cooperhill
New member
On Saturday I joined the NH AMC Chapter again for continuing work on the rock staircase about 1.5 miles up the Old Bridal Path on Mt. Lafayette. I arrived early at the OBP/Falling Waters trailhead and it was already really busy at 7:30am. Lots of folks taking advantage of the great fall-like weather. The crew got together around 8:30am and had a brief discussion about tools and tool safety with our crew leader Bill Darcy. Bill is one of the best trail crew leaders I've know and is really friendly and welcoming to first time trailworkers. I guess there were 10-12 signed up for the days work but all in all there were 6 of us. The task for the day was to continue re-construction of a rock staricase at the "dead ass" curve on OBP. The project is almost complete with a small section in the middle to be finished and screeing-in (loose rock put in to prevent hikers not using the staircase and eroding the trail) of the sides.
So the bulk of the morning was about packing up tools for the 1.5 mile trek up. I forgot to bring along a pack burro. Oh well, they say half the work is showing up/getting there. We would bring along several pick mattocks, rock bars, various lines and riggings, grip-hoist and wire, shovels, snatch blog, and shackles. I opted for two picks and two rock bars. It was a cool morning and very pleasant in the woods. I led the way up with several breaks for water and stretching on the way up. It was nice to be back to see the trail after working on it in the spring clearing blowdowns.
At the worksite, we quickly started in on tasks for the day. There were several large step stones already off-trail that were ready to be put in place. We would set up the Griphoist to bring those rocks up to the middle of the staircase. Another very large rock would be brought down the trail at the base of the staircase. We learned that putting (or having) too large a step up between rocks will cause users to go around at any cost. I opted for further quarrying of rock at the top of the steps. I also assisted in digging, setting, and moving steps. All in all, the crew set 4 rocks steps and filled in scree. It was a great day on the worksite and a great location to work in - constant views of the Lafayette/Lincoln ridge and cool temps all day. We met up with a member of the "Croo" at the end of the day and chatted about general conditions on the trail and were the next improvements could be made. We were back at the trailhead by 5pm.
Work continues next weekend if anyone if interested. http://trips.outdoors.org/index.cfm/method/search.fullview/tripid/26839/preview/preview/
So the bulk of the morning was about packing up tools for the 1.5 mile trek up. I forgot to bring along a pack burro. Oh well, they say half the work is showing up/getting there. We would bring along several pick mattocks, rock bars, various lines and riggings, grip-hoist and wire, shovels, snatch blog, and shackles. I opted for two picks and two rock bars. It was a cool morning and very pleasant in the woods. I led the way up with several breaks for water and stretching on the way up. It was nice to be back to see the trail after working on it in the spring clearing blowdowns.
At the worksite, we quickly started in on tasks for the day. There were several large step stones already off-trail that were ready to be put in place. We would set up the Griphoist to bring those rocks up to the middle of the staircase. Another very large rock would be brought down the trail at the base of the staircase. We learned that putting (or having) too large a step up between rocks will cause users to go around at any cost. I opted for further quarrying of rock at the top of the steps. I also assisted in digging, setting, and moving steps. All in all, the crew set 4 rocks steps and filled in scree. It was a great day on the worksite and a great location to work in - constant views of the Lafayette/Lincoln ridge and cool temps all day. We met up with a member of the "Croo" at the end of the day and chatted about general conditions on the trail and were the next improvements could be made. We were back at the trailhead by 5pm.
Work continues next weekend if anyone if interested. http://trips.outdoors.org/index.cfm/method/search.fullview/tripid/26839/preview/preview/
