|
 A Brief History
of Trails
By Judith Maddock
Hudson, Summer 2003
"Up until 1941 the Club
hired local woodsmen for trail maintenance, often contracting
the job through John Boothman who then himself hired local labor.
Volunteer work parties were also a regular summer activity, mostly
to clear blowdowns and brush the paths."
|
 A History of RMC Excursions
By Judith Maddock Hudson, Winter
2007-2008
"From the 1940s to the present,
excursions have generally been held twice weekly, on Tuesdays
and Thursdays. The latter have been variously titled "junior
walks," "children's climbs," or "short hikes,"
but were intended for a less athletic clientele than the more
strenuous Tuesday hikes."
|
|
|
 A Study
of RMC's Winter Visitors
By John Pereira, Winter 2004-2005
"I approached the Randolph
Mountain Club and the White Mountain National Forest and asked
if they would be interested in having me conduct a winter impact
assessment of the Northern Presidential Range..."
|
 Building
the New Four Soldiers Path and Underhill Path
By Aaron Parcak, Winter 2002-2003
"With food in our bellies
and packs strapped on we walk down the puddle filled logging
road towards the work site. We arrive at the blue tarp, unwrapping
the large burrito to reveal an array of trail building tools..."
|
|
|
 Challenge
in the White Mountains
By Judith Maddock
Hudson, Summer 2006
"In today's world, a challenge
- whether the marathon, triathlon, or another extreme adventure
- has become an important part of the amateur athlete's repertoire.
Club members are hardly immune to this frenzy. Indeed, for well
over a century, Randolphians have been at the forefront in creating
mountain adventures that emphasize physical endurance or speed."
|
Designing
RMC's New Paths
By Carl Demrow,
Winter 2002-2003
"Trails today are designed,
first, with the resource itself in mind. Minimizing grade, strictly
avoiding the “fall line” (the path a ball would take
if you were to roll it down a hill) and staying out of wet areas
are paramount."
|
|
|
Formalizing
Handshakes: First RMC Trails Easement
By Samarjit Shankar,
Summer 2007
"Today a significant proportion
of RMC trails crossing private lands lack adequate legal protection.
Why would they require legal protection, one may ask? Having
allowed their construction in the first place, why wouldn’t
Randolph landowners continue to allow the RMC to maintain trails
on their properties?"
|
Four
Soldiers Path and Underhill Path Trail Descriptions
By Steve Smith,
Summer 2003
"This new trail, located
on land recently acquired by the Town of Randolph and the White
Mountain National Forest, leads from the Pasture Path, 1.5 mi.
west of its trailhead on Pasture Path Rd., over the Crescent
Range to the Pond of Safety Trail, 0.3 mi. from the pond..."
|
|
|
 Living in Bear Country
-- On and Off the Trail
By Doug Mayer, Winter 2005-2006
One of the seven LNT principles
is to “Respect Wildlife.” One of the most important
means we have of respecting wildlife is keeping our food sources
separate from their food.
|
Memories
of Trail Crew, 1951
By Christopher
Harris, Summer 2007
"Early in the summer it
was learned that the arrival of the Crag Camp caretaker would
be delayed, and I was instructed to get the hut ready for visitors
in his stead. Up the Spur Trail I went with what gear and provisions
I could carry, feeling quite ill-equipped for the task. In hooking
up the water supply from the nearby spring, I discovered that
a section of pipe had burst during the winter..."
|
|
|
 Mount Adams
By Will Strayhorn, Summer
2004
"While looking out on the
magnificent mountains, I noted how wonderful they were. As I
stood there, hunger rumbled in my stomach, and the wind blew
hard on my face..."
|
 Randolph's Early
Pathmakers, 1850-1905
By Judith Maddock
Hudson, Summer 2005
"The first explorations
of the Northern Peaks had started earlier, around 1850, when
hardy walkers engaged mountain guides to take them up Madison,
Adams, and Jefferson. James Gordon of Gorham was the most sought-after
guide, and it was he who led the 26-year-old Reverend Thomas
Starr King's party in 1857..."
|
|
|
Tales
from the Trails: Paul and the Bear Cub
By Kathy Tremblay,
Winter 2005-2006
"This past summer, Paul
was on an early evening run along Pasture Path, when, from the
corner of his eye, he saw a small bear cub skitter up a tree
as fast as he could climb..."
|
Tales
from the Trails: Wild Dogs
By Kathy Tremblay,
Winter 2004-2005
"Soon, however, I knew I
wasn’t alone. I heard footsteps – a lot of them –
very stealthily moving on either side of the trail..."
|
|
|
 The Life of a Path
By Doug Mayer, Summer 2005
"In other words, it’s
the trip that matters more than the destination. And, perhaps
nowhere else in the White Mountains are there such an abundance
of paths where it’s the journey, and not the destination,
that matters."
|
 The
Paradoxes of Trail Work
By Doug Mayer,
Winter 2003-2004
"Trail work can be quite
a paradoxical undertaking. We pour labor and, sometimes, man-made
materials into modifying a path - with the goal of protecting
a natural experience."
|
|
|
 Trail Blazers
By Genevra Pittman,
Winter 2003-2004
"She hasn't had much trouble
with a lack of activity recently. The crew works Monday through
Friday, usually from about 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., although depending
on the current project, they may not arrive back at camp until
after dark."
|
 Trail Work Above the Trees
By Leslie Ham,
Winter 2007-2008
"A well-placed cairn is
of the utmost importance in the alpine zone. They should be placed
so they can be seen with the sky as a contrasting background,
close enough to the trail so that hikers don’t have to go
off the tread way to follow them, but not..."
|
