Mt. Sunapee: Ride Up, Work Down
On June 18th, four of us rode the chairlift to Mt Sunapee summit, and then hiked over to the White Ledges for lunch. We stopped to clean a waterbar we built three years ago for our friends of MSGTC. After lunch we hiked down Andrew Brook Trail, cleaning drains and adding barricade as we went. We stopped work at the top of the steep slope above the third ford of Andrew Brook, still a mile above Mountain Road; we'll patrol the lower half of that trail from there some day soon.
The above is a dry report with the needed details. The weather being overcast and cool, it was a comfort to have few of the NH State Bird circling us, and those who landed for a blood meal were easy to catch and kill. The overcast sky plus the summer canopy on the trees meant that photography would be not very useful, in the dim light. We'll do better on a brighter day.
Between meeting, car-spotting, chairlift, hiking, and patrolling, we four were at work for nine hours this day. We do not hike fast, we get needed work done, we stand aside and ground tools to let hikers pass by (and have the chance to talk with them as part of our job). Since we welcomed a new volunteer, we spent much time comparing notes, swapping mountain and other yarns, explaining the trailwork we were hiking on, and generally having a fun and satisfying day.
Thanks to all who turned out, and we'll have another workday nearby soon. Ditching on Rollins Trail is looking kinda likely. I hope you enjoy today,
Yours, Craig