If you're a hiker like me, there's a good chance you have hiked on a New Hampshire trail and been surprised at the great condition it is in. Well, as I'm sure you know, the trail doesn't maintain itself. It is maintained in part by very generous volunteers who donate their time by adopting trails. Unfortunately, there are just not enough volunteers to maintain the many, many miles of hiking trails in this great State. For this reason, it is still common to find less traveled trails in need of repair. A few that come to mind, that I have trekked on recently, are The Iron Mountain Trail (which ascends Iron Mountain) and the upper portion of the Holt Trail (on Mount Cardigan).
I came across this article a week or so ago and thought I would share it (Click Here). It is great little piece about some of the stimulus money being put to good use by helping with the repair and maintenance of our great New Hampshire trail system. It mentions Welch-Dickey and how this stimulus money helped give the popular loop a face lift. Welch-Dickey is one of my favorite hikes of all time and I'm glad to see this money was put to good use.
Each day I think about how I could give back to the New Hampshire White Mountains, as they have provided me with so much joy and beauty over the last year. Maybe adopting a trail is really the best way to give back. I will certainly be looking into it over the next few days and urge you to do the same. If you ever have the pleasure of crossing paths with a trail maintainer on the trail, don't forget to say thanks!
Yes, thanks to these people! When we hiked the Bonds, there was a guy doing maintenance on the Knife's Edge trail between Bondcliff and Mt. Bond. Definitely a lot of work. I think that next year I will try and give back a day and try to help maintain a trail.
ReplyDeleteHey Matt, yes, we should do this together. I'll gladly lug a chainsaw and hatchet up the trail with you.
ReplyDeleteKarl