Long Distance Trails Crew

West Hudson

Meeting Place:

Various locations and trailheads along the long distance trails west of Hudson (AT, LP, SRT and HT), primarily in Orange and Rockland Counties including Harriman, Bear Mountain, and Minnewaska State Parks.

Work Days:

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Frequency:

Every other weekend, from March through December

About the Crew

The Long Distance Trails Crew (LDTC), established in November 2011, is an all-volunteer group of men and women dedicated to the construction and rehabilitation of the Appalachian Trail, Long Path, Shawangunk Ridge Trail and Highlands Trail in New York State on the west side of the Hudson River. We are men and women who really enjoy being in the woods. We thrive on leaving something of lasting grace and proportion behind us that will provide enjoyment to hikers for a long, long time to come. We take particular pleasure in the sense of camaraderie that comes from working as a team.

The LDTC has relocated and rehabilitated trails from the Catskills southward into Harriman and Tallman Parks. Our work is technical in nature and is most often beyond a routine maintenance crew’s scope of expertise. Working with rock and earth, we have installed crib walls, stepping stones, stairways and trail tread. We have used heavy lumber to place bridges of varied design over creeks and bog bridges over wet lands.

All LDTC projects are intended to invite a hiker to walk an extra mile and to take pleasure from the grace and proportion of the trail. All projects pay special attention to the long term sustainability of the trail itself and the immediately surrounding terrain. We use local materials and strive for an integrated, natural look at every project’s end.

Where We Work

Many of our projects are in Harriman State Park. You will find our work on Bear Mountain, West Mountain, Black Mountain, Long Mountain and at Greenwood Mine - among many other sites. As our name implies, we focus on the “long distance trails” - the Appalachian Trail, the Long Path, Shawangunk Ridge Trail and the Highlands Trail.

Our worktrips start in March, are scheduled for every other weekend on Friday, Saturday an Sunday with no extra skipped weeks, and miss all the major holidays/holiday weekends except for July 4 and Columbus Day.

Training

No experience is necessary. We provide on-site training. Our experienced crew and crew leaders are eager to teach people of all abilities the skills needed to build and rehabilitate trail. Volunteers will learn the basics of trail planning and construction, work site safety, material selection and movement, proper use of hand tools and rigging.

LDTC in the News

Long Distance Trails Crew Chief Chris Reyling Named ATC Mid-Atlantic Volunteer of the Year - March, 2016
Eric Garjnost Art Exhibit - the oil and watercolor paintings of artist Erik Garnjost, crew leader for the Long Distance Trails Crew, are on view in a solo exhibition closing April 26, 2017.
Restore Seely Brook Bridge on Goosepond Mountain - a project for the 2017 season.

Resources:

2015 Annual Report - summary of the 7 projects, 70 crew outings and 4850 volunteer hours worked in 2015.
2016 LDTC Annual Report - summary of the 9 projects, 82 crew outings and 7776 volunteer hours worked in 2016.
LDTC 'Rack Card' - used by the LDTC crew leaders to provide hikers and prospective volunteers with information about the crew.