Recent events underscore the need for stewardship on the Appalachian Trail. Behind the scenes are the Maine Appalachian Trail Club volunteers who manage and maintain a large portion of the AT in Maine.
The 2015 winter was infamous, setting coldest-ever weather and highest-snowfall records across New England. Deep in the woods of Maine, those storms battered the forest, as through giants tossed boulders in a macabre bowling match, yelling “STRIKE!” when trees toppled to the ground.
It’s the job of MATC trail maintainers to keep Maine’s second national park in good hiking condition, according to the club’s 80-year-old mission: to maintain and manage 267 miles of the Appalachian Trail in Maine, along with 60 miles of side trails and 40 campsites.
Once the snowline receded in late May, a cadre of MATC trail maintainers headed out, finding the AT littered with trees — referred to as “blowdowns” — making some sections impassable. Reports flowed back from weekend maintaining trips of the devastation uncovered: In the Whitecap District, Ron Dobra spent the bulk of June on the trail clearing blowdowns and dealing with debris.
Near Mount Abram, Tony Barrett said sections of the trail were just gone, covered by a fallen canopy of spruce and fir. Laura Flight and Richard Gower spent five hours with chainsaws growling to clear 1.5 miles near Pleasant Pond Mountain. Along a 6-mile stretch from Orbeton Stream to The Horn, Dave Field counted 175 blowdowns, where typically he finds 30 to 40.
Just what motivates people to spend their weekends, chainsaw or clippers in hand, performing relatively hard labor for strangers? It’s often a unique answer depending upon the volunteer asked. Some say it’s a way of giving back to the Appalachian Trail they hiked last year or decades ago. Others remark that, in today’s demanding world with endless deadlines, working on the AT grounds them, providing a sense of place, a finite goal and a feeling of accomplishment when they’re heading back after a day on the trail.
Our volunteer club is on a membership drive, looking for more hands to help do the job. The club has a number of vacant trail assignments across Maine’s section. MATC trail maintainers visit their assignment two or three times per year, typically once each in the spring and the fall. The primary responsibility is to clear debris from the AT footpath. Most maintainers use clippers to clear out the brush. If they choose to use a chainsaw, the club conducts safety classes.
Benefits? How about working in some of the most visually spectacular corners of the state, seeing wildlife and protecting Maine’s natural environment in some pristine areas. Then there are the friendships that last decades, such as two of our members who have a collective 100 years of service between them. And there’s a sense of pride, seeing your work completed. As one maintainer stated, “You look back and can immediately see the impact you’ve made. The landscape has changed. The trail is visible again.”
If you have a passion for Maine’s section of the Appalachian Trail, experience hiking and a willingness to learn, we’d love to hear from you. The AT is waiting.
Lester Kenway is president of the Maine Appalachian Trail Club.