Evans Notch trailwork with the Chatham Trails Assoc. - Memorial Day Weekend 2012

[cooperhill]

It's been a while since I've posted on here. I guess I haven't been doing much in the mountains. I've been busy in my workshop working on fixing up old tools, especially axes. Like this little hatchet:



Starting to get out for some spring trailwork on my main trails on Mt. Chocorua and this past weekend I went up to the AMC Cold River Camp in Evans Notch for the annual Chatham Trails Association (CTA) spring work weekend. The weekend is when the bulk of CTA's trail maintenance gets done. On Saturday, I joined John from CT and we tackled the Blueberry Ridge Trail. It was a long day (for trailwork) - 7 or so miles.
A great day up on the ridge. Some great views along the way.



A few blowdowns knocked out. Hands are blistered from using the axe but it's to be expected this early in the year.



Rhodora in bloom.



Clintonia (thanks Kevin (it is your notch after all) for the ID)



The second day, we worked on the Bickford Brook trail which gets you up to Speckled and also Blueberry Mtn. (via Blueberry ridge). A day filled with mosquitoes, dirt, and warmth. Head nets required. Lots of drainages needed upkeep.



I'm down here with the leaves, dirt, and toads.



A cool spring. Good for head dunking.



A great weekend. I'm heading back Thursday. I'm leading the June 2-3 weekend at CTA/Cold River. Looking forward to it.

 

[kltilton]

Great job Chris. Thanks for all the work you do on the trails. And quite the work restoring that hatchet!

 

[Kevin Judy and Emma]

Agreed!

You do a great job! Thanks for your service!

KDT

 

[cooperhill]

Evans Notch - Part 2

I thought I would add to this thread with some small highlights from this past weekend. A first for me, I led the Chatham Trails Association (CTA) trailwork weekend at Cold River Camp. It was a great experience for me. Despite the rain, lots of great work got done. These weekends really are a great deal. If you are thinking about trailwork, please think about attending. Trailwork for free lodging (at Cold River) in your own cabin with fireplace, free food, great company. http://chathamtrails.org The next weekend is Sept 28-30

I started the weekend early..arriving at camp Thursday night. I had Cold River Camp to myself. Amazing to say the least. So peaceful and quiet. As I opened the gate, a fox crossed the road right in front of me. A good sign I thought. I picked out a choice cabin and woke up early Friday. As some may know, I'm an axe man ... this year I had the honor of helping the Forest Service in their yearly Axe training. FS axe training is required for any volunteer using axes on FS land. It was a great day of learning about axe history and tradition in the WMNF, axe care, and finally axe use. I also got in a few chops! I also got to work with Hal (TrailwrightBlatt) and Bruce from the Trailwrights - another great trail group that I'm proud to be a member of.

Back to Cold River for the weekend. My wife and dog Maggie arrived that night. We settled in for some great food and a warm cabin despite the forecast of rain the next day.

Saturday's workday was well..wet. There were a few trails that needed work so a small crew of us (including Damselfly and her husband Steve) headed out on the trails to clear drainages and brush. On our section of trail (Conant trail), there turned out to be more blowdowns than expected. After Friday's axe training, it didn't take long to get tired chopping. in the end, about 8 miles of trail were cleared that day. Some work still remains but adopters and volunteers (including myself) will be out on the trails in the summer. There are a number of blowdowns with my name (or my axe's name) on it.

A few pictures. Thanks for reading and looking:

The arsenal:



Friday's sunrise at the hill on Stowe Rd. and 113.



Rain. The sound of Cold River was a constant.



our woodstove. It pays to be in charge

 

[1HappyHiker]

The "Axeman Cometh"! The CTA is fortunate to have a skilled person such as you to help them with their spring clean-up.

 

[cooperhill]

Thanks Hal for this picture from FS axe training last Friday.

 

[TrailwrightBratt]

Thanks

Thanks for all you do.
Wet weekend but accomplished a lot all around.
We all had fun.
Notice the proper form, eye protection and the ever controversial Hard hat.

 

[Raven]

Thanks for the work Chris.

Looks like you could use that hatchet to shave - wow. You cleaned that up nicely.

 

[Becca M]

Thanks!!!!! Nice work!!!!! Really enjoyable album - bet it was nice to huddle near that woodstove!!!!