Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail Maintenance (28 October 2012)

[Raven]

I was able to get out for a day of trail work on Sunday to try to do some fall prep work and maybe minimize some water damamge from Hurricane Sandy. I only brought one tool with me, a fire rake, as the only thing I planned to do was clear water bars along the first part of the trail. The Ammo Ravine trail has three distinct sections. The first mile runs from the USFS parking lot until it meets the river and the junction with the short access trail from Marshfield Station. The second mile runs along the bank of the river from here until Gem Pool, a beautifully reflective pool sitting at the base of the cascades that come down the ravine. The final mile runs from Gem Pool to Lakes of the Clouds Hut and is very steep and crosses slabs that are often slippery on a good day (see recent posts by Ed and Lauky or Big Earl for more on this). This last section, although challenging, offers a fun climb over exposed rock and passes numerous cascades along the way as it opens up on reaching the treeline near the hut. I would suggest care in descending this route.

At 8 AM, my truck was the only vehicle in the lot. At the end of the day, I would not have seen another person along the trail or in the lot; that's the first time I've ever had that happen on Ammo Ravine, and this was a Sunday with relatively nice weather...but a storm was coming.

There is a nice, new shiny trash can in the hiker lot. USFS personnel must have gotten tired of picking up litter.



There are posted warnings about the hurricane on the kiosk and at the trailhead itself:



Soon after leaving the lot, I stopped to work on clearing some of the more troublesome drainages. Hard to believe I had cleared these once in the spring and again in summer, but that's that way it goes. Some fill faster than others. I took a couple pics to show the "before" and "after" on one of the more challenging ones.




Along the way, I somehow managed to get very close to a pileated woodpecker that came around the trunk of a tree within 10 feet of me and at about head level. Always love seeing woodpeckers.

I continued along the first mile of trail, clearing drainages as I came to them. The first mile of trail tends to be fairly wet, so I thought this would be the best part to focus on. Even on my best day, I can't hit all three miles of trail for work. Once in awhile, I'll drop the tools and head up to the summits after working a few hours, but after putting in a little over 5 hours on water bars, I had had enough. After finishing up the first mile of trail, I stopped for a break to enjoy the lovely cascades in the river.



Shortly after, I took a left at the junction with the Marshfield Station access trail and cleared the bars along this 0.3 mile stretch before shuffling down the road back to the lot and my lone truck, just me, my fire rake, and a sore back.

I've been the volunteer maintainer for Ammo Ravine for three years now and have been really rewarded by the experience. It's taken me a couple seasons to get the brushing and water bars to a place where I feel "caught up." I would highly encourage anyone who is considering adopting a trail to take a chance at it. I had no experience when I decided it was time to finally take this on after considering it for many years. Anyone that would like to see what it is like is more than welcome to come along on one of my trips and I can show you the basics of clearing water bars, brushing, and removing blowdowns. Just the basic stuff. Looking forward to having a pair of snowshoes on for this trail very soon....

Note: I am unsure why some of my pictures are sideways. They are correct in my files - I was having trouble uploading these this AM.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

If you use Picasa on your computer, it automatically rotates photos based on information in the jpeg. Not everything does this, including the standard Windows photo previewer and most browsers.

Tim

 

[loanshark]

Ammo Trail

I was able to get out for a day of trail work on Sunday to try to do some fall prep work and maybe minimize some water damamge from Hurricane Sandy. I only brought one tool with me, a fire rake, as the only thing I planned to do was clear water bars along the first part of the trail. The Ammo Ravine trail has three distinct sections. The first mile runs from the USFS parking lot until it meets the river and the junction with the short access trail from Marshfield Station. The second mile runs along the bank of the river from here until Gem Pool, a beautifully reflective pool sitting at the base of the cascades that come down the ravine. The final mile runs from Gem Pool to Lakes of the Clouds Hut and is very steep and crosses slabs that are often slippery on a good day (see recent posts by Ed and Lauky or Big Earl for more on this). This last section, although challenging, offers a fun climb over exposed rock and passes numerous cascades along the way as it opens up on reaching the treeline near the hut. I would suggest care in descending this route.

At 8 AM, my truck was the only vehicle in the lot. At the end of the day, I would not have seen another person along the trail or in the lot; that's the first time I've ever had that happen on Ammo Ravine, and this was a Sunday with relatively nice weather...but a storm was coming.

There is a nice, new shiny trash can in the hiker lot. USFS personnel must have gotten tired of picking up litter.

View attachment 4164

There are posted warnings about the hurricane on the kiosk and at the trailhead itself:

View attachment 4163

Soon after leaving the lot, I stopped to work on clearing some of the more troublesome drainages. Hard to believe I had cleared these once in the spring and again in summer, but that's that way it goes. Some fill faster than others. I took a couple pics to show the "before" and "after" on one of the more challenging ones.

View attachment 4165
View attachment 4166

Along the way, I somehow managed to get very close to a pileated woodpecker that came around the trunk of a tree within 10 feet of me and at about head level. Always love seeing woodpeckers.

