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Appalachian Trail

September 15, 2019 - September 21, 2019

Trip Navigation

Volunteers will be maintaining the surveyed boundary lines of the corridor of National Park Service lands the Appalachian Trail traverses. Maintaining the boundaries of public land along the Trail helps preserve the primitive experience that Appalachian Trail hikers seek Using survey maps and hand-held compasses, the crew will maintain the boundaries of NPS lands immersed in early fall foliage. Work involves bushwhacking along the boundary and using hand-held saws and loppers to clear a line of site between survey markers as well as repainting yellow blazes and replacing US Boundary signs. Volunteers 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, bushwhacking to the boundary line, working along the boundary line and then bushwhacking and hiking back – we don’t stay in the same place long!

Host

Appalachian Trail Conservancy

Accommodations

Car Camping Tent Sites

Hiking/Access

Day hiking up to 6 miles each day

Project Rating

Strenuous

Minimum Volunteer Age

16

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, or just enjoying the waterfalls. Rafting trips are run on rivers about an hour away. Elevations are low, but hiking in this area is rugged - river crossings are fords and the trails are rocky. The closest towns are small and about an hour from camp so participants should be sure to come prepared with everything they may need for the week. 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 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. During the work day, human waste will need to be buried in a cathole, 6-8 inches deep and 200 feet away from trails and water sources. 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. Please note that most cell phones do not have service at the meeting site, campsite or work sites. You will not have phone access without driving out to Brownville. Showers will be available at the end of the week. Volunteers should bring their own tent, sleeping bag/sleeping pad, cup/bowl/mug/eating utensils, and personal gear.

Travel

No airport pickup available for this trip. The closest airport is Bangor International Airport or Portland International Jetport.

Location

Appalachian Trail
62 Kennett Drive, Andover, ME 04216 United States
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