteers from the Lafayette Outdoors Club accompanied regular club volunteers on May 4th. Fire rings continue to be constructed after they are dismantled. The parking lot at Fox Gap, Rte 191, continues to erode. Marty Otto completed chainsaw certification in April. The newly marked seasonal spring at the Wolf Rocks Bypass Trail was a welcome water source during the period in May when the faucet at Kirkridge was broken and the spring was the only water in PA Section 1. Wolf Rocks Bypass Trail signage was installed in May. Batona’s  new  Vice  President,  Abbye  Wisor,  attended  the  A.T. Volunteer Leadership Meeting in August. On May 8th, Susan Charkes attended the Sustainable Trails Workshop with Peter Jensen. On Oct. 8th, Susan Charkes attended a newly-formed steering committee meeting in Wind Gap,  PA  along  with  Kelly  McGinley  to  discuss  the  Wind  Gap  community’s  interest  in  becoming  an  Appalachian  Trail  Community  ™.  

Spring 2015 MA-RPC Meeting Attach #1 The club is working on drafting a revised Local Management Plan. The public input portion  of  the  process  will  dovetail  with  the  Wind  Gap  community’s  aforementioned  proposal  to  become  an  A.T.  Community  ™. Total VIP hours reported were 254.5 work hours, 120 travel hours and 96 administrative/additional hours, for 11 total volunteers.

Spring 2015 MA-RPC Meeting Attach #1 CVATC

• The club completed the LMP and submitted to MARO office to review, it will then move up the channels accordingly.

• The parking lots that were improved are Rt. 74 and Lisburn Rd. are done.

• The benches are all installed around The Children’s Lake, we are currently waiting for the sign to be built & installed at the PA Fish & Boat Commission parking lot

• The club purchased a new mower from the LL Bean grant we were awarded the full amount to which we are very grateful for.

• PA Game Commission voted not to charge hikers to use game lands.

• In April there was a report of a missing teen, he was going for a run and was found later safe

• The end of last month there was a report of missing child, she was found two hours later safe

• We started an electronic newsletter this year.

• Our current roster has 94 members and 21 life time members.

• We had 127 volunteers and 3245 volunteer hours this season.

ATC/NPS Should be aware of:

• Sunoco Pipeline plans to update their utility line to accommodate natural gas the project is currently underway, they are starting on the western side of the state and heading east. This project is currently quiet because Sunoco Pipeline is trying to change their status to a Public Utility, the Public Utility Commission hasn’t made a decision yet. They want to do this so they can bypass local municipality regulations. This will directly affect the CVATC because their pipeline crosses the trail in a couple locations.

• Williams Partners are putting in a new pipeline to accommodate natural gas running from north PA to south PA. In our area it affects Lancaster & Lebanon Counties. It may affect other clubs directly up north. I haven’t gone to a meeting to see where they propose to run it. This project is currently on going and they have relocated the pipeline proposal after some public meetings.

• PA Turnpike is replacing bridges. PA Turnpike plans to widen in the future to 6 lanes instead of 4. All of the bridges that cross over the turnpike are being widened to accommodate the future expansion. They have started in

Spring 2015 MA-RPC Meeting Attach #1

the West going to the East. They are currently rebuilding a bridge in Middletown at Swatara Creek. This will directly affect our club, the trail crosses the PA Turnpike via Appalachian Dr.

Spring 2015 MA-RPC Meeting Attach #1

MOUNTAIN CLUB OF MARYLAND

Trail Activities

x MCM volunteers planted several dozen young trees and removed invasive species along the A.T. at Hunters Run on May 17.

x We are working with our Trail partner organizations and Duncannon, PA community officials to obtain approval to build a new parking area for A.T. hikers near Duncannon.

When required approvals are obtained, we will undertake steps to establish the new parking area.

x MCM wrote a letter of opposition to the proposed expanded hunting zone in South Mountain State Park in Maryland from Gathland to Weverton. While MCM does not oppose hunting, we did not feel this activity was compatible with the proximity to the A.T. and the outdoor experience enjoyed by hikers, dog walkers, birders, etc. A meeting was recently held on October 21st. Attendees included representatives from Maryland DNR, NPS, ATC, PATC, MCM and other interested parties. Maryland DNR agreed not to expand the hunting zone

x MCM spent 200 hours cleaning graffiti from Hawk Rock near Duncannon PA. A product called “elephant snot” along with a lot of water was used to effectively remove the paint. Duncannon AT Community members also participated in the clean-up.

x The ATC trail crew has been working for the past two weeks on our section of trail in Maryland. They have done a tremendous amount of maintenance on a much needed section just north of Raven Rock Road, which is about 6 miles south of the PA/MD state line

Boundary Monitoring

x Since April, 10 monitors have done 140 hours of work. Much more monitoring

work is planned during this Fall.

