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Since existing
sources already cover the early years of the Club, in the summer
of 2002, I was asked by the RMC to write a manual for its Directors
which would summarize current practices and policies of the Board.
Part of this document provided some historical background for
the various activities in which the RMC is engaged. These sketches
concentrate on the post-World War II era. A Brief History of Trails Pathmaking in the Randolph area dates back over 150 years, to the 1850's, when Gorham mountain guide James Gordon, at the urging of Thomas Starr King, opened a path from Randolph to the summit of Mt. Madison. By the turn of the twentieth century, there were over 100 miles of paths cut by early pathmakers such as Peek, Cook, Watson, Edmands, and Sargent within five miles of Randolph’s major inn, the Ravine House. Beginning in 1903-04, the northern Presidentials were being heavily logged, resulting in the destruction of countless miles of trails by the end of the decade. Many of the original pathmakers were too old to organize reclamation of the paths. In response, the Randolph Mountain Club was formally established in August, 1910 at the urging of John Boothman, cottage builder and proprietor of the Mt. Crescent House. The RMC helped reopen the damaged paths by using both woodsmen and volunteer work parties. Logging roads were used to create new trails, traces of which are still evident in present-day paths like the Beechwood Way and the lower Amphibrach. Natural disasters, including the 1927 flood and the 1938 hurricane, also created havoc in the trail system. 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. The local labor force was depleted during World War II, and the Club fell back upon a few older workers (Holmes and Betts) and the artist LeRoy Woodard (who was 4F, i.e., deemed unfit for military service). Woodard’s legacy lives on in Randolph: he designed the original Randolph highway sign as well as creating the art work used in the RMC logo/patch. By 1947 the situation hadn't improved and, as then president Klaus Goetze reported, "the difficulties...had been augmented this year by the encounter of our mower with a bear, which caused the mower to vanish." Professional labor became impossible to find, and volunteer work parties weren't sufficient to do the job. Klaus Goetze suggested hiring college "boys." In 1948 the Club hired two boys (Edward Chase and William Allen) who worked through the end of August. Minutes from the RMC's board meetings don’t make it clear where the boys stayed, but do make it clear that housing them was already a problem. In 1950 Bert Malcolm, proprietor of the Waumbek Hotel in Jefferson, was able to send his employee, Joe LaFlamme, to work on trails. LaFlamme was employed for two seasons, but in 1952 was no longer available (he may have been too old to want the job). At the last minute, Chris Harris, a long-time Randolphian, and Bob Cote of Gorham were employed for an hourly wage of under $1 per hour. For a considerable number of years thereafter Randolph youth vied for trail crew and caretaker positions, often having to “try out” on volunteer work parties led by Klaus Goetze. Supervised by the Trails Chair, trail crews cleared blowdowns and brushed the trails. One of Klaus’ ventures for volunteers in the early 50's was the extension of the Link from the first Castle to the Caps Ridge Trail.
During the relocation of US Route 2 in 1965-66, parking lots were created on the south side of the new highway at three trail heads in Randolph Valley: Randolph East (trails had previously started at Randolph Station), Appalachia (parking had been near the Ravine House or at Coldbrook Lodge) and at Bowman in the west. By the end of summer 1966 Charles Blood had cut new trails, none substantial relocations, connecting to the new parking areas. At the same time, the AMC moved the Lowe’s Path trailhead from Bowman to a location across the highway from Lowe’s Store (actually the location of the original nineteenth-century path). By 1969, pay had been raised to $1.60 per hour, netting the boys about $350 for a half summer of work. More skilled crew members used a chain saw to clear heavy trail damage. Some summers, the crew was comprised of three members and, by 1970, a four-person crew had been hired, perhaps as much the result of the large number of eager Randolph applicants (all with more or less equal qualifications) as opposed to the need for more workers. The effectiveness of the crews varied, depending upon the diligence which the crews brought to their jobs and the amount of supervision they were given. Paul Bradley (at age 14) took charge of sign painting and, between 1969 and 1972, replaced nearly 400 signs. In 1971 the Emerald Trail (from the Bluff to the Castle Ravine Trail) was the last new RMC path cut on WMNF land for many years; it was blazed and cut under Klaus Goetze’s supervision. In 1972, after considerable board discussion, the first "girl" was hired: Betsy Rising, who went on to become the first woman caretaker several years later. Paul Bradley headed the trail crew for several years, during which he and Al Hudson developed a scheme of priorities for trail clearing. Winter usage of trails was increasing and, in the 1971-2 season, winter caretaker Jeff Bean began making trips to Gray Knob on weekends. Trail maintenance became more of an issue and, by 1973 liason problems with the USFS began to occur: the Forest Service began insisting that erosion control as already practiced by the AMC should become part of the RMC’s trail maintenance. Klaus suggested the RMC should train its crew in AMC methods. In 1974, Bill Arnold was hired to construct more than 100 water bars on the Spur Trail. Board members questioned the Club's ability to afford erosion control, but it soon became apparent that erosion control must be accomplished or overused trails would be closed by the Forest Service. In 1977 the USFS's unit plan contained an alternative that called for the closing of specific “redundant” trails, among them the upper Howker Ridge, Brookside, King's Headwall, part of the Spur Trail, and the upper Amphibrach. After much protest by the RMC and others this alternative was discarded, and the only trail discontinued in 1980 was the upper Brookside. During 1978 the RMC hosted the 2nd Annual Cooperators' Conference and began exploring signing a cooperator's contract with the WMNF. In 1979 the first such agreement was signed; the RMC agreed to maintain trails to minimum Forest Service standards; to