SCA Adirondack Program 2011
Project Dates: May 30th- October 21nd Program Coordinator: Zac Ballard Email: zballard@thesca.org Project Leader: Henry Adams Email: HAdams@thesca.org Project Leader: Adam Larson Email: alarson@thesca.org
Hitch #8: 9/6 - 9/14
1. Santanoni Historic Site
Storm damage cleanup continued this week at Santanoni. Two major bridges were washed out by the storm, and the crew acted quickly to establish a new one mile reroute, including the construction of two 10-foot bridges, so the trail could be opened up again. The crew continued work on other trails, in total constructing an additional two bog bridges and clearing over 12 miles of trail and removing over 120 blowdowns!
2. Wilmington Wild Forest
The uber-buff 41-foot bridge was finally completed this week! The crew also added railing to five previously completed bridges, built a water bar, did a bit of rock work, and did a whole lot of revegetation (cleaning up their mess and making it look like they were neeeverrr even therrre).
3. Mt. Wakley
One crew this week had the fairly unique experience of restoring an old fire tower. The was excited for the opportunity, and were made even more so when offered the chance to stay in the observer's cabin instead of making the short but treacherous climb up the mountain for work every day. The crew replaced all of the landings and steps on the fire tower, 77 steps in total, using mainly hand tools. They also stained the outside of the observers cabin and disassembled an illegal fire ring on the summit.
4. Lake George Wild Forest
The crew down yonder way on Lake George really gave it their all this week. The Lake George area was hit pretty hard by Hurricane Irene. The crew worked fast and managed to clear 22 miles of trail and remove 180 blowdowns.
Hitch #9: 9/19 - 9/23
1. Santanoni Historic Area
The Santanoni crew spent their week building a series of bridges. Over the course of five days, they constructed two smaller bridges at 10' and 15', and one bridge spanning a length of 25'. The longer bridge replaced a bridge that had been there since the 1980s. It stood the test of time impressively, but still, every walk across it was a gamble with soaking wet boots and Carharts.
*BONUS CREW*
As mentioned in previous updates, the effects of Hurricane Irene threw some project plans into disarray, and this week we had a crew moved across the park from their original assignment to assist with higher priority storm cleanup in the High Peaks area. Known across the radio waves as "Strike Force Sierra," they greatly impressed local rangers and other DEC staff with their hardworking efforts to get the park back on track after the storm. In total they cleared almost 5 miles of trail of overgrowth and blowdowns, in addition to righting a steel suspension bridge that had been upended by the storm. The week was capped off as usual with a trip to the wondrous Newcomb dump and Free Pile!
2. Wilmington Wild Forest
This week the crew moved down trail, having completed the final bridge on the upper section the week before. Monday they started by moving equipment in and carrying lumber to the work site. The crew then started work on the final two bridges of the project. By the end of the week they nearly completed one bridge and had the foundation for the second bridge in place. They left the site in great shape to have the next week’s crew finish up the last of the bridges in Wilmington.
3. Blue Ridge Wilderness, Cascade Pond
On the trail to the recently constructed lean-to near the shores of Cascade Pond, the crew replaced a 36' rustic timber bridge. The bridge spanned an otherwise impassable gap and took the better part of the week to construct. The crew also closed two campsites, dispersing fire rings and rehabilitating vegetated areas; closed a social reroute trail; and wrecked the original bridge.
Hitch #7: 8/29 - 9/2
The weekend leading up to this hitch saw the better part of the Eastern seaboard railed by Hurricane Irene (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Irene_(2011)). Although here at the Whitney headquarters we remained relatively unscathed, many of the eastern portions of the park fell victim to extensive flooding and storm damage. In particular, the High Peaks Wilderness Area, one of the most famous and picturesque parts of the Adirondack Park and where our weekly Santanoni crew spends much of its time, saw some of the worst damage of the area. Following the storm, all of the trails in the High Peaks, and many more in other parts of the park, were closed completely until safety and access could be properly restored. This meant for a number of changes in the work load and schedule of our crews here, but everyone rolled with the punches to get the work done. The SCA Adirondack crews and state DEC employees all worked hard to get the trails cleared as quickly and efficiently as possible, and most if not all of the trails have since been reopened. Anyway, on with the hitch reports...
