AT Corridor Monitors

[Paradox]

Lambert Ridge to the summit of Smart's Mtn is a section of the AT which has two current vacancies for AT Corridor Monitors. First section is from Lyme/Dorchester Road to the Ranger Trail. Second is from the Ranger Trail to the Summit of Smart's. I will be trying to fill those vacancies this coming spring if you are interested. Corridor Monitoring only takes about two to three days a year for most sections, and many remote boundaries lines only get walked every couple of years. In addition you get a set of survey maps and some other goodies.

Tom, When I last talked to you about this you were identifying the location of the markers by local landmarks. Is there any more talk about switching to GPS coordinates?

 

[dr_wu002]

Tom, When I last talked to you about this you were identifying the location of the markers by local landmarks. Is there any more talk about switching to GPS coordinates?

There are coordinates on the maps which are accurate to the inch -- doubt you'll get that kind of accuracy with a GPS.

-Dr. Wu

 

[Paradox]

There are coordinates on the maps which are accurate to the inch -- doubt you'll get that kind of accuracy with a GPS.

-Dr. Wu

As it was explained to me, the duties of a corridor monitor include walking the perimiter and identifying the locations of the boundry markers. The monitor must make sure they are in the same place as the previous walk through. They get carried off, trees on which they are placed fall over, you name it. And ultimately, replace any markers that are missing. Tom had a set of flip cards with nicely rendered drawings of the location of the markers and their relation to surrounding objects. It seems to me that GPS coordinates would be easier to find than what is depicted in the drawings.

 

[dr_wu002]

As it was explained to me, the duties of a corridor monitor include walking the perimiter and identifying the locations of the boundry markers. The monitor must make sure they are in the same place as the previous walk through. They get carried off, trees on which they are placed fall over, you name it. And ultimately, replace any markers that are missing. Tom had a set of flip cards with nicely rendered drawings of the location of the markers and their relation to surrounding objects. It seems to me that GPS coordinates would be easier to find than what is depicted in the drawings.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought there were GPS coordinates on the maps. There is at least latitude and longitude.

I don't know if using a GPS would make it any easier. I don't know the accuracy of a GPS but I doubt it's to the foot and 85% of the time you don't need the map to find the monument -- the area is marked by 3 sets of 3 yellow blazes and usually the monument is obvious or you hunt around for a minute or so until you find it. If it's buried under leaves and stuff it's fairly easy to take a look at the map and identify the area it should be located in. I imagine that a GPS would work just as well but I don't see any real advantage at all. Also, should you GPS fail it's still nice to have the maps.

-Dr. Wu

 

[DougPaul]

I don't know if using a GPS would make it any easier. I don't know the accuracy of a GPS

Nominal accuracy of a consumer GPS is 95% probability of being within 10 meters. This can be degraded by anything (vegetation, rock, ground) that blocks a full skyview.

Good enough to help you find a marker, but not good enough be the marker.

Survey grade equipment can be accurate to the sub-centimeter level.

Doug

 

[dr_wu002]

Nominal accuracy of a consumer GPS is 95% probability of being within 10 meters. This can be degraded by anything (vegetation, rock, ground) that blocks a full skyview.

Good enough to help you find a marker, but not good enough be the marker.

Survey grade equipment can be accurate to the sub-centimeter level.

Doug

10 meters is not good for pinpointing the monuments. The corridor is surveyed and follows a straight line. Blazes on trees are such that they indicate, fairly accurately, the location and direction of the invisible line. A different set of blazes (3 blazes on a triangle of 3 trees) will indicate that a monument is in the locale at which point if you cannot immediately locate the monument you use the map. If a GPS will only put you within 10 meters of a monument it won't provide any additional use considering the blazed trees will alert you to the monuments presence anyway. The map will be pretty straightforward too: good, accurate detail.

Looking at the picture, I guess the map doesn't have the GPS coordinates. It might be nice to have them added -- I'm not saying that GPS is bad or stupid or anything. But, if the monument isn't immediately obvious, in the time it takes to get a waypoint you will probably have already looked at the map and located it anyway.

I could, however, picture John Cleese's character from Monty Python and the Holy Grail attacking a rescue helicopter perhaps for no other reason than the blind, mindless desire to attack that he displayed throughout the entire movie.

-Dr. Wu

 

[Hillwalker]

Witness trees

Each corridor monitor receives a surveyors' map set consisting of the ~1:7,500 map(s) showing the boundaries of lands purchased for the AT corridor with compass headings, line lengths, and serial numbered monument locations. Purchase/acquisition dates and information for each parcel is shown as well as deed information.

A second set of sheets (external boundary monument sheet) has each numbered monument shown, with distance and direction to three witness points (usually trees) stating the species and DBH of each tree. We usually take two 100 foot tapes, one from each witness tree and cross them at the distances indicated, and viola right underneath will be the three inch aluminum marker. In locations where forest duff builds up quickly, the monuments can be buried as deep as a foot below the surface.

Monuments are generally placed every 500 feet, or at line direction changes. I have seen monuments located as close as twenty feet apart in parcels with very irregular boundaries.

Most of the time the monuments lie undisturbed for many years. On occasion monuments near trails or roadsides have been disturbed or removed for souvenirs despite the embossed warning not to.

At one time the AT Corridor Maintenance Crew from Boiling Springs, PA had a
"Boundary Dog" belonging to one of the crew that could smell the aluminum "oxidized" monuments and would uncover them for the team. http://bp1.blogger.com/_FieHHy1fgMw/R4zdGNqvXrI/AAAAAAAAFWM/R6DZplVlhqc/s400/IMG_0976.JPG

At present there are five of the nineteen sections of the AT Corridor running from Woodstock, VT to the WMNF boundary on Ore Hill in Warren, NH that are without corridor monitors. Once Spring gets closer I will be trying to recruit people to fill those positions. Training, of course will be provided at the time. training will be conducted by a team from the ATC office in Boiling Springs, and will likely be on one or more of the vacant sections.

For further information please go to: http://www.atcboundary.blogspot.com/