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Shelter Activities

x MCM volunteers visited all four shelters (Fry, Kennedy, Darlington, and Cove Mountain) in March, June, and August. They performed routine maintenance at all shelters, which included: - replenishing the supply of wood shavings in privies; - clearing privies; - removing trash; - spraying wasp nests; and - replacing hikers logbooks as needed

. - Volunteers also repaired a door pulley, mailbox, and toilet seat at Darlington; and

repaired a door pulley at Fry. x MCM will continue regular shelter maintenance activities; monitor all four sites and

make repairs as needed; replace mailbox at Darlington shelter; continue to monitor porcupine activity at Cove Mountain shelter and take new preventive steps and make repairs as needed.

x When we receive National Park Service approval of pending permit request, we will initiate steps to construct a replacement privy at the Kennedy shelter site.

Club Activities

x We currently have 898 members as of the end of September.

x During this period, volunteer hike leaders continued to conduct approximately 25 hikes per month on the AT, in state and county parks, and on other hiking trails. These include a few hikes each month that welcomed children and separate hikes that welcomed dogs.

More than 50 club volunteers lead at least one hike in any year.

x MCM held its election of new officers and Council members, and announced the election results at its annual meeting and picnic, which was held at Patapsco State Park on June 14.

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The new MCM president is William Saunders, and Jim Floyd and Carolyn Bauer are vice-presidents—all serving two-year terms. At the same election, the club membership approved several changes to its bylaws. Rosie Suit has stepped down from her many activities in the club for health reasons. Ann Roberts will replace Rosie as our club alternate to this committee.

x An MCM representative attended the ATC-sponsored Sustainable Trails Design workshop at the Lehigh Gap Nature Center on June 10.

x The Club president participated in the ATC Voluntary Leadership Conference from August 8-10 in Shepherdstown, West Virginia; attended sessions regarding ATC and NPS goals and strategies related to the AT; and shared information with other clubs’ representatives regarding common club issues, activities and directions.

x MCM held a meeting with Karen Lutz, ATC Director for the Mid-Atlantic Region, in Baltimore on August 12. The meeting included the MCM president, vice-presidents, trail supervisor, and other club officials. We shared information about the ATC and MCM organizations and discussed common issues, goals, and ways to work together effectively.

x MCM is continuing to work with the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC) to assist in planning of the 2015 Biennial Conference.

x We published the June and October issues of our club newsletter, Hiker High Points. (The newsletter is published three times each year.)

x Hike leaders and trail volunteers participated in two Red Cross first aid classes in September.

x MCM plans to establish a committee and initiate steps to update MCM’s Local

Management Plan for the Appalachian Trail, which was last revised in January 2005.

x As part of an ongoing effort to upgrade our website, we anticipate that existing members will be able to renew their membership online beginning in December 2014. This improvement will later be extended to online enrollment of new members.

x Last Saturday, October 18, we celebrated our club’s 80th Anniversary at Gathland State Park along the AT, the site of our club’s first hike in 1934. Present at the event was Connie Waxler, a member who at age 13 hiked with her father on that first hike 80 years ago. Her father, Os Heard, was one of the founders of our club and served as our club’s fourth president from 1940 - 1942.

Spring 2015 MA-RPC Meeting Attach #1 Dutchess/Putnam AT Mgt Cmte (NY-NJ TC) Highlights

October, 2014 MA-RPC Meeting

1. 1,572 volunteer hours for first half of 2014.

2. Complete rebuild of stone steps immediately north of Interstate 84.

3. Nuclear Lake dam maintenance scheduled for October. Work includes clearing spillway, lake depth gauge, and new utility poles.

4. Harlem Valley AT Community Trails Days event October 19.

5. RPH Cabin maintenance including replacing some T-211 siding, door frame repair, and roof cleaning.

6. Mitzvah Day project to remove invasives near Canopus Hill Road.

7. Encouraging talks on conserving 200+ acres adjacent to corridor in northern Dutchess County.

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NJATC Report Some major projects completed since last meeting. 1- A new blue-blaze spur to the Rutherford Shelter eliminating a previously dangerous section across open rock face which was at times to slippery to use. The new trail is a greater distance but level and a quick and easy hike.

2- The old Brink Shelter in a wet and often bug infested area has been demolished and a new shelter has been built directly across the trail on a slightly higher elevation. The area is dry and less buggy by far.

