The Trail Conference Conservation Corps’s Trail Crews, funded through diverse grants and donors as well as contracts with government agencies, build, renovate, and repair trails in northern New Jersey and New York’s Hudson Valley. They support the Trail Conference’s overall mission by using high standards and best practices to create trails that are not only safe, enjoyable, and accessible, but also durable and sustainable over the long term.
Table of Contents
Taconic Crew: by Brian Mott, Taconic Crew Leader
That is an official wrap for the Taconic 2022 Trail crew season! Taconic crew finished extremely strong this month, adding the final touches to the reroute, and starting up on closure. We obviously knew the season was coming to an end, so we really wanted to finish our Wilkinson project. But it would certainly prove to be very close. The crew ended up putting in the very last stair, 2 days before we had to leave site. Leaving us an entire day to close off the old trail and clean up the reroute we had just cut. It couldn’t have been more perfect timing.
At the start of the month, we still needed a fair number of steps in the beginning stretch. We focused most of our efforts here throughout the month and got to put in 7 new stone stairs to finish up that section. Further down trail we left a large section untouched so hikers wouldn’t notice. Once the stairs were complete, that was the last stretch that needed to be done to make the trail walkable. This was a speedy process though because it was mostly just grass removal/topsoil hence why we call it scratch in. This connected end-to-end now, and the reroute was officially complete. We ended up with 260ft of bench cut tread, total.
We spent the next day or two closing the old trail which meant lots of rock moving/placing, junking, leaf litter, dead trees/tree limbs, all to make the trail look natural. After doing so on both ends of the old trail, we ended up with 191ft of trail closure. Sure, the old trail is much longer than that, but we closed everything within sight of the hiker’s eye, so the rest of the trail will eventually naturalize “naturally” over time.
In addition to our main project on Wilkinson, the Taconic crew was still making rounds up to Undercliff to work on some much-needed improvements. Working down lower than last month we found some steps that needed some love. Most were missing gargoyles, and dirt was just piled all over them. Some would wiggle, some were questionable, and some were fine. We maintained and fixed most of these bad stairs bringing us to 9 total stone steps improved on the Undercliff trail. A great way to wrap up work there.
As the season ends, the Taconic Trail Crew is so thankful for having us working in the Hudson Highlands throughout the year! It was an amazing season with a great group of people. A lot of work got done but more importantly, we finished the reroute at Wilkinson and now have it blazed. It is so cool to see hikers taking your trail after you’ve worked on it for the past 6 months, my favorite part of this year was witnessing that.
September proved to be an extremely busy month for the Taconic Crew. We had special projects, service days, and some crew merges for a jam-packed month but our efforts in building trail have not lessened one bit! We helped Phil, a local Volunteer Trail Supervisor, with a special drainage project up on the Notch Trail for a day with some other fellow volunteers plus the Hudson Valley Stewards. The trail proved to be no match for us, and with the power of numbers, 3 massive drainage structures were installed.
Back over on Wilkinson on our main project, all we have left to do is stairs. We started at the intersection where the old trail meets the new, and built up from there. We managed to get in a total of 9 pretty sizable stairs but by no means easy. The rock on site is really sparse, and rock that is there seems to be either too big or too small. When it comes to drilling, we have a hard time getting great splits because of the quality of rock. But with all of these speed bumps in our way Taconic pushed through like we always do and found some decent stone up there. There is just a few more steps to complete the project!
We still made some time for undercliff too. There were many mini projects to get started on up there but we’ve been blazing through it all. We started with some stair improvements by adding gargoyles to a set of stairs that had them missing. 8 in total. This should help with the erosion because without the gargoyles, mineral soil would flow on top of them. Above this set of stairs was a lot of flowing water that added to the erosion so we installed a dip drain in front of it spanning 20ft long. Further down trail was a tricky open section that people would swarm to thinking it’s the trail. We spent a solid few days pulling rocks over and cutting dead tree limbs just to cover it up. It was a pleasure to finally see people going the right way finally!
It’s sad to see the season coming to an end soon yet so exciting to see all of the progress we have made as a crew. September was a solid month for the whole crew! We’re getting extremely close to finishing the Wilkinson reroute so we’ll certainly focus on getting it wrapped up by the end of October. Scoping out the various spots at Undercliff, the same could be said. There are some stairs and minor improvements that we could fix up but should be mostly done by the end of the month. We are all looking forward to our last month working together as a full crew and the upcoming trail work to be done.
Taconic crew is looking strong through the month of August. The crew was able to get some awesome work done. We started the month off by cleaning up our bench cutting sections, as well as finishing the remaining ones. We cut out close to 100ft of new bench cut tread. There are officially no more sections to bench cut! Just a final rake and go section will bring us back onto the existing trail to connect it through.
While finishing out our benching, the crew noticed a massive tree root right in the middle of the tread. It was decided to build a junk wall around and over this root to raise the tread height to not damage the tree. Although the area around the root is itself fairly small, we decided to extend the junk wall to about 25ft to make the section more appealing for hikers by providing a more gradual ascent and descent over the root. Now that bench cutting and junk wall is all out of the way, the crew can focus their efforts now on the stairs that need to be installed.
