CLC Rebuilds Tent Sites in Popular Backcountry Area

A crew of SCA’s Manchester CLC members trekked into the backcountry of White Mountain National Forest for two weeks on August 1^st to replace three rotted and worn tent platforms at Sawyer Pond campground.

The crew of six and leaders Marni Goodman and Scott Shepard camped at a Forest Service dropoff point one half mile from Sawyer Pond and two miles from Sawyer River Road for the duration of the project.

After six days of work the three rotted tent platforms had been destroyed and removed, and the new additions had been built. Of the various duties of the platform project, the transportation of the wood was by far the most difficult and strenuous task. Ninety-six 2”x 6” decking boards were hauled from the crew campground down to the platform, while the destroyed platforms were cut down to carrying sizes and hauled out to a drop off point in between Sawyer Pond and the crew camp location.

After the tent platforms were completed the crew worked renovating areas of trail around Sawyer Pond that had become extremely muddy and braided by human impact. The crew also rehabilitated a compacted tenting site that was too close to the water for Forest Service Leave No Trace standards.

On August 14^th the crew headed back to Manchester after two weeks of hard living and heavy lifting. A big thanks goes out to Dylan Alden, WMNF backcountry ranger, who made the project possible.