1. Santanoni Historic Site
This crew spent the week focused solely on storm cleanup. On the main road into the Santanoni Great Camp, the crew cleared an estimated 115 trees that had blown down into the trail. The crew then split up; while a couple members remained to finish clearing the main road, the rest of the crew split up and worked with various DEC workers to scout a number of other trails and assess damage in other parts of the area. Finally, they spent their last day clearing 4 miles of the Slide Brook Trail near Elk Lake and restored access to the lean-to on the site.
2. Wilmington Wild Forest
The bridge building continued at Wilmington this week. Work consisted of preparing the site for the work of the following week. Materials were acquired and brought to the site, 110 feet of approach trail was cut, and foundations were fortified with more retaining structures. The crew also put the finishing touches on another bridge, installing 32 feet of side railings on its edges.
3. Vanderwhacker Mountain
The crew at Vanderwhacker Mountain was assisting in the rehabilitation of the old observer's cabin on site there. They began the week by clearing the trail leading up to the project site, cutting out 12 blowdowns from the recent storm. The clearing work continued around and leading up to the project site, with the removal of 4 hazard trees and the lopping back of 1/4 mile of trail. Once this work was completed, the crew began shuttling dimensional lumber and tools, to be used in the restoration of the cabin, up the steep one mile trail to the site. Work began on the restoration, raising the sunken wooden floor of the cabin and shoring up the foundation.
4. Fish Pond, St. Regis Canoe Area
Hiking in about 5 miles to Fish Pond, this crew got to stay in a lean-to constructed in 2010 by last year's SCA Adirondack corps members. They continued and completed the deconstruction of the the old lean-to, salvaging what they could and dispersing the rest back into the woods from whence it came. The main focus of the project was the establishment of a new horse-accessible site. The crew built three 10' x 10' tent pads, a fire pit, a new privy site, and cleared the surrounding areas and paths in between.
Hitch #6: 8/22 - 8/26
1. Santanoni Historic Preserve
On their hands this week, the crew at Santanoni had an epic 32 foot bridge to construct! The single bridge required the felling of three trees and the entirety of the hitch to complete. To get the extremely heavy stringers (the long logs used to span the bridges length) across the gap, the crew used a Griphoist, our winch and rigging system that uses physics to allow us to lift things like boulders and huge logs that are thousands of pounds in weight.
2. Wilmington Wild Forest
The much-anticipated bridge construction has finally begun on the Wilmington snowmobile trail. This week the crew built a burly sill (the part of the bridge that sits on the edge and holds the weight) designed to withstand the weight of snowmobiles and probably much more. Sitting pretty at 12' x 4' x 4', you can see the huge structure in the photo below. The structure was then filled with rocks and a similar, though much smaller version was built on the opposite side of the bank. The crew also had time to brush further down the trail, as well as move some rocks out of the way and even plant a few trees!
3. Panther Mountain
At one of a handful of "Panther Mountain"s located in the park, the crew working at this particular Panther Mountain had the biggest rock project of the season. They learned about the intricacies and difficulties of setting huge rocks into the trail, as well as the rewarding feeling of seeing it all finally come together in a structure that will probably remain standing for decades to come. They were working on a section of a very popular trail that has seen too many people, too much rain, and too little maintenance. The trail, at points, is over 12-feet in width, and the crew's job was multi-faceted: get the trail out of the water, keep the water off the trail, and make sure people stick to the new trail. This involved the creation of a 16-foot retaining wall used to sturdy up one side of the trail, while the other side was "scarified" (made scary to keep people out while allowing to water to pass as it will); the construction of a 3-step staircase in a narrower gulleyed out section of trail; and, most importantly, the construction of two water bars to direct the water off the side of the trail (constructed above each of the former two structures in order to protect them from as much erosion as possible). Good work, guys and girls!