I continued along the first mile of trail, clearing drainages as I came to them. The first mile of trail tends to be fairly wet, so I thought this would be the best part to focus on. Even on my best day, I can't hit all three miles of trail for work. Once in awhile, I'll drop the tools and head up to the summits after working a few hours, but after putting in a little over 5 hours on water bars, I had had enough. After finishing up the first mile of trail, I stopped for a break to enjoy the lovely cascades in the river.

View attachment 4162

Shortly after, I took a left at the junction with the Marshfield Station access trail and cleared the bars along this 0.3 mile stretch before shuffling down the road back to the lot and my lone truck, just me, my fire rake, and a sore back.

I've been the volunteer maintainer for Ammo Ravine for three years now and have been really rewarded by the experience. It's taken me a couple seasons to get the brushing and water bars to a place where I feel "caught up." I would highly encourage anyone who is considering adopting a trail to take a chance at it. I had no experience when I decided it was time to finally take this on after considering it for many years. Anyone that would like to see what it is like is more than welcome to come along on one of my trips and I can show you the basics of clearing water bars, brushing, and removing blowdowns. Just the basic stuff. Looking forward to having a pair of snowshoes on for this trail very soon....

Note: I am unsure why some of my pictures are sideways. They are correct in my files - I was having trouble uploading these this AM.

I was on your trail last Friday. It was in great shape then. Thanks for your effort.

 

[TrailwrightBratt]

Keep up the good work it is appreciated especially by us other maintainers.
Sure is rewarding seeing what you accomplished on the way back down.

 

[jake L.]

It amazes me how much effort it takes keeping our hiking trails the way they are. A BIG thank you!

 

[Driver8]

Thank you so much, Raven, for maintaining this awesome, beautiful trail - I went up and down it May 12 and down on June 17. From those hikes, I have a suggestion: the steeps, above the two main brook crossings, could do well to be reblazed. I'm pretty good with directions and had trouble following the trail in that stretch. The final 0.2 or so to the hut, once the trail takes the last turn right, ascending, away from the brook, is easy to follow - of course the cairns help. But both days I was there, the quarter-mile-from-the-hut sign was out of place. It could use re-anchoring. And from that spot down to the two big brook crossings, there are four or five spots, as I recall, where it's easy to lose the trail.

These issues may have long since been remedied, but especially in May, the 1/4 mile sign's misplacement led me, following the path in the snow of other hikers, to end up in a somewhat perilous bushwhack left (east) of the brook, having missed that last right turn away from it. It was quite an adventure picking my way through scrub, some high drifts and knee-deep soft moss in the high winds of that day. I survived, but it was, well, exhilarating, let's put it that way. If that part of the trail has not been reblazed, I'd be so pleased if it could be. And thanks again for your good work on that fine trail - I think I saw you out there on June 17, Father's Day, when I was there. Beautiful place!

 

[Ed'n Lauky]

Thank you so much, Raven, for maintaining this awesome, beautiful trail - I went up and down it May 12 and down on June 17. From those hikes, I have a suggestion: the steeps, above the two main brook crossings, could do well to be reblazed. I'm pretty good with directions and had trouble following the trail in that stretch. The final 0.2 or so to the hut, once the trail takes the last turn right, ascending, away from the brook, is easy to follow - of course the cairns help. But both days I was there, the quarter-mile-from-the-hut sign was out of place. It could use re-anchoring. And from that spot down to the two big brook crossings, there are four or five spots, as I recall, where it's easy to lose the trail.

These issues may have long since been remedied, but especially in May, the 1/4 mile sign's misplacement led me, following the path in the snow of other hikers, to end up in a somewhat perilous bushwhack left (east) of the brook, having missed that last right turn away from it. It was quite an adventure picking my way through scrub, some high drifts and knee-deep soft moss in the high winds of that day. I survived, but it was, well, exhilarating, let's put it that way. If that part of the trail has not been reblazed, I'd be so pleased if it could be. And thanks again for your good work on that fine trail - I think I saw you out there on June 17, Father's Day, when I was there. Beautiful place!

I'm not sure if it's the place you're talking about, but going down, there is one spot where a herd path going straight ahead and a no camping sign partway down that path definitely can cause you to miss a sharp right turn. However, on my trip down Saturday I noticed that an effort had been made with the placing of branches and so forth to block off that false path.

 

[Ed'n Lauky]

PS I an very happy to be a live witness to the fact that the trail down the ledges Saturday was extremely slippery.

 

[Driver8]

PS I an very happy to be a live witness to the fact that the trail down the ledges Saturday was extremely slippery.

Yeah, Ed, when I went down it in June, on the same loop you just took, it was dry as a bone, relatively speaking, and I marveled that it was more treacherous than I remembered it from the month before, when I needed traction for late-season snow and ice above the Gorge Overlook spur.

As to the spot you mention, that's not the one I had in mind, though it can be tricky. It's above that spot, mainly, as I recall, between there and where the trail, on the climb, takes its last right turn south of the brook, just before the cairns begin.

 

[Raven]

Tim - thanks for explaining my picture rotating issue. I use Picassa. My computer annoys me when it thinks it knows best. I prefer it to do what it's told.

