AMC Trails Training Event

I've often wondered while hiking, "Who dug these steps, placed these stones, built this log bridge?" Or, "Exactly who carries a chainsaw this far into the woods to cut and clear that blown down tree from the trail?". Well this past Saturday, we teamed up with other volunteers of our local AMC chapter to find out!

After learning that the AMC Narragansett Chapter was holding a trails maintenance training event in Arcadia, we signed up. Their calendar read as follows:

Trails training event. Join with AMC members and REI volunteers in a hands-on trails training event in Arcadia Management area. Learn how to build waterbars, llog steps, og bridging, and other trail improvement features. Chapter trail leaders and AMC staff will perform the training. Bring lunch, water, and wear footwear with a good tread.

We e-mailed the event leader, signed up, and were told the event was going to be held at the Arcadia hunter check station under the pavilion. Here we would learn about tools & techniques, then head onto the trail for some hands on. "Great" I thought, figuring we would be relaxing at the picnic area while discussing the subject, then walk a short distance down the nearby trail where they would show us these 'already built & installed' features....NOPE! In reality, we were just meeting at this location, introductions were made, waivers filled out and driving directions were given to the trail head, 'aka' work site.

Once we arrived at the Shelter Trail trail head, an assortment of tools were laid before us, their names given along with their uses and proper body mechanics. The tools ranged from Grubbing Hoe's  & clippers, to chainsaw's & de-barking tools. They then passed out AMC hard hats (which make you feel epic), instructed to grab all the tools we could manage safely, and began to hike the half mile to our first work site. "Did you say, First work site"! YES, there will be two today.

Here at the first work location the AMC staffer and volunteer leaders gave us a lesson on installing log steps which will help prevent erosion from rushing rainwater coming from atop of the hill. 

Scotty & Cristy on what we named 'The Rice Bar'

After measuring a few different pre-cut logs that another volunteer prepared for us days before, we found a nice fit. Our log needed to be at least 7 ft to be securely anchored on both sides. We carried it down to where we would be working, then dug out & removed the already installed log which was rotted and had long lost it's effectiveness. Once in place, Cristy carried up two 5 gallon buckets of dirt. After filling in and packing the gaps, Scotty and I cut, and drove in two stakes using the mini sledge hammer to even further anchor the step. Volunteers broke into teams of three and installed five of these up the hill in about 1 1/2 hours.

Our next job at this location was to install Water bars  at the very top of the hill. These were much larger logs that needed to be de-barked and trimmed of the branch nubs using an axe. De-barking the logs prevents water from pooling and bugs from living under the bark causing it to rot at a greater pace. They were lightly dug in and placed at about a 60 degree angle to help gutter rainwater before it would have a chance to hit our erosion steps below. Two of these were installed, both directing water opposite of one another. While these were being installed, we cleaned up the de-barking scraps trying not to leave a big trace. The AMC staffer told us these water bars would last 15 to 20 years before needing to be replaced.

Installing the large water bar

By now it was almost 1:00 pm. Four hours since we first met at the pavilion this morning. Volunteers were tired and getting hungry. We rested at the top of the hill for a bit and had lunch. This is when you really begin to talk to other folks your with, and share your favorite trail stories.

Lunch/Break time.

 With lunch over we needed to move deeper into the woods to our second work site of the day. Again we grabbed all the tools we could manage, and started to hike another mile down the trail. At the final work site AMC leaders introduced us to building log bridges, site selection, layout & design. Many volunteers had previous experience doing this type of work so work moved quickly. More cutting trees, de-barking logs, digging, setting them into place, and finally notching the surface to create tread.

AMC leaders layout the plan.

The 'EPIC' log carry

De-Barking the logs

One of two completed bridges

It was now quitting time, 4pm. Seven hours after we started we had installed five erosion steps, two large water bars, installed two 12' foot log bridges, some trail widening and hiked all the tools 1.5 miles in. It was 5 pm by the time we returned to our cars. We headed home exhausted, but with a greater appreciation for the trail work that gets done, and a great respect for those who volunteer do it.

National Trails Day is June 1st, see you out there!