There are a few spots that need stairs. We decided to install the small staircase needed in the middle of the reroute near a section of bedrock (see photos). We installed 3 stairs plus a base to finish this staircase. Once this was completed, we moved down to the beginning of the re-route, where 12 or so steps need to be installed. Although we did not put any in the ground to count as deliverables, the crew sourced, drilled, and moved a ton of rock to get us started for the month of September.
With the help of our Hudson Valley Stewards, we got up to Undercliff a bit more and got some solid work done. We mainly focused on closure because there are so many social paths off the trail. We managed to close 4 separate social paths amounting to 125ft of linear feet trail closed. We started another large section but are still working on it. We also started some stair improvements up on undercliff which is currently on going.
August was a solid month indeed. The heat finally seems to be going away which boosted crew morale. We are all so pumped to get this Wilkinson stretch finished and open. We’re so close. Compared to other months it may seem like less work was done, but our prep work this month was unmatched. The wheels are in motion for September and are ready to get cranking on those stairs! We plan on getting up to undercliff as well to finish closure and start on stair improvements!
Taconic trail crew had an amazing month of work to say the least. We are functioning like a well-oiled machine and getting into some serious flow. This month, we really focused our efforts on bench cutting up Wilkinson, and pretty much got all of it done. Only some short rake and go sections to do now plus some stonework. The crew was able to cut 585ft of new trail in just one month. Taconic is absolutely killing it! This couldn’t have been done without the help of our HV Stewards as well as a day with the MEVO trail crew. Numbers help a lot with bench cut work, and now the core crew will be able to focus our efforts more on stonework.
July was such a hot month this year, but Taconic pulled through. The heat was probably our biggest challenge this month. Therefore, we focused our efforts more on bench cutting and staying up at Wilkinson. However, we did manage to get up to undercliff a couple times. WE finally put in the last stair at the top of the Undercliff trail meeting up with the Breakneck Ridge Trail. Very cool to see this project go from nothing last year, to now being complete. We got into some light stonework as well at Wilkinson, putting in a total of 4 stairs to finish up our lower section of Wilkinson near the stream crossing.
Now that the new stream crossing is up and running, we decided to close out and re-naturalize the old crossing which was in rough shape. It was about 95ft of trail closure making it a solid day of work. We’re quite satisfied with how it turned out and hikers seem to agree. Just like with undercliff, it’s awesome to see this project now complete and up and running.
Taconic crew clearly had a solid month despite the heat. We got a lot of work done and basically finished bench cutting Wilkinson. Next month, we plan on getting into a lot more stonework and getting up to Undercliff more to start chipping away at some of the improvements that need to be done. Looking forward to it.
June proved to be a solid month in terms of work for the Taconic Trail Crew. We accomplished a lot in such little time with various tasks. This was our first month together as a fully trained crew, and it was good to finally be working on our official projects- we were stoked and ready to build some trail!
We started out our month with straight forward bench cutting and general cleanup from trainings the month before. However, a bit further down trail we reached a more challenging section. Instead of nice hillside and dirt, which is ideal for bench cutting, we were faced with an extremely rocky section. We had to do more of a strategic bench cut, pull out certain rocks, leave some in, and even build up the back end of our tread using a method we call retaining junk wall. These sections take a little more time due to the amount of rock.
Further down the same reroute, we set aside an easier section to help teach our Hudson Valley Stewards how to bench cut trail. In just one day, with joined forces, we were able to complete a 54ft stretch of tread. It was awesome to have the extra hands and the stewards seemed to have a lot of fun doing so. We look forward to future workdays with them.
Lower down on Wilkinson by our stream crossing section, we got into another small stretch of bench cutting. The old trail descends a bit too steeply, so we rerouted the trail leading into the stream crossing by benchcutting 25 ft of hillside to create a more gentle approach. We also closed part of the old trail by junking rock in strategically and revegetating the area with organic soil, tree limbs, leaves, and plants.
Directly across the same stream where we bench cut and did trail closure, we put in some stone steps on the other side. The hillside is much steeper on this side so stone stairs were needed to gain the proper rise. The crew was hyped to start their first official stair project. We needed about 6 stairs to get enough height and the crew managed to get 5 throughout a shortened month spent tackling a variety of projects- it’s coming along nicely. The crew took a couple trips up to Undercliff as well and managed to get in 2 steps in! Not bad progress for a month’s of work.
The official Taconic Season is off to an amazing start. The crew is really working well together, and everyone is getting along nicely. It’s a great atmosphere to be in. When the vibes are good, the work is good, and it showed this month. We made a ton of progress on our Wilkinson reroute and are still cranking away. Stonework is always a great way to get your head out of the monotony of bench cutting constantly. So, the crew was stoked to get their hands on some stairs, and they have turned out amazing so far. We are beyond excited for what’s to come next month!
May 2022
May was a month of success for the Taconic Trail Crew and the rest of the corps! We welcomed our new 900hr crew members in early May. Taconic was the first site that we would train all of them on, so a lot of work was done! Prior to the 900hr members, the trail crew leaders of various sites worked together at Taconic to finish the stream crossing begun nearly completed in 2021. In just under a week, three leaders were able to install 3 large stone steps, finishing just in time to bring on our new members.
