by Ed Lawrence, Trail Care Chair
Plans for volunteers to stay in rustic cabins at Cowans Gap State Park for KTA's final Trail Care Weekend of 2013 went awry when the cozy quarters were mistakenly reserved by Park HQ for the wrong weekend. Ouch! That, however, did not detour some of Friday's arrivals from rolling out their sleeping bags in the Organized Group Camping Area and going toe-to-toe with Jack Frost, as the temperature dropped into the 20's overnight. Jenn Ulmer and Donna Thompson, on the other hand, had tucked their pop-up camper into a pet-friendly slot of the regular camping area and, staying on the grid, confessed to having felt a brisk twinge to the air when they stepped out with their canine companion in the morning.
When the rest of the crew rolled into the parking area adjacent to Pavilion #4 early on Saturday morning they, too, received a chilly reception. This was soon alleviated by the crackling of flames as Joe Clark stoked a fire in the old stone fireplace, and Ed Lawrence added some citrus peels to promote well-being through aromatherapy. As the day's work details were discussed - and tools distributed - the gatherings' attention was drawn to a bald eagle that repeatedly broke the mirror of Cowans Gap Lake in apparent pursuit of an errant Kingfisher.
Later that morning, as the crews were going about their respective, assigned tasks, Ginny Musser, who was lopping ahead of the dynamic painting-duo of John Stein and Deb Dunkle, took an unfortunate tumble and was unable to right herself unassisted. With the health and safety of KTA volunteers always the uppermost priority, a call was put into 911. The local fire company's rescue team arrived, assessed Ginny's condition, and took her via ambulance to Chambersburg Hospital. After evaluating Ginny's injuries, it was determined that she had broken her left humerus (upper arm) and possibly also part of her shoulder. Update 11/22/13: Ginny is currently undergoing rehab and physical therapy. She wishes to thank everyone who has called, e-mailed, sent cards, or stopped by to see her.
Although KTA trail care has an excellent safety record, accidents can happen. However, because the program is part of the DCNR Conservation Volunteer program, when an injury happens on DCNR-managed public lands, volunteers are covered by Workman's Compensation.
Although the evacuation of one of our members was way too much excitment, the remaining volunteers were able to accomplish the goals of the weekend as reported to the park manager:
As of Sunday this trail is much improved and in excellent condition.
Park Manager Ryan Donovan responded as follows: "I can't say enough about the work the group did this past weekend. My wife and I had the opportunity to hike both trails today and we're both excited and pleased with the work that was done. Thank you seems hardly enough but please know that on behalf of the park I am deeply appreciative. Please pass along my appreciation to all who participated."
Trail Care participants know that the work they do keeping hiking trails in good condition benefits everyone who follows in their footsteps and that in itself is pretty satisfying trace. At the Cowans Gap Trail Care, fourteen volunteers put in a total of 123 hours of good work upgrading two of the parks trails. The crew included the following volunteers: Ben Auer, Dave Whittmer, Joe Clark, John Stein, Ken Horting, Ginny Musser, Tony Robbins, Jenn Ulmer, Donna Thompson, Deb Dunkle, Frank Donlevy, James Garthe, Tom Bastian and Ed Lawrence.