4. Bear Pond, St. Regis Canoe Area
Hitch #5: 8/15 - 8/19
1. Santanoni Historic Preserve
After canoeing their gear, supplies, and tools out to Newcomb Lake, the crew set to work on building a series of boardwalks. They eventually completed 220 feet of boardwalk. Having completed the main project, they set out to do some trail surveying, seeking out sections of bridging that had washed away in the spring floods.
2. Invasive Species with The Nature Conservancy
This week saw a break from the Wilmington project in order to free up some time to work with The Nature Conservancy in the fight to rid Adirondack Park of those pesky invasive species. They spent the week pulling Purple Loosestrife (known for clogging waterways and pushing out native species like the cattail) from the sides of the road. Covering hundreds of miles of highway, the crew removed a total of 113 bags of this obnoxious plant.
3. Sargent Ponds Wild Forest
The trail this crew was working on hadn't seen any maintenance in quite a few years. For a total of almost five miles, they brushed the trail back and removed blowdowns from the trail, re-establishing easy access to this trail.
4. St Regis Canoe Area
After quickly finishing the work on the their first project, almost 100 feet of trail and a canoe put-in, the crew paddled out the first night to Grass Pond. It was from this basecamp that the crew finished their work in the area, including the construction of a new campsite, maintenance of a second, and clearing 2 miles of trail.
Mid-Season Break
With a month of training and four hitches down, the much anticipated mid-season break is upon us. After the ten days were over, the corps members returned from vacationland with new stories, new haircuts, and bags of candy, rested and full of energy, ready to take on the remaining seven hitches of the season.
Hitch #4: 7/25 - 8/3
1. Santanoni Historic Area
On the last hitch before break, the Santanoni crew's main focus was a 23 foot bridge constructed out of rustic timber. The bridge took the better part of 8 days, but the crew still had time two build two additional bridges at 16 and 12 feet, remove overgrowth from a nearby helipad, and brush an access road.
2. Wilmington Wild Forest
This hitch at Wilmington, the crew built over 2000 feet of new trail and maintained an additional 5000 feet of existing trails. They also installed three rock water bars.
3. Northville-Placid Trail at Lake Durant
The project at NPT was a wet one. The crew was working on salvaging a boardwalk that was almost entirely under a foot or two of water. They pulled up over 250 feet of existing boardwalk in order to replace it with structures that would keep the trail out of the water. All said and done, the crew constructed approximately 250 feet of bog bridges and boardwalk!
4. West Canada Lakes Wilderness Area
Working out of a lean-to on the beautiful Spruce Lake, this crew built 6 bridges in 7 days, including a 25 footer, without the use of chainsaws, working only with the traditional tools of axes and crosscut saws. Due to a slight miscommunication, the crew had to hike out early, but they put themselves to good use and were welcomed with open arms by their fellow corps members at the NPT work site.
All Corps Gathering 2011: 7/22 - 7/24
SCA Corps members from all over the Northeast, including the programs in Hudson Valley, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Connecticut, headed out to the Adirondacks and joined our crew for a weekend of fun, getting to know each other, and friendly competition. Crews arrived intermittently Friday evening and intermingled with members from different corps, sharing stories and explaining the differences between their respective corps.
Saturday morning the crews headed out to a variety of hikes, swimming holes, ice cream stands, and tourist stops with the Adirondack members leading the way and showing the ropes. Saturday evening culminated in a talent show. Seems there's plenty of talent out there in the Eastern Corps! The night was topped off by a Lady Gaga karaoke and a dance party led by two of our very own.
After breakfast on Sunday, all friendly ties were temporarily severed as hearts pumped, fervor rose, and an air of intense competition settled over the William C Whitney Headquarters. The several year long tradition of the All Corps weekend ending in a relay-style competition for the coveted Horns continued this summer as the crews competed in events ranging from an egg drop, a tire relay, a spelling bee, and a tug-of-war. The competition was tight, the points were close until the last, but the SCA NY, Adirondack and Hudson Valley, crew pulled through at the last second to reach victory and bring the Horns back to where they started, where they belong.
Hitch #3: 7/18 - 7/22
On their third hitch, and back to the 5-day hitches that now seem like nothing, the SCA Adirondack corps members are really getting into the swing of things...