Arcadia Trail, 5.0 mile loop

The Arcadia Trail is located within R.I.'s Arcadia Management Area. Blazed yellow, the trail extends for 7.1 miles beginning at the Arcadia Forestry Headquarters on Arcadia Road to Rt. 165, making it a round trip of 14.2 miles. Our plan was to break up the miles. We planned to hop over onto the 0.98 Arcadia Crossover Trail, creating a loop, and lowering our hike to 5.0 miles round trip. If you desire an even lesser hiking distance, you can also park beside the trail head on KG Ranch Rd., reducing the miles even further to just 3.0 RT.

Cristy at the trail head on KG Ranch Road 

Rock hardening we helped install last year.

Skunk Cabbage blooming 

Spring has sprung with all the green starting to poke through.

Trail intersection: Arcadia Crossover (white) is straight, Arcadia Trail (yellow) continues  right

Cristy on the bridge we helped carry the lumber to build  last June.

Here we left the deciduous trees and entered a pine forest. 

At the merge of the blue blazed North South Trail & yellow blazed Arcadia Trail.

NST & Arcadia trail blaze

North South Spur Trail

North South Trail Boulder Field

Multiple rock piles or carins like these are found all around New England.

At the intersection of the Arcadia Crossover, an old wooden bench was a welcoming spot for lunch 

After lunch, we had time to laugh & take a couple of 'selfies' with 'duck lips'

Two bumps on a log, selfy #2

Intersection of the Arcadia Crossover (white), Arcadia Trail (yellow) & NST (blue)

I have to say, and we both agreed that the Arcadia Crossover Trail was really featureless & boring.

We exited where we entered the trail, at the Arcadia Forestry Headquarters.

Not a quiet peaceful hike. Route 95 can be heard close by most of the time

For a Google Maps track of our hike (Click Here)

CT RI MA Tri-State Marker

We had a lot of fun hiking out to the CT MA RI Tri-State Marker this past weekend. Begginning our hike from the Massachusetts DCR Douglas State Forest parking area, we passed beyond the gate, bathrooms, picnic area and nature building to the end of the paved/graveled path and turned left onto the Coffeehouse loop (map). After a short distance, the Coffeehouse loop connects to the yellow triangle Mid-State Trail, a trail that extends 95 miles connecting the North South Trail in Rhod Island to the Wapack Trail in New Hampshire, but we're not going THAT far! We continued on the Mid-State Trail until we arrived at a fork. The Mid-State turns left, but we continued right, down a well worn but un-named trail for another short distance until we came to another major trail intersection. Here you'll want to turn left onto the infamous Southern New England Trunkline Trail (SNETT) Formerly known as the Air Line Railroad.

The abandoned Air Line Railroad now named The Southern New England Trunkline Trail. "it is where trains once thundered through the state on their way to Boston and New York City." (ref) as a blog I recently read stated. Close to here is the location of The Great East Thompson Train Wreck! A large rail disaster which occurred in East Thompson, Connecticut, on December 4, 1891. It was one of the most extensive train wrecks in American history, and the only one to involve four trains. It happened on the New York and New England Railroad, which provided a shortcut from New York City to Boston by making a diagonal across Connecticut. Although hundreds were injured, miraculously only two people were killed. The railroad is now abandoned, and most of its tracks removed. -Wiki-

The Southern New England Trunkline Trail (Formerly Air Line Railroad) 

After continuing left onto the SNETT for a distance, watch for a CT RI state boundary marker, a 4ft cement pillar on your left easily seen from the trail. This is not the Tri-State marker. Beyond this we continued straight and passed a metal gate blocking the trail. A bit more along in this direction we continued to watch for a blue blazed trail that leaves the SNETT to the left and up a hill, not well worn and somewhat blazed but easy enough to follow cautiously. This trail  "Tri-State Marker trail" — or the "Klondike gold rush trail," as I've read it called, brought us up and down a couple of hills until we reached a peak where the CT MA RI Tri-State marker stood! The "Mount Everest" of  three states!

Tri-State Marker CT MA RI. Cristy (left) is in R.I. Caitlin (top) is in CT, Scotty & I (right & below) are in Mass!

                                                                  

Running through three states TWICE in 14 seconds!!!