Once they arrived on the 12th we wasted no time and quickly got them out to our project site on the Wilkinson Trail to begin training. New crewmembers trained on new trail construction fundamentals while breaking ground on a section of reroute below the summit of Sugarloaf Mountain. Over the course of just 3 days, the trail crew members as a group were able to benchcut 210 feet of completed, walkable tread- our new crew members certainly learn and work fast! Some sections of our route traverses steep sideslopes, so in some areas where extra tread width is needed, rather than dig further down we installed “junk” rocks excavated nearby as a small 10 sq foot retaining wall to raise tread height and hold in fill material.
I’m extremely proud of this corps and crew! Even though we only had a few days to work at Taconic and the focus was on skills training, we were able to get a lot done. The season certainly is off to an amazing start. As for next month, we’ll continue making progress on our current reroute, cutting new trail and building crib wall as needed. We also have a decent amount of stair work planned which will involve a lot of rock sourcing, drilling, and some rigging to move stones through the trees on cables. Aside from the main work on Wilkinson Memorial Trail, later this season we plan to take a detour back to the Undercliff Trail as well to put in a few more stone steps as well as making repairs to old staircases. It’s going to be another exciting month here in the Taconic Region!
Palisades Crew: by Alexander Nayfeld, Palisades Crew Leader
Within the slope is our only hope. “Is there a shortcut?” Trail says “Nope.”
The reroute of the McKeags Meadow Loop the trail crews began during training in May has been successfully completed, thus neatly wrapping up the regular season’s tasks. The completed section of reroute runs a total of 750 linear feet, with perhaps 11 feet of being comprised of intersection with the old-existing trail. Within that 750 feet of total trail lies 87 feet of turnpiking for which a total 205 square feet of retaining crib wall was constructed (133 feet in the upper section and 72 feet in the lower section). Drainage structures, mostly involving natural grade reversals, were defined along that entire stretch, and one drainage structure in particular was more intensively carved out at the terminating point of the largest section of turnpiking . This drainage structure, however, is not altogether entirely new, nor does it stand out amidst the rest of the tread, particularly during the times of peak Autumn foliage. This 750 foot reroute has had much hidden labor associated with its completion as well, as a borrow pit was required to meet demand for mineral soil along the sections which were turnpiked. Well over 150 40-60 pound buckets of mineral soil were harvested from various sources upslope of the trail, and rigging using tensioned cables acting as zip-lines was required to efficiently transport it. Along the 750 foot stretch there were also dozens of adjustments which were made in the form of filling and capping holes, carving slopes, and planting/removing rocks to adjust biker flow and pace. Collectively, it was a monumental achievement and was a highly encouraging way to finish off the regular season.
The final stretch of work on the reroute was almost entirely comprised of capping the completed turnpiking with mineral soil, which was a highly tedious and time-consuming effort with substantial bottlenecks. Once better equipment in the form of the rototiller was supplied, the work was accelerated, but the borrow pit, especially starting out, had very little surface area which possessed easily extractable mineral soil. Constant removal of roots and rocks from the pit, as well as removal of organic soil as we pushed deeper into the slope, slowed progress significantly. Additionally, the zip-line setup to efficiently transport the mineral soil required continuous fine-tuning, adjustment, and very specific characteristics, such as how heavy the buckets must be, how tensioned the line must be, and the exact amount of force required to send the buckets down the line smoothly. The crew therefore, gained a lot of experience with the trial-and-error based process involved in problem-solving while in the field. Navigating all of these variables, in addition to transporting, applying, and then actually configuring literal tons of mineral soil by only three crew members was no small feat. We knew, however, that this was the home stretch and that the project would be essentially completed if we truly maximally applied our efforts there. And so it came to pass that we were, in the end, successful. We all bore witness to what our effort was capable of creating upon completing this project in a timely manner, and the Palisades crew is now far more capable and confident in its abilities, individually and collectively, as a result.
Moving forward, Sterling Forest State Park still has much to be done. At the tail end of October we launched into closure of the sections of the McKeags now made defunct by the Trail Conference’s work since 2020. The beginning of November expanded that closure, but as this report is being written there is still more closure to be done. The McKeags Meadow Loop is still due to undergo massive reroutes, and the rest of the season at Sterling will be a combination of closure/tidying up/and making inroads on the bench-cut which must be completed for the reroute to be finalized. The borrow pit we dug still must be filled and closed, as one example of the tasks left to be done. The remaining tasks of the season are relatively trivial and varied, but they provide necessary insight into the breadth of work which is ultimately necessary for sustainable outdoor recreation.
First came the walls, then came the tread. We finished it all, all doubts we’ve shed.
The consistency with which the crew has applied itself to the completion of the project, despite all setbacks, is admirable and displays the highest ideals which Americorps vows to uphold. We worked hard, we served well, and we “got things done”, as they say. Approximately half of the month was spent joining forces with the Harriman trail crew, so it is not as though the entire month was solely devoted to projects at Sterling Forest State Park. However, even so, the entire new section of the rerouted McKeags Meadow Loop (encompassing a total of 750 ft of completely fresh linear trail) we’ve been working on for over four months now is now complete. Several drainage structures, including dips, knicks, and armoring of vulnerable areas have been installed, and each inch of trail has been meticulously carved to ensure proper adherence to best and most sustainable practices and longevity. In the finishing stages of the retaining structure projects, we ran into a bottleneck regarding capping the fill behind the walls with mineral soil. By the end we only had one reliably functioning borrow pit, and were only able to excavate in one small section of that pit. Approximately 150 or so full buckets of mineral soil were required to finally cap all required sections of the trail, and we also generated a cache of 27 buckets of mineral soil prior to closing down the borrow pit in case of any last minute or future required patches. All three borrow pits which we had previously opened (or were already open when we arrived) have been closed down and renaturalized as well.
