On August 20, 2022, six MCM members attended training on how to perform trail maintenance on the Appalachian Trail. This training was sponsored by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC), and is being offered to all A.T. clubs this summer. (This is the second class provided for MCM. Other MCM volunteers attended another class offered earlier this summer.) The instructor, Kristen English, provided excellent lessons on a variety of topics including tool safety, how to divert water from the Trail, cutting branches, and blazing trees. The volunteers received on-the-job experience by digging multiple drainage ditches and trimming berms from sidehill trails. In addition, they cut several large branches protruding across the trail using a folding saw.
We offer our appreciation to ATC and Kristen for providing this excellent training, and to all MCM members who participated in either session. Hopefully, the lessons will encourage new trail maintainers and work crew volunteers, as well as improved care of the Trail.
The ATC trail maintenance instructional documents shared at this class can be viewed here.