What are You Thankful For?

As hikers we often overlook some of the reasons to be thankful. And this season of Thanksgiving is a good time to reflect and give thanks for things trail-wise maybe you hadn’t thought of in a while -

Here are some that come to mind for me –

1.       Those that Volunteer on the Trail – I’m talking trail club volunteers, maintainers, overseers, those who worked tirelessly to maintain the trails, shelters, etc. so we as hikers can enjoy it. Here is a listing of ones that maintain the Appalachian Trail. And in honor of them, feel free to read the blog I did on these great angels of the physical trail.
belong to a trail club, consider it. Here is a

2.       Trail Angels of Hikers – those that give tirelessly to trail efforts by helping hikers in their time of need. In December I plan to have a few of those trail gems as guests here to explain why they do what they do (so check back). I think of the people that took me into their homes, gave me food, took care of my stinky laundry, drove me back to trail at the crack of dawn, the list goes on.

3.       Organizations that oversee the trail. Like the trail clubs, consider joining them. The funds from memberships, stores, etc help oversee the trail, protect fragile environments, and assist in many other ways. Here's a listing of a few. 

4.       The many Hostels out there – I had the opportunity to interview a few hostel owners for a blog recently. While hikers do pay a modest fee for lodging, it no way begins to cover the amount of time, effort, long days and nights, these folks put in. And the way they support the trail community. It truly
is a labor of love providing a place of rest and recuperation for weary hikers.

5.       Our families and friends – I’m sure you can think of many who have gone out of their way to support you in your sometimes wild adventures. I know I give a BIG thanks to my husband who has stood by my side, even on the home front, while I went off exploring many trails. A big thanks for that!

So what are you thankful for? Feel free to comment. And from us here at Blissful Hiking, Happy Thanksgiving!

Trail Maintainers - the Unsung Trail Angels of Hiking

It's that time of year when trail crews are out tackling the issues of trail maintenance that come up on trails like the Appalachian Trail. Keeping pathways clear and usable for trail traffic is a time consuming but rewarding experience. Trail organizations offer ways for interested people to become trained, certified in certain areas such as chain saw to help clear and maintain trails. Without these efforts, trails would become unusable. Also, the changes of weather affect the trails, leading to erosion issues. Steep grades in trails require a reassessment and may need to be rerouted. Without trail overseers and maintainers, there would be no trails and limited ways of enjoying the wilderness experience.

Maintainer works on a reroute of the Appalachian Trail

The trail upkeep maintainers face -

1. Initial assessment of trail conditions - some clubs hire ridgerunners and others to patrol trails and report their conditions so maintainers know what to look for. This helps a maintainer avoid having to carry heavy equipment while looking for a blowdown or other hazard. If there are no ridgerunners or its out of season the maintainers must walk their section and look for hazards and issues that need to be addressed. This also includes trailside shelters and privies. They then must return and fix the issues they find.

2. Garbage removal - maintainers look for trash and clean it up, including trailside trash and trash in shelters and inside privies. As you might imagine, this is difficult and problematic work at times (and should be totally unnecessary if hikers carry out their trash and don't put trash in the privies!).

3. Foliage - maintainers are responsible for cutting back foliage, many times mowing or weed whacking high grass, and taking care of limb and tree blowdowns. They must carry in the tools necessary to accomplish the task, anything from hand clippers to chain saws (requiring certification). Trail blazing is also done as well as checking for signage.

A maintainer will need to walk in and either saw or take a chainsaw to remove the obstacle

4. Trail maintenance - with the precipitation a trail receives, maintainers look for issues regarding water run-off. In many cases with this and to stop trail erosion, they install water bars (where water moving down the trail turns when it comes in contact with the water and is directed to the lower edge of the trail and runs off) and check dams. Sometimes a steep graded trail becomes so badly eroded that a reroute is needed. Or a reroute can be considered to remove a trail from a road walk or to avoid a hazardous intersection. Trail clubs and maintainers are involved in the process as well as constructing the new trail

Building a Check Dam

5. Shelter maintenance and privy maintenance, including inspection, fixing of issues such as roof leakage, cleaning out and maintaining privies

Trail groups are in dire need of people who love the trail and want to help preserve the trail for future generations. Many offer courses, training, etc on various aspects of trail maintenance. PLEASE - find a trail organization near you and become involved! Even a little can help a lot!