Trail Work Opportunities

The Appalachian Trail and the other footpaths we enjoy in Central Pennsylvania wouldn't exist without enlisting persons committed to preserving good trail construction.  Trail management encompasses on-the-ground stewardship performed by volunteers and agency partners to maintain the Trail, its structures, and its natural and cultural resources.  It includes keeping the footpath clear of natural overgrowth and blowdowns; building and relocating sections of the footpath, building and repairing shelters and other structures, and caring for overnight sites.

SATC coordinates the efforts of individual volunteers who care specifically for assigned segments of SATC's 20-mile section of the A.T., side trails to the A.T., and the entire 7.5 miles of the Darlington Trail on the Cumberland County/Perry County border along the ridge of Blue Mountain.

March 24, Saturday

Trail Maintenance 101
Location: Ironmaster's Mansion at Pine Grove Furnace State Park and optional trail maintenance project in nearby Michaux State Forest.  More details later.



March 25 or 31, (T.B.D.)

Rausch Gap Shelter Restoration
Sign-up for this call-up event by contacting Jeff Buehler at (717) 657-8281.

Scheduled group activities occur in the spring, summer, and fall.  These group work trips are announced on this web page when scheduled quarterly with other SATC activities.  SATC Trailmaster, Jeff Buehler, has served SATC for over 15 years.  His experience and training ensures that SATC provides one of the best-maintained stretches of the A.T.
Read the 2011 Annual SATC Trailmaster Report.

Between ice storms, hurricanes, and sometimes even unusually good weather for ongoing projects, your help is needed for more than work trips listed here.  Call-up trail work trips are announced by e-mail alerts sent directly to volunteers on SATC's trail workers list. 

Click here or call (717) 657-8281 to contact Jeff Buehler, SATC's Trailmaster, to:

• Volunteer to maintain a section of trail
• Add your name to the alert list
• Sign up for a work trip
• Report a trail problem

Training Opportunities

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy supports training opportunities and workships for A.T. volunteers that range from basic Trail maintenance to removing invasive exotic plants to certification courses for users of chain saws and crosscut saws.

     

Six Appalachian Trail (A.T.) Crews tackle large-scale projects such as Trail relocations and rehabilitation and bridge and shelter construction.  The all-volunteer crews are active from May through October each year on projects located from Maine to Georgia.  Trail Crew projects - which may last for a week or more - are planned and completed in cooperation with A.T. maintaining clubs and agency partners such as the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service.