After stopping here for a lunch break and a bit of fun, we continued our loop hike leaving the marker behind following the well worn MA RI border trail East. This trail will come to a fork which is again the Mid-State trail, turn left back onto the Mid State Trail. Close to this location you will find a lean to shelter camping area (not on the map) on your right side, easily seen from the trail. We again stopped here for another break. The shelter looks well kept and stocked with a few items, including a log book, we signed it!

Caitlin inside signing the log.

Leaving the shelter we turned right, back onto the Mid State and continued to follow the yellow triangles all the way back to the Coffeehouse Loop and the parking area, ending our 5.7 mile hike that lead us to the "Mount Everest" of three states!

To view our Google My Tracks on Android (Click Here)

Be sure to wear blaze orange during hunting season

Adventures in Scouting: Episode 1. The Rock Gym

"That was fun last night. Can we go again today? That's my new exercise." Scotty's first words when he awoke this morning.

Having crossed over from his Cub Scout pack last month, Scotty is now a Boy Scout with Troop 1 Conimicut. Not feeling well and being a bit nervous about his first outing with the Boy Scouts, it took some "strong" encouragement to get him motivated to attend his first outing Saturday night.

The event was scheduled to be an overnight campout at Rock Spot Climbing in Lincoln, RI. But with a winter storm warning for our area, the overnight portion was cancelled, but the climbing was still ON! Scotty and his fellow Scouts did a great job navigating the routes up the walls; Cristy also found her way to the top. As for me? I was comfortable just wearing my North Face sweatshirt in the lounge!

Scott Jr. heading up

Cristy also made it up!

Jerimoth Hill, R.I. highpoint

Jerimoth Hill, R.I.  highest point

Just like the 80's Atari game Frogger where each frog must navigate a busy road while avoiding cars when crossing. We too dash across Rt. 101 with calculated timing. The parking is located on the opposite side of the road from the trailhead, and upon the very crest of the hill making it difficult to judge the traffic whizzing past at 50+. Fortunately today traffic was light. 

The signs for Jerimoth Hill stand on both sides of Rt. 101, but these signs are not the summit of the hill. The actual highpoint itself is a rocky spot about 200' / 10 minute walk down the Jerimoth Hill Trail into the woods at the northwest edge of the clearing. The most epic part of bagging this peak may be crossing Rt. 101! Long story short, this is a great 'park -n- grab' when weather conditions are less favorable for longer hikes.
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Trailhead Signs

On your hike to the summit cairn you'll pass three USGS survey disks.

 Once you've arrived you will find an ammo box next to the summit cairn containing a register visitors can sign.

Please keep in mind that to enter Jerimoth Hill you'll be passing through private property (with permission) 

Remember to respect the property & privacy of the access owners.

Pawcatuck River Trail: Phantom Bog

This morning we set out to locate the Burlingame canoe campsites in Phantom bog located beside the Pawcatuck River. We had also taken a class at the Audubon the day before, so we were also on the look-out for 'tracks & scat'!

After looking at a lot of poop pics, I'm thinking this may be deer poop. 

This site desertexposure.com helped me decide.

This looks like Owl pellets. The yellow arrow is pointing out a tooth of it's prey. Basically it's all the stuff the Owl cannot digest (fur, bones, claws & teeth).

We eventually discovered the Burlingame canoe campsites about 2 miles from the trail head. There is an unimproved road that leads directly to these sites, not sure if it is for state access only or not, but someone brought in a split stack of wood. Wood was wet, but not very aged.

2nd campsite off 3 we found.

Campers have installed a swing! Looks like the stuff ABC's funny videos are made of.

Scotty discovered a Canoe / Kayak mooring chain

Pawcatuck River looking North. Looks really flat & calm.

 Great spot to take a break

Much of the trail was a white blazed un-improved road not often traveled by vehicles.

Lots of stone walls & cellar holes around the area, including this neat waterway.

A hunter gutted this deer and left the carcass 10 ft from the parking area. I don't think they are supposed to do that.

But, we also learned that bones & antlers do not last long in the wild since they are loaded with Calcium and other nutrients. These deer bones had evidence of chewing.

To view a GPS track & map of our hike: Click Here