Posts by cardiganhighlanders
7/22: West Ridge Trailhead, Mud, and Herd Paths
RAIN totals 12.28″ for June and July in the gauge at Orange NH on the west slope of Mt. Cardigan. Trails that usually dry out by June were muddy like in the usual Spring mud season in July. The usual horde of hikers slogged up and down the trail this Spring and Summer, and the…
Read More7/20: Andrew Brook Trail Clean Drains… Again…
This Thursday 7/20 was two days in a row of dry and sunny weather. Three of us met on Mountain Road at 0900 and soon started hiking up the trail with our shovels and rakes and suchlike implements of destruction, so sez Arlo… All were over 70 YO, and we braced ourselves with hiking poles…
Read MoreSat., July 15: Monadnock Trails Week on Marlboro Trail
This day was part of Monadnock Trails Week as sponsored by SPNHF. They have held 17 MTWs so far. This day made 5 since the latest downpour, and Sunday had another 1.2″ forecast for there. This year the SPNHF coordinator Dylan sent me to Marlboro Trail. We hiked up over about 150 yards of pavers…
Read MoreSummer Calendar 2023
Well there, trail crew, Almanac for this June says 5.36″ of rain. Our habit of raking drains in November, and cleaning them again in Spring, means that all this rain eroded our trails very little, if at all. The team on upper Andrew Brook Trail on Sunday June 18 dug three more, for 100 on…
Read More6/18/23: A Visit to Sunapee
On Sunday June 18th five Cardigan Highlanders met at Sunapee Ski area for a ride up the chair lift to work on the Solitude Trail and the upper portion of the Andrew Brook Trail. We split the group into two work parties; one to work on the Solitude Trail and the other on the upper…
Read More6/8 Mt Kearsarge: Chainsaw Crew for Winslow Trail
Hello Trail Crew, As things sugared off, three of us worked for two hours, and chainsawed three spruce blowdowns off Winslow Trail. Those are all of which we know. We passed out our card to the few people hiking on a showery weekday, had very few black flies but lotsa mosquitos, and listed jobs for…
Read MoreWell Done, Wes!
by Craig Sanborn Wes Tucker is our graphic artist, cartographer, and web minion (he runs the website and calls on the webwright to repair it). About a year ago he presented the crew with a new map of Mt. Sunapee, with trails overlaid on a topo map, conserved land boundaries, ski trails and lifts, etc.…
Read MoreSpring Patrols and Season Prospects
Gentle readers, it is time for a wee update on the crew and the trails (here insert usual warning not to cause more erosion, so please do not hike on muddy trails, thank you). The crew held their annual meeting on March 25. Possibly the most consequential decision was to further encourage volunteers who have…
Read MoreMud Season & Trails
By Bob Humphrey Mud Season has once again come early to Cardigan Highlander territory. Mud season could arguably be the time of year when our trails sustain the most damage. Early warm days start the thawing process and beckon hikers anxious to hit the trails after a long winter hiatus. Unfortunately, this is the worst…
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2022: 38th Worklog Summary for Cardigan Highlanders Volunteer Trail Crew
Seventeen volunteers turned out: 10 had and 6 earned their tartans. The 812 hrs on trails is 158% of the average of the last 5 years pre-covid: 476 hrs. That 812 hrs includes 3 days from 2 YMCA teen crews on service trips: 300 hrs. Our admin hrs = 158, outreach hrs = 59, so…
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