1. Santanoni Historic Area
The crew at Santanoni had the big job of dragging a downed steel suspension bridge out of a river at the base of Mt. Adams in Tahawus. The project required a lot of hands and fairly extensive use of the Griphoist rigging system to get the tangled mess of a bridge out of the water and back in the air. The crew also had some time to pull some invasive Japanese Knotweed from a nearby site and canoe a few loads of lumber across a lake to a future bridge construction site.
2. Wilmington Wild Forest
The Wilmington continued the work on brushing the area's trails. They cleared brush from over 1.5 miles of trail, extending the corridor to project specifications, as well as felling and bucking eight trees.
3. Pharaoh Lake Wilderness
Working on a reroute trail in the wilderness area, the crew brushed about a half mile of trail, and then followed through and cut tread through the same area. The old trail was naturalized to prevent additionaly use. Additionally, they hung two signs and almost 150 trail markers.
4. Lake George Wild Forest
The crew was working in the Shelving Rock Area on the eastern shore of Lake George. They cleared approximately 9 miles of trail, focusing on blowdown removal with chainsaws.
Hitch #2: 7/5 - 7/13
The first 9-day project went off without a hitch. No pun intended. Except that it was. The crews were out for their first long haul, with folks back at Santanoni and Wilmington, as well as the southeast corner of the park at the Hudson River Recreation Area and Pharoah Lake Wilderness.
1. Santanoni Historic Area
The Santanoni crew this week had the pleasure of hiking into the center of the beautiful High Peaks Wilderness. They spent their time brushing and surveying around 10 miles of trails in the area, as well as putting in an 8-ft bog bridge. They even got to see the legendary "problem bear" known only as Yellow-Yellow as they chased her down with a whistle and a shovel to get their food canister back!
2. Wilmington Wild Forest
At Wilmington, the crew spent their days brushing trails and leveling tread. They worked on the approaches to previously constructed bridges, and built the foundations for a bridge to be completed during future projects. The crew also constructed two water bars lower on the trail.
3. Pharaoh Lake Wilderness
After a plethora of other trail work, including trail brushing, the construction of a small staircase, and cutting a bit of new trail, the pride and joy of this crew was the 30ft bridge they constructed over this 10-day hitch. The bridge included some pretty hefty cribbing for support and decked just in time to finish up the project with some rehabilitation of the worksite.
4. Hudson River Recreation Area
Working along the mighty Hudson for much of the project, the HRRA crew was doing important work at a number of universally accessible campsites. High water levels and flooding in the northeast this past spring made for a lot of work for the crew. They cleared out water access paths of organic material deposited by the flooding river; dug several privy holes, moved the privies, and built new approach paths for them; removed hazard branches from above campsites; cleaned out fire rings and tent pads; and a multitude of other rehab work. The area had seen a number of years worth of overuse issues, but thanks to the work of this SCA crew, the area is looking much healthier!
Hitch #1: 6/27 - 7/1
The first hitch of the season! The crews finally got a chance to get out there and get the work done that they were born to do. And work they did.
1. Santanoni Historic Area
The Santanoni Historic Area is in Newcomb, NY, and lies at the southern edge of the High Peaks Wilderness. This summer, we will have a crew at Santanoni every single hitch. The work that the crews will be doing varies widely, but this week had the crew working on a carraige road heading out to the Santanoni Great Camp. They cleared out some culverts and some beaver damage, as well as fixing some pretty heavily washed out areas of trail.
2. Wilmington Wild Forest
Another running project this summer, Wilmington Wild Forest is located near the base of the popular Whiteface Mountain. The crews will be spending much of the time working on multi-use trails in the park. This project (a very important one for the local economy) has been in the works for over 6 years, and has included state, local, and volunteer efforts. Most of the trails are intended to be used as hiking and mountain biking trails in the summer, and as snowmobile trails in the winter. This first week of the project, the crew maintained over 1000ft of trail. They spent much of the week widening and leveling the tread (walking surface) of the trail, but also spent some time removing blowdowns and some large rocks from the trail.
