by Wanda Shirk, President, KTA Board of Directors
On Mother’s Day, after an early morning phone call from my son who is working in Alaska, and before an evening call from my daughter who is loving a growing trio of toddlers in Connecticut, I spent 6 glorious hours on “my section” of the Susquehannock Trail (STS). It’s my pleasure to care for 5.7 miles of the STS between East Fork and Wild Boy Roads.
With my new Silky Katanaboy folding saw, I can clear blowdowns up to eight inches in diameter without even carrying in a chainsaw. I’ve been delighted with the tool, and I engage happily in my various projects. One project, variously called “Bog Betterment,” “Muck Mitigation,” or “Swamp Remediation,” consists largely of putting cordwood in wet areas and muddy seeps. My section also offers me opportunities to wield a Pulaski on sidehills, whack back stinging nettle, uproot striped maple takeover, and generally lop and chop to my heart’s content. Things look so much better out there every time I go.
I love it. I’ve often thought I’d like to have 40 or so acres of my own land on which to build trails and play in the woods, such as my STC friends Bill Boyd and Donna Batterson each have. My home 4 acres have a patch we’ve always affectionately called “the Hundred-Acre Wood” after Winnie-the-Pooh’s beloved forest, but there’s no actual “back 40” for my personal attention.
But the STS? I can work and play on it whenever I want to! I don’t get spring and fall real-estate tax bills for land ownership there, but my section basically feels all mine—my trail for play and pleasure! I spent many, many hours out there this spring. Not once did anyone come along while I was out there working, and the quiet and solitude were beautiful to me. I get tremendous satisfaction from little trail-improvement projects.
My section has great treadway (few rocks) and is usually 18 to 24 inches. Every time I go out, I widen the corridor as well so that much of my green tunnel could be walked by two abreast. I’ve created a couple spots at stream crossings that just have to be enticing to hikers who are looking for a lunch or camping spot. My dreams include creating benches, some water bars, and the best and most beautiful footpath on the 85-mile STS.
I wish all maintainers loved their sections to the degree I love mine. I’ve enjoyed KTA Trail Care Weekends immensely over the past dozen-plus years, including the friendships and camaraderie with (and all that I have learned from) the great hikers and trail lovers who work on our Pennsylvania trails. But there’s nothing like having your own little section of trail to bless and be blessed by.
I was patting myself on the back that Mother’s Day, feeling somewhat egotistically like the world’s best maintainer, when a reality check hit me and I considered what other maintainers have done for sections of trail I’ve enjoyed over the years. Clearly, there are many who take great pride in their sections and have done amazing and wonderful things to awe the hikers who pass through.
I thought of Bob Webber, who has maintained the Black Forest Trail, Golden Eagle Trail, and eponymous Bob Webber Trail virtually single-handedly for decades in addition to volunteering as an STS maintainer in the Hammersley Wild Area for years. If you’ve hiked his trails, you know his signature benches at vistas—each nicely crafted from windfalls and built into a seat like the bottom layer of a Lincoln logs set.
Then I thought of Bob Fromme’s love for his section of the Appalachian Trail—how he makes “his” shelter a thing of beauty and joy forever and adds a touch of trail magic from time to time by providing surprise feasts for thru-hikers who pass through.
And then there's Betty Detsch, who's been maintaining 50-some miles of Quehanna-area trails for who knows how long!
And there are more like them—unsung heroes of our trails everywhere.
I can’t hold a candle to the greats. Well, maybe I can hold a candle. I do love doing my little bit. The hours I spend working on my section are among my happiest in any week, any month, any year.
If you don’t have a section to maintain, check with your local Trail Master to get a section that needs your TLC. If you do have a section—enjoy!
Happy Trails,
Wanda