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.