3. The Nature Conservancy Invasives Project
One of two crews this summer working with The Nature Conservancy, our Invasive Species Specialists and their fellow corps members spent the week traveling around the Adirondack Park to various invasive hot spots. Specifically, they fought the good fight against garlic mustard, phragmites, and yellow iris, three of the major invasive species challenging biodiversity in the park.
4. Fulton County State Forest
The crew at Fulton County was working to prepare logs for the construction of a lean-to. Over the course of the week, they felled almost 40 trees, and peeled, bucked, and stacked over 50 logs for the lean-to project. This project also required some fairly extensive rehabilitation of the area.
Spring Training Summary -- Written by Jennifer Marinaro
It's been almost a month now since the arrival of the corps members to the SCA Adirondack Program. Training is wrapping up and hitch season is about to start. 2011 is looking to be great year!
During the first week of training members became oriented to the Whitney headquarters and surrounding area. Despite the lack of physical labor during the first few days, members learned a great deal about expectations for the course and about living in a community. Towards the middle of the week they got the opportunity to hike nearby Coney Mountain, and caught their first real glimpse of where they would be working for the next five months. At the end of the week the entire crew filled their packs and went out on their first back country overnight to learn how to live in the wilderness and fend for themselves. Despite the initial dreary and rainy weather, the trip went well and everyone learned how to successfully dig a cat hole, cook on camp stoves, and filter water, among other useful skills.
Week two brought a whole new challenge to the corps members: learning how to care for injuries and illnesses while in the back country. All members became Wilderness Advanced First Aid (WAFA) certified, and spent four days learning the ins and outs of making litters to carry injured participants, wrapping arterial bleeds, and diagnosing illnesses. The training ended with an afternoon of role playing in which a mass casualty incident was imitated. During this incident members had to work together to assess the situation, diagnose the injured people, and provide care for those still living. Even though a few people unfortunately “died” during the exercise, everyone gained some knowledge about how to deal with stressful situations where multiple people are hurt. Week two concluded with a day dedicated to crew leader training, where everyone learned how to pack out for a hitch, how to effectively communicate with each other, and how to resolve problems between fighting crew members.
The third week of training was entirely dedicated to learning the work skills necessary for building and restoring trails. The entire crew headed out to the North Country School, near Lake Placid, and was put to work on four different stations: new trail building, stone, carpentry, and timber. During the course of the week, each smaller group helped contribute to the building of a new cross country ski trail, the placement of a stone turnpike, the refurbishment of an old cabin, and the building of four new rustic timber bridges. Each group had a different task at each station, but helped contribute to the overall success and completion of the project. During this week, members continued to learn the skills necessary for camping for extended periods of time. The group also enjoyed the surrounding nature and was able to swim in the lake and take hikes up to Balanced Rocks.
The last week of training before the hitches start was advanced work skills training. The members were split into three smaller groups and each group was soon to become experts in one of the following: grip hoist and stonecutting, chainsaw, and invasive species removal. The grip hoist group learned how to move rocks, stringers for bridges, and other large objects over distances too far to carry said objects. The chainsaw group, affectionately known as sawyers, had the opportunity to learn the mechanics of the chainsaw, different cuts they are able to make, and how to fell and chop up a tree. They also went over every single safety issue and preventative measure that needs to be taken to ensure there are no injuries on the job. Although with WAFA training fresh in their memories, every member would surely be able to handle any situation. Lastly, the group learning about invasive species was sent off in search of plants to remove. This small group of select people is now able to identify and remove offensive plants, and also had the opportunity to learn about “management practices.” They made a triumphant return on Thursday evening to rounds of applause and general fanfare.
Thus ends the first month of the SCA Adirondack team’s training. It’s been a full, learning intensive month, but everyone has come out alive and kicking on the other side. We’re all movin’ and groovin’ and can’t wait for hitches to start next week!
Daniel Gatch
Daniel Gatch is a native Georgian raised in the AtL. He recently graduated from Emory University with degrees in Biology and Environmental Studies. He is currently taking a year off to work with the SCA. After the SCA, he will do some traveling before heading off to graduate school to pursue a PhD in Ecology.
