This note is intended for all of you who wondered if we really had plans for building the Springwater Trail. I think you will find that the answer is yes.

Pam and Dean and I walked the trail at Sugarbush Hollow again this morning making final flagging. On Saturday, we would like to invite any volunteers who would like to spend the morning building a trail to join us at the Sugar House at Sugarbush Hollow from 9:00 until 1:00. We will have coffee ready at 9:00. We plan to split into groups of five for the building: The lead person will clear the small undergrowth about 18 inches wide to form the basic track for the trail. The next two people will trim branches on the two sides to create an open area about 36 inches wide at waist height. The last two people will trim higher branches to extend the open area up to about 8 feet.

Much of the trail will need this amount of trimming. However, there are a couple of places where larger branches and logs will need to be cut and moved.

We will also have paint and brushes for blazing the trail with blue blazes, but that is the final step, because we need to know how visible the blazes are after the trimming.

What to bring? Wear hiking shoes and bring work gloves – some trimming will be berries and roses with thorns. Also bring water since you will be out working.

If possible, bring a pair of clippers – either short handled for lower branches, or long handled for the upper branches. I have a power Scythe for clearing at ground level. If you have one, a second one would be useful on the upper part of the trail. At times a small handsaw will be useful. We won’t be doing any digging or filling, so shovels are not needed. We will have a few extra clippers, so primarily bring yourself (spouses and friends are also always welcome).

I have attached a Google Map of the trail. The portion we are planning for Saturday is 1.2 miles long. If anyone want to bring a GPS to get an accurate track, that would be awesome.

Our Schedule:
Saturday May 5
9:00 Gather at Sugar House for Coffee, a short presentation and to form teams.
9:30 Separate to points A and B (and C if three teams) on the map for trail building.
12:15 Head back to Sugar House for an easy lunch.
1:00 Dismissed

(Some flexibility will be allowed in the schedule.)