Thanks everyone for the comments. It truly is my pleasure as I have been given so much from the mountains and trail community over the years, I have plenty to pay forward. And I like the kind of work it involves.....most of the time....sometimes.

Driver8 - This trail is interesting in its blazing. It's been used as an example of an oveblazed trail due to the inordinate number and proximity of blazes in a few places on the trail - above Gem Pool but below treeline, there's a section of trail that is a blatantly obvious corridor in the trees and yet you can see multiple blazes on the rocks....there are a few spots though where I agree, an added blaze would help. My plan with this trail is to let many of the blazes fade away in these overblazed sections while keeping some of the well-placed blazes. I'll let most of the blazes on the rocks fade and stick to blazes on trees and try to place them where (ideally only where) they need to be. One spot I feel the trail needs a blaze is at the first water crossing where a herd path leads left down the stream bank (toward the road) but the trail crosses the water straight ahead. There's the faintest memory of a blaze on a tree that needs to be redone. Thanks for your comments on the upper section though - I'll definitely take a look on my next trip to the upper half especially at those signs - glad you came out okay. Not me on Father's Day BTW but I was there the weekend before. Other people work on the trail as well, especially the major work.

Ed - glad you and Lauky are well after your somersault down the steeps. You could hit hard there. Sounds like that was a really, really good way you landed, Ed.

I'm looking forward to this trail soon being covered in white.

 

[Driver8]

Driver8 - This trail is interesting in its blazing. It's been used as an example of an oveblazed trail due to the inordinate number and proximity of blazes in a few places on the trail - above Gem Pool but below treeline, there's a section of trail that is a blatantly obvious corridor in the trees and yet you can see multiple blazes on the rocks....there are a few spots though where I agree, an added blaze would help. My plan with this trail is to let many of the blazes fade away in these overblazed sections while keeping some of the well-placed blazes. I'll let most of the blazes on the rocks fade and stick to blazes on trees and try to place them where (ideally only where) they need to be. One spot I feel the trail needs a blaze is at the first water crossing where a herd path leads left down the stream bank (toward the road) but the trail crosses the water straight ahead. There's the faintest memory of a blaze on a tree that needs to be redone. Thanks for your comments on the upper section though - I'll definitely take a look on my next trip to the upper half especially at those signs - glad you came out okay. Not me on Father's Day BTW but I was there the weekend before. Other people work on the trail as well, especially the major work.

Thanks for your follow-up, Raven. I agree from my faint memory that the trail is probably overblazed for most of its extent. I had forgotten the part at the first water crossing down low. I did have some difficulty figuring out where the trail leads - a couple of Quebecois guys there at the same time as me started venturing left towards the Marshfield parking lot, but followed me after I said I thought it went across the brook and to the right. A blaze or two and an arrow would be a good idea there - I figured the area had been reconfigured by Irene and, because the trail is easy there, had let it slip my mind.

I wish I could give you more precise specifics about the confusing spots, outside of the upper right turn away from the brook, which I think is clear. It's more or less the 0.4 miles or so downhill from there, a couple of turns or so. Decent blazing most of the way, but a few spots in there where the trail is easily lost - even on June 17, only five weeks after going up and down, it took me a few moments in a place or two there, descending, to ascertain what was trail routing and was was either herd path or wet-weather brook bed. I'm sure no more than half a dozen blazes, well placed, would do the job. The key, I'd suggest to you, is just to remember as you go up *and* down to put your "new to the trail" eyes on. You know the trail well, but those blazes are not for you, they're more for the first-timer and seldom visitor.

One last thing - as to the spot where that 1/4 mile sign goes, a good-sized cairn would be a nice way to mark that this is a significant spot - where the trail last turns away from the brook, the sort of thing that could, in future editions, make its way into the WMG's and the 4000-Footers book's descriptions. The sign could be placed squarely in the middle of the cairn.

As it was, as a newbie who was just starting to get into really good White Mountain hiking shape, that bushwhack, though brief, felt pretty epic, especially as the winds were gusting well above 50 at the time. I was, if I may say, pretty proud that I made it though that bit in good form, another notch in my belt. So it worked out. The descent, with mircospikes on to about the Gorge spur path, was for the most part less vexing. It's an awesome, beautiful trail. I posted pics from my May hike starting on this page: http://www.panoramio.com/user/5078936?comment_page=1&photo_page=22

My favorites were these two:

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/72134409, and

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/72118589

Cheers,

Chris/Driver 8

 

[erugs]

One thought I had as was coming out in the dark last Sunday was that at night well cared for waterbars can look like the trail. Not that I got lost, but it probably fools people who don't yet have good trail sense and might not have a good enough light to keep them on the trail all the time.

 

[LivesToHike]

Raven, Thanks so very much for maintaining this trail. I'll look forward to my next trip up.
I helped to clear waterbars on a Monadnock trail last spring, but I'm not yet a trail adopter. I agree, that trailwork in general is very rewarding work.
--LivesToHike

 

[una_dogger]

Those ledges are so tricky in the shoulder seasons.

Thanks for all our hard work, Scott ;-)