Throughout the entire season, the crew had been slowly evolving in terms of experience and hands-on skill-building. In completing the primary McKeags Meadow Loop project the crew has witnessed all stages of a project, from planning, to construction, to finalization and closure. Every member of the crew likely would now be able to take leading roles in a variety of trail projects, ranging from dry masonry and rigging for material transport all the way to drainage planning and revegetation. The evolution through the learning curve we’ve witnessed in all members of the crew has been outstanding, and the effort throughout the season has paid dividends in personal and professional growth amongst all of us.
The sections of greatest difficulty are now behind us, and with the experiences they’ve granted we’re able to propel ourselves gracefully through the remaining projects left, which include further “junk” retaining wall, tread work, and closure throughout the now-defunct old sections of the McKeags Meadow Loop. The primary project which is now 100% completed has presented numerous challenges, all of which we’ve been able to overcome. It has proven to be a monumental achievement even within the Trail Conference’s rich history of exemplary stonework and pathways toward sustainable outdoor recreation. Moving forward with the wisdom we’ve gained shall result in even further exceptional works and sets a fresh precedent for the scope and scale of the work which the Trail Conference is capable of executing.
A Rock in the Wall is Worth Two in the Duff
It’s FINALLY done! All walls are standing tall! 2 months and 33+ individual structural stones later, the main wall has been completed, filling, capping and all. This process has culminated in well over 70 square feet of functional and sustainable formal retaining-wall structure, reaching 4.5+ feet tall at its tallest, and some of it even looks good too! In addition, two other retaining walls were completed on the connector, with the last capstone of the “second” wall being placed and set on the last day of August, Wednesday the 31st. Through difficult terrain, material sourcing difficulties, and unexpected crew-member departures, the core crew successfully established itself as proficient in formal rock-work via the completion of these three crucial and tricky tread-retention sections. The connector has been meticulously constructed and graded to accommodate bikers and equestrian riders, and each retaining wall was instrumental in this regard, as ensuring proper grade for these recreators (while maintaining sustainable trail-building practices) would have been impossible otherwise.
Communication with volunteers has proven critical to the health and feasibility of this project, and, though there were hiccups in inter-organizational communication, having all parties committed to the connector’s completion allowed us to persevere and properly coordinate our efforts toward the benefit of all. The “turnpiking” section of the connector, as labeled on the map, was predominantly constructed and finalized via volunteers’ efforts. Given the quantity of volunteers, individual parties/interest groups, and time-frame involved, however, there were miscommunications about the precise nature of the plan for this section, and this caused us brief setbacks in terms of completion and planning. Sterling Forest is special in this regard, as not many lands possess so many eager parties willing and able to actively assist in trail maintenance/construction. It is a wonderful thing to see, but this sort of high-energy environment also lends itself to wires getting crossed due to the commotion and chaos which naturally arises from numerous high-energy individuals converging and seeking to contribute however possible. After all has been said and done, the section has been completed extraordinarily well and we are ever closer to the inevitable conclusion of this fussy connector, an important piece in the Sterling Forest multi-use trail puzzle. Everyone’s communication skills were bolstered, and collaboration with eager and diverse groups led to expansive and enriching opportunities for perspectives and skills in trail-building to be augmented beyond what would otherwise be possible alone.
As I’m writing this, in the early days of September, we are currently working on refining the connector for strategic “junking”/structural reinforcement of all key structures, tread shape, cleaning up unsightly/unnatural debris, and long-term planning for drainage. In other words: we’re really just working on finishing touches now, as all of the major structural work has already been completed. It has been a hard-fought battle against unsustainability here at Sterling Forest. Yet we’ve valiantly persevered and now have erosion and unsustainable outdoor recreation completely surrounded and on their heels. The crew has gained immense proficiency in the nuances of dry masonry, and the technical nature of formal wall work has transformed my entire perspective on trail-work generally. The visualization of forces exerted onto and by slopes on structures as well as the likely flow of “crush” over time as directed by natural forces such as frost-heave is essential to such work. I am confident that the meticulousness with which we placed and set each stone will be reflected by the longevity of this connector. Following the finishing touches on this connector, the crew shall be working its way southward on the McKeags Meadow Loop to finish the trail reroute which was officially begun by the crews in late May. Stay tuned! The Palisades Crew is only just getting warmed up!
Wall, wall, wall, but that’s not all! Come on down to Sterling because we’re having a ball! If you do then y’all’ll be enthralled! We’re building up a slope tall so them bikers don’t fall! Oh, the gall!
