by Ed Lawrence, KTA Trail Care Chair
The Thunder Swamp Trail System (TSTS), a designated state forest hiking trail system, traverses Delaware State Forest in the Poconos. This year, we focused our Trail Care Week on the main trail loop that crosses Pennsylvania Route 402 twice, along with an offshoot, starting west of Lake Minisink, that leads to 2 short loops in the bifurcated Stillwater Natural Area and to a third loop that encircles Painter Swamp. We chose these areas because of reports that the trail system was overgrown and had become an obstacle course of blowdowns and deadfalls. Those reports proved to be accurate. The crew was based out of the Resica Falls Boy Scout Camp, which had excellent facilities and was very comfortable.
[photo credit Tony Robbins - see more picture HERE]
Dedicated and experienced volunteers Kathy Sieminski, Rick Stibgen, Tony Robbins, Tom Bastian, and Ed Lawrence put the TSTS on their priority list for 2016, and their efforts have had a significant, positive impact on the trail. The game plan for the week was simple and straightforward: clear the trail of hurdles, and clean up as much of the trail corridor as possible.
The combined efforts of Tony Robbins and Tom Bastian tackled the first objective. These sawyers cleared over 200 blowdowns and deadfalls from the trail. This number vividly attests to the lack of regular maintenance on the TSTS. The only section they could not access and clear was the Pennel Run Trail loop in the Pennel Run Natural Area on the west side of the main loop. This area was burned over earlier this year, making the trail impossible to follow.
The second objective kept the brush whackers and loppers busy all week. The result: the trail corridor through the eastern half of the main loop—from the southern trailhead off Route 402 to just short of the northern Route 402 crossing—is now cleared and in excellent shape for hiking. The volunteers also cleared the eastern third of the trail leading from the main loop to Big Bear Swamp, seeing an actual big bear in the process.
Another major accomplishment was that the volunteers opened a spillway that beaver activity had clogged at the stone walk-across over Saw Creek (see photo above). Removing the debris lowered the water level so that the trail is no longer flooded, allowing hikers to safely walk the length of the stone walk-across section without having to wade through the creek.
The remainder of the trail system remains shaggy, as one hiker described it in a sign-in book, to very overgrown. The TSTS provides a great hiking experience and deserves to be maintained to a higher level than its current condition. KTA will return next year to the TSTS to continue improving the trail. Volunteers will be needed to make this 2017 Trail Care Week successful. Will you be part of the effort?