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3- Substantial erosion control and trail rehabilitation work on the climb immediately south of 206 in Culver Lake, put in a nice, 12 step, rock stair in the really ugly eroded steep area, and 3 others along about 150' of full-bench side-hill. We believe that this section was once an old road, given the well-built outer edge we found, that had simply filled back in with dirt and stuff washing off the hill. Our digging was, basically, re-discovering the old road deck - at least in part. We also added 4 formal water-bars and a couple "drain nicks", which will hopefully keep the tread healthy.

Spring 2015 MA-RPC Meeting Attach #1 ORATMC REPORT TO MARPC, OCTOBER, 25, 2014.

1. Compiled 1449 volunteer hours in the first six months of 2014. Some of the specific projects completed thru September of this year are: building & stocking a Duff Box for Wildcat Shelter privy; Completion of West Mt relo; clearing of Kloiber Field; and, Warwick Trail  Community  art  exhibit  ‘Tales  of  Trails’.  

2. Bear Mountain Project: The upper East side is approximately 50% complete, after 7K volunteer hours and 700 feet of technical dry masonry this season.

All funds will be exhausted after completing another 15% next Spring. This will leave ~35% unfinished and unfunded in 2015. Estimated cost to completion, due to technical nature of route, is $250K, over two  more  full  crew  seasons.  ‘Trails  to  People’,  the  interpretive  exhibit  area near the Inn, is now scheduled for completion next Spring.

3. The issue over the North Face Endurance Races at Bear Mt. Park that still uses a small section of the AT in Doodletown, is being actively pursued with PIPC, and I am somewhat sanguine about the outcome at this juncture. G. Gail Neffinger Chair, ORATMC

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2014  PATC  Activities  Summary  for  Fall  MA-RPC  Meeting PATC scope: >7000 members. Estimated total trail miles maintained is 1200. AT maintenance of 240 miles Trails maintained other than the AT:

AT side trails Tuscarora Trail in Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, & Virginia Tuscarora side trails Most of the trails in Shenandoah Park Trails in Prince William Forest Park in Virginia Trails in Manassas National Battlefield Park Trails in Great Falls of the Potomac National Park Trails in Rock Creek Park in Washington, DC Trails in the DC metropolitan area Part of the Potomac Heritage Trail Trails in the George Washington National Forest Trails in Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts Trails in Spotsylvania National Park PATC has been requested to help with trails in Antietam National Battlefield Park and Monocacy National Battlefield Park

Trail facilities being maintained for all of PATC's trail regions consist of:

52 trail shelters, maintenance huts, & campgrounds - 38 cabins & 1 being built. AT Related Activities:

x Waynesboro, PA, held its AT Community Designation ceremony on Saturday, April 26. x The Whiskey Hollow shelter is under way to replace the Dicks Dome shelter in Northern

Virginia. The plan to move the old shelter to Bears Den to was cancelled due to restrictions on the Bears Den property. It's uncertain what will become of the Dicks Dome shelter.

x Planning for the 2015 Biennial is proceeding. x For the fiscal year ending on September 30, 2014, PATC's AT volunteer hours were

35,911.

Training workshops are occurred for: x Overseer skills x Griphoist rigging x Traditional tools (Axe and Crosscut Saw) x Chainsaw certification/recertification

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Philadelphia Trail Club Report to MA RPC. New Club officers began their 1-year terms at the Annual Spring Luncheon in April 2014. President is Deborah Lamb and Vice President is Tirzah Rom. The new Bulletin editor is Carol Beam. She will be assisted by Eileen Lynn and Auda Gallagher. Outgoing Bulletin editor Steve Leonard takes on the role of webmaster. Club dues have been increased from $10 a year to $13 for members who wish to receive paper mailing of the Bulletin. Goals of the new president are to increase membership. New members have been coming from Meetup and friends of existing members. The feasibility of having a public and private sections on the website is under study. Trail maintenance work trips were conducted in April, May and June of 2014, attended by 28 different volunteers, about 50% of whom are Club members. The other 50% were recruited  from  Meetup,  the  link  to  the  ATC  website,  the  posting  at  REI,  the  Club’s  website, and word of mouth. The April work day was well attended. A considerable number of new water bars and check dams were built in the first half mile stretch of the AT west out of Lehigh Gap. May and June maintenance trips were devoted to clipping and preventing briars from overgrowing the trail. Individual members of the Club went up with their own weed whackers in July and August to address the problem of tall grass in the vicinity of the junction of the AT and Winter trails, as well as the eastern end of the North Trail. The  Club’s  chief  of  boundary  maintenance,  Tom  Necker,  has  been  working  with  the  ATC  boundary maintenance technicians in preparation for the redesign and rerouting of the AT throughout  the  Club’s  trail  section.     By far the biggest news is the initiation of the redesign of the permanent location of the AT from Lehigh Furnace Gap to Little Gap. Trail Design and Layout Workshops were held in May and June at the Lehigh Gap Nature Center by trail designer, Peter Jensen, for ATC, agency partners, members of PTC, other AT maintaining Clubs and interested members of the public. Both Workshops were fully subscribed. On July 17, 2014, at a meeting at Lehigh Gap Nature Center, Peter Jensen presented his proposed new permanent route for the AT. Part of the group in attendance walked a portion of the flag line westward out of the Nature Center to the crest of the Blue Mountain Ridge. In ensuing weeks, interested parties have been walking portions of the flag line and sending comments to ATC and Peter Jensen.