The Palisades Crew finished out July by hitting the home stretch on constructing the huge keystone retaining-wall on the McKeags Meadow Loop portion connecting to the new Augusta Mine Trail- nearly two-thirds complete. We persevered despite obstacles in navigating the introduction of new rigging equipment in the form of a large tripod, difficulty sourcing workable stones, and tricky sections of slope. Despite being a returning crew member, this is my first project with major retaining wall. I had brief intermittent experience with retaining wall on the Wilkinson Memorial trail in the Hudson Highlands last season, but I was not heavily involved, nor was the project on the same scale or for the same purpose as this retaining wall at Sterling. There exist several competing views on how to construct retaining wall amongst the experienced trail builders I’ve worked with, or just trail-based structures in general, and it is difficult to ascertain the “optimal” method. Regardless, I’m doing my best to stick to fundamental retaining wall-building principles such as having a substantial base-tier, batter, breaking of joints, level tiers, “high and outside” contact between stones, etc.. We have already set two stones on the third tier of the wall using the tripod, and will likely be able to complete the third tier entirely by the 9th of August, leaving only the capstone layer thereafter.
In attempting to adhere as closely as possible to “proper” wall-building principles, however, we quickly realized that finding stones of “perfectly” accommodating dimensions would eventually become impossible. When working with native stone which one cannot shape completely, accepting imperfections is essential. The shape, type, and size of the rocks at the worksite are random by nature, so building conventionally-tiered wall with consistent dimensions is simply unrealistic. The crew has gained proficiency in wall-building and has become independently competent within the scope of the dry masonry required at Sterling Forest. Rocks which are goofy and random by nature require adaptation and flexibility in how one works. The crew has shown tremendous progress in navigating these construction challenges, and has developed critical building skills and an eye for trail design as well.
Retaining wall of this magnitude in such conditions has been a huge challenge, especially considering the necessary cooperation between the crew and various new volunteers/outside volunteer organizations. However, despite some setbacks and a bit of a delay on completion, the outlook is very good. Aside from refinements on tread in particular sections on the connector, the major stonework is steadily nearing its conclusion. Increasingly, I am learning that trail-building is an art, a subtle craft, and a very soft science. The perspectives on method are as variable as the colors in the visible light spectrum, and are being expanded in nuance even in the modern day as sustainable trail-design is still only in its infancy as a vocation. Adjusting expectations and modifying tactics to adapt to the specific challenges of the site are indispensable, and new lessons are learned every day. The connector shall be completed in August, barring any unforeseen calamities. Past that, the subsequent closures of the old McKeags sections and their renaturalization will be the priorities. I am very excited for the completion of the main retaining wall in the connector. It will be my crowning achievement to this point in my professional career
The first weeks of the Palisades Crew being off on its own has been a resounding success. Work is consistently getting done at a streamlined and superb pace, and the interpersonal dynamics within the crew keep morale high and the individual members highly productive. The 700 ft stretch of the McKeags Meadow Loop on which we are currently working is improving every single day, and the crew is becoming more efficient and capable all the while.
The raw numbers of finished product for this month do not do the Palisades Trail Crew’s efforts justice. One section that was structurally finalized is the 22ft long capstone layer (11ft square feet) of the retaining wall at the beginning of this trail section. However, hundreds of feet of tread were carved and cut, and they await mostly finishing touches before we can count them as truly complete. And importantly, significant headway has been made on the construction of some huge retaining wall structures on difficult terrain, and progress will only accelerate going forward. The crew this season is comprised of exceedingly hardworking individuals. Despite the scattered and admittedly tedious nature of much of the trail work at the McKeags Meadow Loop, the crew has persevered, and the quantity of linear feet of trail DRASTICALLY improved in terms of quality and sustainability is extremely encouraging.
The nearing of completion of the base tier of the main retaining wall structure was profoundly challenging. The logistics and engineering needed to execute the build with the limited tools at our disposal took some creativity and a lot of grit, but it’s drawing to a beautiful finale very soon. The goal now is to reinforce the base tier with a structural junk wall downslope of the structure itself, as the terrain proved impossible or impractical to dig into to properly bury the enormous base tier pieces. This idea evolved from multiple sessions of collaboration within the crew and with superiors within the Trail Conference as well.
Unfortunately, in late June, I sustained a minor crush injury on my finger upon flipping a large rock on tricky terrain after a long and fatiguing week. This prevented me from working at my normal capacity for an extended period of time, which enabled me to work on soft skills such as leadership, teaching, and management/delegation of tasks. The rest of the crew, therefore, was required to exhibit greater hard skills and rapid uptake of practical tools for trail building. The silver lining of the minor injury, therefore, was an overall enhancement of the total breadth of skills for the entire crew, and greater competence in key areas was acquired by all as as result.
Upon completion of this portion of McKeags Meadow Loop to connect with the newly constructed Augusta Mine Connector, we intend to finalize the closures to the old McKeags Meadow Loop trail via revegetation and sustained renaturalization, then move on to complete another section further south!
May 2022
Throughout the pre-season and into the regular season, Sterling has been the focus of the most fascinating work of my entire year with the TCCC. Strategic lowering of water tables via the extension of inside drains, drainage armoring, and large-scale turnpiking (60 linear feet in total in 5 days alone) have all been highly instructive projects during this period. I am particularly proud of the extension of the inside drain, which drained the entire surrounding water table such that it sank below the tread while also inadvertently becoming a highly aesthetic yet natural-appearing trail feature. The extension of only 15ft of the inside drain backwards into the backslope was highly difficult, as it required substantial excavation, boulder-moving, and drilling of obtrusive rock. Working on the drainage structures in the aftermath of multiple significant rain events was especially difficult, as it required excavating beneath deep running water at certain periods. In turnpiking, sourcing rock for fill became an increasingly challenging task uptrail, as accommodating rock became scarcer. Future work on the section will require either delivery of fill material or deliberate sourcing for such purposes.
