[at-l] Blazing thru puddles and quietly cutting trees

[saunterer@jimbullard.org (saunterer@jimbullard.org)]

At 03:27 PM 3/10/02 -0500, RoksnRoots@aol.com wrote:
>       *** With all due respect, I've seen the expression "remember we are
>volunteers" used too many times to excuse sub-par work that could have
>otherwise been better done if this popular saying wasn't used as an excuse.

Now there's a response that is sure to inspire lots of new and 
inexperienced volunteers (but, despite the disclaimer, not much respect).

>There are all kinds of volunteers. I have seen top quality trail work done by
>volunteers as well as poorly done work that needed replacing a few years
>later. The problem here is getting the right volunteers to work effectively.
>The Trail obviously needs more skilled volunteers who are willing to do heavy
>trail construction. My experience from years of Trail involvement was that
>these volunteers were not recruited because the responsible organizers (who
>are also volunteers) used the above excuse instead of trying to get better
>help.

Are you one of the "responsible organizers"?  I have spent the last 11 
years as a shelter maintainer in the Adirondacks.  In the beginning I was 
probably not one of the "right" volunteers but I learned and one of the 
things I learned is that it's tough to get enough to get volunteers to give 
up vacation time to get dirty and smelly by busting their butt in the woods 
without turning people away because they aren't the "right volunteers".

>The better help is out there, it's just that some refuse to adjust the
>old concept in order to answer to contemporary demands. At the very least, we
>need to step back and look at our maintenance program to see if it needs to
>be reworked. We have evolved from just needing brush, clip and blaze
>volunteers to needing a trail crew on almost every section...

I'd love to see your recruiting campaign.  "We need volunteers to go into 
the woods and do heavy grunt work but only if we think you are good 
enough.  Those unskilled at trail building need not apply".

>       A raised trailbed is not necessarily bad a thing. I can think of many
>areas where a raised trailbed would be both a vast improvement over what is
>presently there and not infringe on the natural surroundings. I disagree that
>it would be "like walking on a sidewalk". There are many places already
>existing on the AT where a raised/improved trailbed was installed and has
>since grown in. These sections hardly stand out as being that different from
>expected AT standards and provide an adequate woodlands experience while
>maintaining an uneroded footway. The natural alternative to these "sidewalks"
>would be either a mucky swamp or rocky streambed that already don't serve
>that well in their present condition.

I agree that 'sidewalks' are appropriate in many situations.  We've used 
them for decades.  Most are called 'bog bridges' but some simply consist of 
well placed stepping stones.

>       Once again, it all comes down to the AT evolving into something that
>its previous concepts no longer meet. This will be problematical as the Trail
>moves into the future. The only thing on our side is the fact that nature is
>self-sustaining and we can take our time working on small parts at a time
>over the years...

"...evolving into something that its previous concepts no longer 
meet"?  There's a mouthful of nothing.  What do you think that it is 
evolving into?  It's a path through the woods from Maine to Georgia (or 
vise versa depending on your point of view).  It's original intent was to 
provide recreation for all those who wish to walk it.  The problems of 
maintaining such a path when masses of people take the invitation seriously 
do not alter it's nature and I fail to see how being picky about who gets 
to volunteer helps.  What I find helps is to get as many people as possible 
to volunteer, direct their efforts and show appreciation for what gets 
done.  If it isn't always the "best" that could have been done, in my 
experience it has always been better than leaving it undone for lack of 
volunteers.  A bonus is that the folks who volunteer (and get a bit of OJT) 
tend to 'take ownership' of the woods thereafter and pass on the things 
they learned to others.  I've seen years that I'd have given my eye teeth 
for *any* volunteers.

sAunTerer