Pollywog Stream (Appalachian Trail)

2025 100 Mile Wilderness, Maine, USA

Role: Crew Leader

For 3 weeks, the trail crew for the Maine Appalachian Trail Club worked on a 410ft. section of the Appalachian Trail. This section of trail was deemed our highest priority for the project due to water sitting and pooling on sections of the trail. It was assumed by the maintainers, Crew Leader, and ATC representative that the water was running on trail due to seeping from the right side of the trail (facing southbound). There was sitting water on the trail for a 180ft. stretch. It was clear that building multiple drainage structures on this portion of trail would be the main focus of the project.
The right side of the trail showed clear signs of erosion to the extent that mineral solid under the layer of duff was exposed. There were multiple clear drop offs that were eroding at a faster rate due to the downhill slope of the trail. Downhill from there, was a couple of muddy sections that required stepping stones.
The trail crew began by building a reinforced grade dip at the most uphill point, followed by multiple check dams reinforcing the eroded sections that were dropping off significantly. We then built a substantial ditch and drain and elevated the trail beside it into a turnpike structure. We crush-and-filled areas of the turnpike before applying mineral soil and defining the tread of the trail. We built a retaining wall along the drain to reinforce and protect the turnpike. At the end of the turnpike we built a small riprap wall to protect a sloped area on the side of the trail. At the end of the drain is a small drainage dip where the drain curves and spills out off trail.
Below the ditch-and-drain is an armored wall reinforcing another eroded area on the trail, followed by a series of 4 check dams leading to another reinforced grade dip. That concludes the work we did to address the drainage issue in that 180ft. stretch. Beyond the drainage structures, we set 10 stepping stones (total) covering the two muddy sections of trail.