The preseason took on various challenges in terms of interpersonal communication. In discussing drainage structures and the related cause-and-effect relationships between certain key areas, for example, there was a clash of opinion and tempers flared. Through careful and honest communication, however, everything was expeditiously resolved, and the work progressed at an even more rapid pace than ever before. I would absolutely qualify this as a breakthrough moment between the crew leaders, as the importance of clear, open, and honest communication between workers is demonstrably paramount to consistent success. Work was largely concentrated within two main sections of the McKeags Meadow Loop Trail, marked with magenta and bright green on the attached map. The magenta section to the south was the section within which the turnpiking and “cribbing” was achieved, including 154.25 square feet of cribwall, with the help of the seasonal newcomers. The bright green section to the north was the focus of all of our drainage structure improvement during the pre-season.
Much was accomplished in only the cumulative two and a half weeks or so spent at Sterling through April and May, and it served as a highly informative training site for the crew leaders and all of the fresh Americorps members alike. Drainage and buildup of tread to grade are both elements which are essential to sustainable multi-use trail, and will both be focal points of our efforts at Sterling Forest for the rest of the season and particularly the reroute of the McKeags Meadow Loop. Prioritizing communication in difficult circumstances remains at the forefront of my mind for maximal crew cohesion and productivity as well. In the coming months we shall be working northward on the McKeags Meadow Loop to complete substantial retaining wall projects and refinement of tread-work, and, upon completion of this by the end of July, hopefully, we shall be finalizing relevant reroute closures via revegetation and naturalization.
Harriman Crew: by Mike Morris, Harriman Crew Leader
October was our shortest month of work yet. With the conclusion of the regular Conservation Corps season, there were a number of events that kept us out of the field for a number of days. Also, the Harriman crew was splitting time in Sterling Forest with our good friends in the Palisades Trail Crew building beautiful multi-use trail over on the other side of Rt 17 (aside: please go check out Sterling if you haven’t. The TC Conservation Corps and Palisades MTB have been building a ton of new trails over there).
Anyway, October saw continuation and completion of the Tom Jones site on the Ramapo-Dunderberg. In September, we sought out to mitigate trail creep, which was defined in that month’s Trail Crew Narrative as “when the soil on the actual trail erodes away and hikers begin walking farther downslope, thus killing plant life, and making a more appealing “trail” for a brief period until that soil erodes away, and hikers walk farther downslope, and so forth. It’s a problem that will continue getting worse unless addressed.” This was very apparent on a specific stretch of the R-D heading up Tom Jones Mountain from the north. We knew we had enough time to address this tread creep and finish the section off before the season concluded.
One perk of working in a scree field is access to an abundance of stone. We had very little trouble sourcing materials for this build. Especially toward the end of a field season, when our stonework skills are at their highest, materials sourcing is usually the bottleneck in terms of productivity. It felt like a blessing to be able to build quickly and proficiently given no shortage of great stone in the area.
As pictured below, the project starts with a push of 6 stairs to get hikers up a slippery section of bedrock. Building with stones on bedrock is difficult because your structures will naturally be “floaty,” or sitting above the surrounding landscape. Ideally, stonework sits in the earth, being held in place by gravity and the hole you dug for it. This is an impossibility on bedrock but was a task that the crew was totally prepared to handle with a season’s worth of building behind them.
The building continues up slope, smoothing out tread and retaining fill and mineral soil to make a nicer walking path. Then it pushes up another 7 steps, the fourth of which is a huge slab of rock that we built up to and out of. It is nice to build up to existing rocks not only for productivity, but also for blending a manmade structure into the landscape. We’re very excited about this section in particular because of how it fits into the existing surroundings. Last, the trail swings around the two trees pictured above and has one final step up top to get up to a paved section from trail builders of years ago. It was a productive end to the regular season for Harriman Trail Crew. Sad to see our final 900-hr crewmate Onely Cabrera leave but very proud of the work she helped accomplish. The TC Conservation Corps trail crews are combining in November for a bit more trail building in Harriman State Park, so keep posted.
September saw a few major changes for the Harriman trail crew. First off, the work by Tuxedo was complete. Second, our crew dwindled to one member, one leader, and one supervisor. This meant combining crews with the Trail Conference Conservation Corps’ Palisades Crew. Combining has been a lot of fun in terms of morale and getting to work with new people, but it’s also meant splitting our time between multiple sites. We worked 11 days in Harriman, less than we’re used to, but still enough to get a lot of good work done.
First, we began work right down by Kanawauke Road on the north side of Tom Jones Mountain. In short, this site features some of the worst trail braiding I have ever seen. There’s a torrent of water that comes between a staircase and a fallen log (pictured above) which has eroded so badly that hikers thought it was the trail. The combination of footsteps and water have eroded away tons of soil. To combat this, we built a retaining wall, which should slow the flow of water and block hiker traffic, easing both aspects of this compounding problem. To make the actual trail more visible and appealing to hikers, we popped rocks out of the tread, smoothed out the tread, and added 2 stairs.
