Tom Rankin
Well-known member
We drove out to Denning and met several more people interested in learning about lean-to maintenance. Doug, Pete, Ellie, were there from the Trail Conference, as well a group of guys from Long Island, and their friend from PA.
After some words from Doug, we headed up the trail to the Bouton Lean-to, named for the Uncle of the 'Can Man' Jim. It was very hot and muggy, and we went slowly, stopping here and there to clear a little blowdown. If you kept moving, the bugs were not a factor.
We reached the spring and cleared out the trail and deepened the pool a little to make it easier to fill bottles. Not to mention that we all had a lot of COLD water to drink!
The lean-to was in pretty good shape. We dug out the fire pit, removed a modest amount of garbage, scattered some ashes, check the privy (it needs a new door), and inspected the structures for damage. It looks like a little light leaks thru the top of the roof, so it might be getting wet.
Please, if you camp at a lean-to, do not leave water, food, or other supplies behind. This basically amounts to littering. No one is going to trust your food or water to be safe to eat, except the local bears! And a lot of clutter around a lean-to is just not necessary. Don't you think the next people are going to bring everything they need?
Continuing on after the cleanup and discussion, we hit the top of Table, noting just a few clumps of old rotten snow here and there. The walk over to Peekamoose was quick and easy, with very little mud in the usually wet spots. Shout to Dean G., whom we met at the Peekamoose summit with a young family and a tiny dog.
The guys from L.I. debated going to Lone, but eventually decided against it. We returned the way we came, with another quick stop at the spring just to make sure all was in order!
We were done by 4:15, and we celebrated another successful education session, with some cold ones and junk food!
After some words from Doug, we headed up the trail to the Bouton Lean-to, named for the Uncle of the 'Can Man' Jim. It was very hot and muggy, and we went slowly, stopping here and there to clear a little blowdown. If you kept moving, the bugs were not a factor.
We reached the spring and cleared out the trail and deepened the pool a little to make it easier to fill bottles. Not to mention that we all had a lot of COLD water to drink!
The lean-to was in pretty good shape. We dug out the fire pit, removed a modest amount of garbage, scattered some ashes, check the privy (it needs a new door), and inspected the structures for damage. It looks like a little light leaks thru the top of the roof, so it might be getting wet.
Please, if you camp at a lean-to, do not leave water, food, or other supplies behind. This basically amounts to littering. No one is going to trust your food or water to be safe to eat, except the local bears!
And a lot of clutter around a lean-to is just not necessary. Don't you think the next people are going to bring everything they need? Continuing on after the cleanup and discussion, we hit the top of Table, noting just a few clumps of old rotten snow here and there. The walk over to Peekamoose was quick and easy, with very little mud in the usually wet spots. Shout to Dean G., whom we met at the Peekamoose summit with a young family and a tiny dog.
The guys from L.I. debated going to Lone, but eventually decided against it. We returned the way we came, with another quick stop at the spring just to make sure all was in order!
We were done by 4:15, and we celebrated another successful education session, with some cold ones and junk food!
