Maintainers Praised

There's a great article by Lindsay Nash in the Asheville, NC Citizen-Times on 17 May 2007 titled "Maintaining mountain trails - Area volunteers work to keep paths passable." It's a paean to the maintainers who keep the Appalachian Trail open and hikable. Just for example,

"Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, a group of mostly retired men pack their chain saws, work gloves and picks into a truck and head out to the trails.

"The men are part of a volunteer work crew organized by the Carolina Mountain Club, the region’s oldest and largest hiking club with 800 members.

"The club, which boasts some 5,000 volunteer hours on the Appalachian Trail alone, is constantly working to keep about 400 miles of the AT and the Mountains-to-Sea Trail clean and green."

The article continues with descriptions of other volunteer opportunities -- such as on the upcoming National Trails Day (2 June this year) -- and mentions the ATC's role. Good piece!