Sebastian Garcia
My name is Sebastian and I'm a native from the mountains of Colombia where I lived my first 10 years. Growing up in the midst of the Andes Mts. (Bogota), I became alive to the vastness and infinite beauty of what we call nature at a very young age. I've since been curious to death about our relationship to nature as a species, and especially our curious disconnection with it. I'm a fanatic of perception - of awareness - of mindfulness - of being and experiencing the truthful core of our selves as it relates to nature and our interactions with each other. I'm also a big fan of literature - I studied English at Augustana College in Rock Island, IL, along with Environmental Studies and Music. I guess I should also mention that I breathe music - I play classical guitar and absolutely love - LOVE - to play anything and everything, especially with others. I currently live in Oak Brook, a western suburb of Chicago, where I live for a living. Thoreau and Emmerson are my boys - they keep me company and make me feel safe whenever I'm feeling down. I love experiencing life - it's so baffling it's pretty nuts.
Brian Brakebill
I am 23 years old, and will be celebrating my 24th birthday this summer in the beautiful Adirondacks. I am from Knoxville, TN, but spent the last three years in Fort Collins, CO. I graduated this spring from Colorado State University with a degree in Natural Resources Recreation and Tourism. This is my second straight summer with the SCA. I enjoy being outdoors and have participated in a NOLS course and have earned my Eagle Scout rank. Other activities I enjoy are skiing, ultimate frisbee, music, movies, and fishing.
Sam Anderson
I asked my neighbor Vic, who is a tree-wrecker and looks like a pirate (gold earring, tall buckled black boots, du-rag, parrots) where he grew up: "I grew up in South Chicago." We live on Rhode Island Street in Lawrence, KS. I asked him why he left. "I left to discover the world." Damn! Exactly. In the huge endless boulder-turning of the wheel of young people leaving home to discover the great big world, somewhere around its surface/manifestation there I am.
I've lived here a long time, or hereabouts, goofing around, going to school, playing baseball, meeting people, thinking about the world, spirituality, so on and so forth and I am interested in what other places of the world have to show and give when it comes to these and other things. Another friend of mine called me on the phone: "I love life!" She said it ten or fifteen times in a row. "I LOVE LIFE." That day she really loved life. Sometimes you're in love and sometimes you're out of it, but it's always around...
Bottom line is, I've made some bad decisions and I can't worry about them. I've made some good decisions and I can't worry about them either. Let's take today!
Animal: I wish I was a squirrel
Music: The Tallest Man on Earth, K'naan, Woody Guthrie
Madge Audy
Hey all, I’m Madge. Here is the generic version of my bio. I am turning 23 this May as well as graduating from the University of Maine at Machias with my BS in Biology hopefully with my double concentration! I am originally from VT which is a hop, skip and a short swim from our home base. I was a volunteer with the Vermont Institute of Natural Science as a baby bird feeder and exhibit guide. I really love birds of prey and find them fascinating. There are a lot of I’s in here….I love to cook and read but other than that I am an outdoorsy person and therefore was very interested in working on this project. As I am originally from Vermont I am excited to be back in the mountains after being away from them for 5 years!
Jenny Tamler
My name is Jenny Tamler and I am 19 years old, a would-be sophomore currently taking a year off from school at the University of Pittsburgh and looking to transfer somewhere completely new a year from this fall. At school I was on track to major in theatre arts and writing (playwriting and directing being main interests of mine), but I decided that I had spent enough time indoors at Pitt. I have always had a deep interest in the outdoors and in environmental conservation, but it always fell to the way side of theatre which has been all consuming for the last few years of my life. I am beside myself with excitement to finally spend some real time in the outdoors, broadening my worldview, doing something worthwhile and exciting and also meeting new, interesting people at the same time. Apart from theatre and the outdoors I also love music, biking, hiking, kayaking, and climbing up big rocks.
Anna Lambropoulos
I study Environmental Science at DePaul Univeristy in Chicago. I am looking forward to learning more about the Adirondak region.
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