Alpine Trails Stewardship Workshop

This Alpine Trails Stewardship Workshop combines the theory and practice of alpine trail maintenance and management based on the most current recreation ecology research and over 40 years of West End Trail Tender (WETT) experience on Franconia Ridge. The workshop will include one afternoon, and evening of presentation and discussion followed by a full day field trip on the Crawford Path. We will use Guy and Laura Waterman’s The Green Guide to Low-Impact Hiking and Camping and Wilderness Ethics: Environmental Issues for Hikers and Campers as reference texts.

The workshop is led by Nat Scrimshaw, who carries on the tradition of WETT and Waterman’s on Franconia Ridge. Nat has been the trail adopter on Franconia Ridge for 17 years and is currently Chair of the World Trails Network - Hub for the Americas and Co-Chair of the International Trails & Sustainability Task Team.

There is no cost for participation in this workshop.

Schedule

Wednesday, July 20:

12:00 pm. Arrival at Camp Dodge by lunchtime. Settling in.

2:00-4:00 pm. Presentation and discussion based on Chapter 16 of The Green Guide to Low-Impact Hiking and Camping, To Save a Mountain Flower: Preserving Alpine Areas: A Three-Part Saga, Laura and Guy Waterman, with additions and elaboration from more recent work on Franconia Ridge by West End Trail Tenders and WTN Americas.

Presentation Topics Covered:

The Physical Component

Understanding The Problem
Patterns of Visitor Behavior and Visitor Impact
High-use Trails as Complex Systems
Changes in Visitor Experience Levels and Attitudes
Shoulder Season Hiking
Trail System Layout

Solutions and Tools

Scree walls
Cairns
Blazes
Waterbar Bridges
Removing Loose Rock
Reducing High Steps
Shoring up Eroding Banks
Sufficiently Wide Paths
Room at the Top and Along the Way
Scrub Obstacles
Rubble Obstacles
String Fencing

Education Above the Trees

Educational Signs
Media Messages
Person to Person
Involvement

Ecological Restoration

Active Versus Passive Alpine Restoration

7:00 pm. After dinner “Fireside" Chat: Fay’s Quandary, Harvey’s Dilemma and Molnar’s Conundrum.

Thursday, July 21:

After Breakfast, all-day Field Trip on the Crawford Path, bag lunch

We’ll get a van ride up the Mount Washington Auto Road and walk down the Crawford Path to Lakes of the Clouds. We will continue along the Crawford Path towards Mount Eisenhower, going as far as weather and energy will allow before returning to Mount Washington and a ride down the mountain. Along the way we will evaluate trail conditions based on the concepts presented and discussed the day before.

Camp Dodge Trails Center is located at 1 Camp Dodge Rd., Gorham, NH 03581 (to the north of the Mt. Washington Auto Road, on the east side of NH Route 16 across from the Great Gulf trailhead). Lodging is available at Camp Dodge in co-ed shared bunkhouses. The bathhouse is a short walk from the bunkhouses. There are no linens or towels provided. Breakfast, trail lunches, and dinner are served in the Camp Dodge kitchen.

Location

Camp Dodge Trails Center

1 Camp Dodge Road
Gorham, New Hampshire 03581

Trail Core Competencies

Relevant Trail Types

General. All trail types are relevant.