Then, farther up the R-D on Tom Jones Mountain, there is a scree field section of trail in which we’re seeing terrible “tread creep,” pictured above. This is when the soil on the actual trail erodes away and hikers begin walking farther downslope, thus killing plant life, and making a more appealing “trail” for a brief period until that soil erodes away, and hikers walk farther downslope, and so forth. It’s a problem that will continue getting worse unless addressed. Our plan was to build stairs, pop rocks, and smooth tread higher up on the slope, where it used to be, and eventually close down the lower section of tread, by obstructing it, allowing the area to renaturalize and grow back upslope. Progress on this project has just begun, but it’s our priority moving into October and we’re excited with what we’ve gotten done.
Two other little projects that got completed were at the old site by Tuxedo on the Ramapo-Dunderberg. First was a Drainage Structures Workshop. We installed 3 different types of drains on a wet stretch of trail to ease erosion over time. Next was a full closure of the area where we kept our tool chest for most of the season thus far. One unintended consequence of doing this work is trampling the area around our toolbox location. Proper site sanitation requires that we clean up and renaturalize this area after moving along. With a half-day’s worth of efforts, this site should be set up to grow nicely over the coming year.
August saw a variety of accomplishments for the Harriman Trail Crew. We completed the project at the Tuxedo Overlook on the Ramapo-Dunderberg trail. This project has been in process since early June. In August, we installed 20 stairs, 10 square feet of wall, a variety of junk walls and berms, and did some trail closure at this site. This section came with a handful of challenges, including bedrock, which complicated some of our stonework. We built up and over, and sometimes set stairs against bedrock, which is a challenge, but the crew handled it excellently. Another challenge we faced here was funneling hiker traffic onto our structures. As the trail levels out and approaches the viewpoint, it became 15 feet wide and hikers would walk a variety of different paths. To push hiker traffic onto our durable stonework, we needed to “junk” in a bunch of stone, logs, and leaves. Upon revisiting the site over two weeks after we left, the evidence shows that hikers are so far following our trail without issue.
After the completion of the Tuxedo Overlook section, we traveled over to the nearby Kakiat Trail, where water and foot traffic has eroded the trail such that it looks more like a stream-bed than it does a trail. This was an interesting opportunity to build waterbars and drainage structures to mitigate future erosion. Two waterbars and two dips were built on this stretch of trail. Also, in this section, the trail travels over a seasonal stream, in which we set a stepping stone. We took a brief monitoring trip after the early September rainstorms we had in the area which showed all the drains were functioning well.
On August 25th, we took a special volunteer work-trip to Lusscroft Farm in Sussex County, NJ. There was a very wet stretch of trail that required puncheon bridge. Nobody on the Harriman crew had ever built puncheon before, so this was a fun opportunity to learn some new techniques. In one day, we built 139 feet of puncheon. We also cleared some more tread space, as the trail is used by hikers and horses. This project was a fun break from our regular worksite as well as an opportunity to work with timber rather than stone.
Late in the month, we began work on the north side of Tom Jones Mountain, farther north/east on the Ramapo-Dunderberg. This section of trail has a variety of problems that we will address as a crew. First, there is extreme soil erosion that is washing into local lakes. Second, flow of water and hikers is beginning to erode a crucial staircase to the point of structural instability. Third, there are two big herd-paths that hikers take, rather than following the actual trail. One of these herd-paths is so steep, eroded, and rocky, that hikers regularly fall on it. The work that was completed here in the last week of August was mostly stone-moving and materials sourcing to ensure a productive September of wall-building, step repair, and herd-path closure.
Finally, this month saw the conclusion of 3 crew members’ AmeriCorps seasons. Yanshi Sanchez, Jonny Diccianni, and Andrew Krag were integral members of the team and we will miss them dearly! A big thanks to them and all seasonal trail builders that accomplish so much of the work in our parks.
July was a busy month for the Harriman Trail Crew. We started construction on what we’re calling the “upper section” of this stretch of the Ramapo-Dunderberg, beyond the tree which the trail wraps around, pictured above in the report. We left off June feeling energized and excited to move on to the next part of the project and, ultimately, this excitement carried us through a very productive month of work.
The first part of the work plan of the month was to build an elevated tread surface once the trail wrapped around the tree. Erosion on the trail had become so severe that we needed to artificially elevate it, holding in fill material with a bunch of large junking rocks, to ensure that we could get the tread high enough to meet up with the existing stairs that needed repair. Butting up against the last few big junk rocks were 4 new stairs, which we call an “air-case,” a punny description of the floaty nature of the staircase. In layman’s terms, the stairs are not set into the ground, as is traditional. Instead, they are set above the relative soil level, but against large rocks that are sitting in the ground. This is a challenging structure to build, but a fun one, given the crew’s increasing experience with traditional stair structures.
After the “air-case,” we started our first repairs of the season: yet another challenge. In some ways, repairing these old steps was more difficult than just building new ones. We re-set 4 existing stairs from the previous structure, with new ones above and below. A stretch above those 4 repairs was originally comprised of 5 old stairs, none of which could be salvaged. They were all torn out and new stone was set, culminating at another sort of “air-case,” sitting far above the eroded soil level.
