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Appalachian National Scenic Trail

September 16, 2018 - September 22, 2018

Trip Navigation

REGISTRATION FOR THIS TRIP IS CLOSED

Come maintain the surveyed boundary lines of the corridor of National Park Service lands surrounding the Appalachian Trail!  Maintaining these boundaries helps to preserve the primitive experience that Appalachian Trail hikers seek and helps to protect this land from encroachments such as timber theft. Using survey maps and hand-held compasses, the crew will bushwhack along the surveyed boundaries of NPS lands while immersed in early fall foliage. Volunteers use hand-held saws and loppers to clear a line of site between survey markers repaint yellow blazes with tree-marking paint and replace US Boundary signs along the way. The crew will become very familiar with both the footpath and the land surrounding a rugged, beautiful and remote Gulf Hagas portion of the Appalachian Trail in Maine. A day’s work involves hiking on the trail to the corridor near the work site in a small group of 1-3 other volunteers and an ATC staff member or long-term Maine Appalachian Trail Club volunteer, bushwhacking to the boundary line, working along it and then bushwhacking and hiking back – we don’t stay in the same place long! Small groups will maintain about 1 mile of boundary line per day and hike 2+ miles to and from the work site each day. This is a great project for folks who want to be moving through the woods all day!

This trip is hosted and crew led by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.

Host

Appalachian Trail Conservancy

Accommodations

Car Camping Tent Sites

Hiking/Access

Day Hiking up to 6 miles per day

Project Rating

Strenuous

Minimum Volunteer Age

12

Maximum Group Size

15

Area and Attractions

Volunteers will be camping and working in and around Gulf Hagas, a scenic slate gorge with many waterfalls in the remote final section of the Appalachian Trail known as the "hundred mile wilderness." Opportunities for hiking scenic AT side trails or the AT itself abound. The West Branch of the Pleasant River runs through the gorge and offers many opportunities for swimming, fishing, or just enjoying the waterfalls. Running this river is on your own though, as area vendors generally run rafting trips on the Penobscot River north of here. Elevations are low, but hiking in this area is rugged -- river crossings are fords and the trails are rocky. The scenery more than makes up for any discomfort this may cause though. The closest towns are small. Both they and the closest reliable cell service are about an hour from camp. While crew leaders will have access to emergency communication, participants should be sure to come prepared with everything they may need to enjoy an immersive primitive experience. If you'd like to spend a week in the remote Maine woods, following moose trails and exploring the Appalachian Trail, this is the trip for you.

Accommodations Description

The campsite is a secluded drive-in car camping site, with picnic table, firepit and a pit privy. Water is available from the river and lake nearby and will be filtered before use. ATC will provide a 5 gallon drip filter for use in camp as well as group cooking gear. Volunteers and ATC staff will all contribute to cooking the week's breakfasts and dinners on a Coleman 2 burner camp stove. We will be making lunches in the morning and taking them to the woods with us. There are no amenities available during the work day. Volunteers will need to carry all of the food and water they will need throughout the day. Group leaders will have emergency water treatment and work sites may be near running water, but this cannot be relied upon. The campsites may not accommodate everyone's cars so we may need to leave a few vehicles parked at the Katahdin Ironworks Rd checkpoint (20 minutes from camp) for the duration of the week. This checkpoint is our meeting place on Sunday. While swimming opportunities will abound throughout the work week, the only showers available will be on Friday night. Friday night, we will break our rustic camp and move about an hour east to the Penobscot Outdoor Center near Millinocket, ME where we will be able to shower and sleep in a bunkhouse. Laundry, and wifi are available at the POC for an additional fee, but not during the week. Volunteers should bring their own tent, sleeping bag and pad, cup/bowl/eating utensils, personal items and full body rain gear.

Travel

NO Airport Pickup provided for this trip. The closest airport is Bangor, ME or Portland, ME

Location

Appalachian National Scenic Trail
1041 Cascade Street, Pittsfield, MA 01201 United States
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