Spring 2015 MA-RPC Meeting Attach #1 Susquehanna Appalachian Trail Club October 2014 Club Report As we continue to celebrate our club’s  60th Anniversary, we have completed a few planned events. On May 17th,  the  “60  Miles  for  60  Years”  hiking  event  had  59  members  hiking 60 miles of the AT via 8 different sections of varying lengths all ending at the same time for a celebratory picnic. This allowed members of all ages and fitness levels to participate and enjoy a beautiful day to be in the woods. The club also planned and completed two hiking/camping trips, one to Shenandoah National Park in June and the other to the Peaks of Otter in September. Our Photo Contest and 60 Point Challenge are ongoing until our banquet in March of 2015. SATC has been busy this fall re-roofing  the  Peter’s  Mountain  Shelter.    The  20-year old shingled roof needed replaced and under the guidance and leadership of our Trail Master, Jeff Buehler, we elected to replace the shingles with a metal roof. On September 20th the work began by volunteers carrying in the metal roofing sheets and roofing supplies, while two members began removing the shingles on the north side. As the shingles fell, they were bound in bundles for the trail crew to begin carrying them out. At a second work trip the remaining shingles were removed, bundled and carried out. During the October 19th, the installation of the metal roof will begin. (I will add to this update when presenting at the October 25th meeting.) In  June,  the  SATC  Officers  and  Board  hosted  a  Trail  Maintainer’s  Picnic  hoping  that  free  food and beer could show our section maintainers and trail crews just how much their hours of work on the trail is appreciated. Since our last club report, SATC has led 39 hikes for the spring quarter, 31 hikes for the summer quarter and 41 hikes scheduled for the fall quarter. We trained 8 new hike leaders in April and have led hikes for  KTA’s  Fall  Hiking  and  Meeting  Weekend  in  Doubling Gap. Upcoming events include participating in the 2014 ATC Membership Drive on October 23rd at the Carlisle Theatre. SATC’s  Board  of  Directors  voted  to  go  paperless  in  regards  to  publishing  our  quarterly newsletter. This will begin with the March 2015 issue as we work to identify who among our members requesting the printed newsletter are without Internet/email access so we may deliver a copy of the electronic edition to them to keep them in touch with  the  club’s  activities  and  events.  This  change  not  only  reduces  our  “footprint”  ,  it  will  also  save  us  $1200/year.

Spring 2015 MA-RPC Meeting Attach #1 Wilmington Trail Club The WTC, membership approximately 750, sent out eight volunteers, who completed 95 hours of fieldwork, 97 hours travel time, and 45 hours of additional work, including MARPC meetings, an ATC Trail Design Workshop at Lehigh Gap, PA, and participation in the Delaware Water Gap AT Community Celebration Day on June 28. Our entire treadway was clipped and brushed, and white blazes re-painted in June. Aprox. 5 miles of AT Boundary was inspected in April, and another inspection trip, including investigation of an apparently active bird blind and banding facility, took place in October. Ryan Seltzer, Corridor Stewardship Coordinator from Boiling Springs, came on this trip and will check for an active permit for this structure. The Kirkridge shelter and the adjacent privy received are in good repair. The seasonal water supply near the shelter, provided by the neighboring Kirkridge Retreat Center, was found to be broken somewhere underground in early spring. This line was excavated and repaired in early May, largely due the generosity of Mr. Andrew Santocroce and Mr. Nicholas Begovich. They are the maintenance company owner and the leaseholder, respectively, for the communications towers adjacent to the Kirkridge Shelter. The WTC led three recreational hikes on the AT, in Pennsylvania.