All in all, this month was an exceptionally good month of work. It was a happy coincidence that we were able to start this build with 15 or so very traditional stairs (pictured in Harriman’s May and June Reports), before heading up to some more interesting and difficult stonework. We even took a detour onto the nearby Triangle Trail and spent a day repairing a few step stones installed last year across Deep Hollow Brook that had been un-set by fall downpours.
Also, drainage was a big priority this month. As the outline of our stonework became more clear, so did our vision of how to drain water away from our structure. We dug three drainage ditches and added a bunch of junk rocks as pseudo-waterbars to ensure that water flow off the trail and become less of a risk of eventually compromising our stonework.
Looking ahead, we are nearing the end of this project, looking forward to seeing how the trail looks upon completion, and heading to different sections of the Ramapo-Dunderberg to complete additional projects.
In the month of June, the Harriman Trail Crew accomplished a whole lot, especially given how short it was in terms of actual field work. Between training events and holidays, we worked at the site for a mere 15 days. In this time, we set 13 stairs but also prepared and moved a lot of stone that will make future building faster. This is a good pace for any crew, but especially one made up of members that only has a month of stonework under their belts. I am very proud of the progress we all made.
These staircases we’re building are located on a climb approaching the Tuxedo Park Lookout on the Ramapo Dunderberg Trail. The trail in this area is steep and has become braided and eroded, and the Trail Conference’s solution is to build a series of stone staircases to corral hikers onto a single, hardened route and mitigate further erosion while closing and renaturalizing the surrounding area.
On top of stair construction, our crew drilled and split several rocks to create stairs and “gargoyles”, which is our term for side rocks that complement and protect each stair riser. Many of these were moved nearly 200 ft. via our highline rigging system (check our @tcconservationcorps Instagram page to see it in action!). The highline was in use until the end of June and was critical in moving rock pieces from our quarry site. Not only is moving stone a slow, labor-intensive process, but it can also damage vegetation and impact soils. Using a highline allowed us to stage dozens of stones high up on our worksite, ready for use as we continue to build, without this damage or back-breaking labor. This, combined with our crew’s experience level increasing, should make progress continue to speed up over the season.
As crew leader, I also feel compelled to mention some of the growth I’ve seen in my crew in the month of June. When the month started, there were some challenges. The crew was constantly unsure of stone building principles, asking questions, and requiring supervision. This is just a part of learning, and I certainly remember this phase of my own education in trail building. Very quickly, though, their confidence increased as well as their ability to take on projects alone, whether it be drilling and splitting a rock, setting a stair, or building a platform. While I am very happy with the amount of work we got done in June, I am even happier with the progress made in the crew’s skills and confidence.
Our near-term goals include setting 5-7 more steps in the lower section which should get us to the existing stairs, where our focus will shift to repairing and improving existing steps in this area, rather than building from scratch.
May 2022
In the month of May, the Conservation Corps Trail Crews accomplished a good amount of work in Harriman State Park. First, the Trail Crew Leaders, along with two staff trail builders, prepared an area at the trailhead of the Ramapo Dunderberg Trail for an informational kiosk to be installed later. This entailed digging out a section of the hillside to make room for the kiosk and installing a crib wall to retain the remaining soil. This crib wall measures 4 feet tall by 11 feet wide, or 44 square feet. After this, we headed farther up the Ramapo Dunderberg Trail toward the Tuxedo Park Lookout. The trail leading up to the viewpoint had gotten so eroded that there were tons of loose rocks and exposed roots. These tripping hazards only exacerbate the problem, as hikers choose to walk on the sides of the trail, furthering trail braiding and erosion.
To combat this problem, we decided to improve upon the existing stairs, build new stairs where necessary, and plant big stones as obstructions to guide hikers on to our stairs, rather than off-trail. Upon the arrival of the 450- and 900-hour AmeriCorps Trail Crew Members, we began to stage rocks for this project. The hard work of these members, many of whom are going to be working on trail crews other than Harriman, will make for easier construction in the coming months. This rock staging was done by hand-flipping, with rock bars, and by using a highline set up from a quarry spot to our build site.
We also began construction on the stairs themselves. By the end of May, we had set 3 stairs on a staircase that will require 4, and 2 stairs on a staircase that will require 5. One challenge that this section presents is continuity: how will we build stairs that are up to our standards in terms of longevity and walkability, while also not looking terribly out of place on this trail which has a distinctly backcountry feel? All my trailbuilding in the past has used bigger, more uniform stones than we’re likely to use in this section. It will certainly be a change of pace to try to match the existing “feel” of this old, historic trail.
During this time, we were actively teaching the new members the principles of stonework. It was challenging to shift roles from builder to educator, but I am very excited with the progress that the new members are making and am sure we will have more beautiful stonework on this stretch of trail soon. In summary, the Harriman Trail Crew is up and running, improving and learning, and ready to turn this terribly misused stretch of trail into something more durable, long-lasting, and appealing. Our short-term goals include finishing up three lower staircases, two of which are the ones that have already been partially constructed, in order to move construction farther up the hill, where our focus will shift to improving the existing stonework.