hold annual consultations with the Forest Service; and to conduct a biennial joint inspection of bridges. By the early 80's, there were few Randolph youth applying for the crews. Not only had the teenaged population gone from abundant to scarce, but most young people found it necessary to take better paying summer jobs to help meet college expenses. The Board decided to hire an experienced crew, drawn often from the AMC. In 1982 a two-person crew (John Michael Field and John Tremblay) was hired for a ten-week season. RMC trails and camps personnel received First Aid training for the first time. A three-year plan for priorities on trail clearing was developed and Peter Rowan was hired to flag and clear a new Vyron D. Lowe Trail (to connect with the Crescent Ridge Trail near Lookout Ledge). The USFS cooperators’ agreement specified that signs must include mileages, but with the ranger’s consent these were allowed to be changed only as replacement signs became necessary. The first cooperator’s agreement for trail hardening was signed in 1984 by the RMC and the USFS. The project was designed to control erosion on the Spur Trail and many new rock steps and waterbars were put in. The following year the four-person crew did not manage to accomplish work sufficient to meet USFS standards on the Israel Ridge Path; the agreement continued in force for a second year until the work was satisfactory. The USFS ranger, Gary Carr, felt that many RMC trails duplicated other more heavily used paths and brought forth a scheme to close a number of paths, resulting in the closing of the upper Log Cabin loop. The Club fought successfully to have other trails maintained. In the late 80's, finding adequate workers again became an issue. The job was attracting less experienced personnel. The crew had done poorer quality work and needed better supervision. By 1990 the Club realized its salary levels were no longer competitive, and the Board agreed to engage a more highly paid, better qualified, and smaller crew of two, who attended a Trailwrights training session before beginning work. Between 1991 and 1995, the trail crew’s heavy work on erosion control contracts was supplemented by trail clearing and bushing by a volunteer group of North Country teenagers, Trailmasters, who were led by David Dernbach. The group was based at the Perch or at other back country locations. In 1992 prison inmates (under the supervision of Rich Lewis) built cairns on the Cornice Path. Regular work parties were also organized by Board members to help with lighter trail work.
In 1996, the Lowe’s Path was transferred from the AMC to the RMC. The heavy use this trail received was largely due to year-round Gray Knob visitors and both clubs felt the RMC was in a better position to see that the trail was kept cleared. The next year Trails co-chairs, Doug Mayer and Mike Micucci, began a computerized database for trail work, completed the Trails Manual and the Safety Manual for crew members, and drafted a policy statement on logging in proximity to RMC trails. A violent ice storm in January of 1998 threatened the entire RMC trail system, leaving debris strewn everywhere. An emergency fund raising letter was sent to members, which eventually raised almost $16,000 for trail clearing. Despite early predictions of necessary trail closings or abandonment, crews (both paid and volunteer) began work once the snow had melted. By one account, crews operated chainsaws for a number of hours equivalent to almost fifty years of routine trails patrolling. Because of this tremendous effort, all trails had been cleared of storm damage by the middle of June and all were open as usual. A paid position of Field Supervisor was added in 1998. Day-to-day supervision for trails and camps was transferred from the volunteer coordinators to the new employee. Originally an 11-week summer job, in 2002 the Supervisor worked for 12 weeks. The person hired usually starts in May with a few weeks of caretaking to get used to camps’ routines as well as beginning summer planning. Although the intense supervisory burden on the Camps and Trails Chairs had been lessened, new problems confronted the RMC. A facility for tool storage became essential when Doug Mayer’s garage would no longer be available to the Club. Housing for the crews was also needed — for years crew members, since they usually didn’t have direct Randolph connections, had difficulties finding living quarters while they performed their jobs and it became difficult to hire competent workers because there was no housing. The solution to both problems originated with Edie and Dan Tucker at Coldbrook Lodge. The Tuckers offered the Club a site on which to build a trails workshop. It was built in 2000 and dedicated to Klaus Goetze. The following year, the Tuckers made available the Jones Cottage as a center for the trail crews and Field Supervisor and tent platforms were built to accommodate the RMC’s employees. The Randolph Community Forest,
a large tract of former lumber company land on the Crescent Ridge,
was acquired through the joint efforts of many organizations
and individuals; the town voted to accept the Forest at its 2002
Town Meeting. The RMC has begun a formal relationship with the
town as "activity manager for hiking trails" in the
Community Forest. Two new trails on Community Forest land, the
Underhill and Four Soldiers paths, were scouted in 2001 and 2002
and cut by a special RMC trail crew in the fall of 2002.
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A
concerted effort to improve trail signs was begun in 1965, when,
in the words of then President Nancy Frueh, “she and Barbara
Wilson were coming down the Israel Ridge Trail and were taken
aback to find a sign pointing to Cascade Camp--which had been
destroyed by a slide in the 1920's. The old signs, made by
Lizzy Jones, were mostly either outdated or mangled by bears.
We got a reform-minded Signs Committee together, and I persuaded
the CEO of Stanley Tools (who was visiting Randolph at the time)
to give a Stanley router to the RMC.”
In
1995 the Board realized it would need to add a second trail crew
if the RMC was going to accomplish the major erosion control
requested by the USFS as well as continuing `routine maintenance
on its paths. Through the Student Conservation Association of
Charlestown, NH, the Club hired a three-person crew, all first-year
workers. The addition of a second trail crew freed the more highly
skilled senior crew to focus on erosion control. The SCA crew
in turn brushed and blazed trails as well as rehabilitating paths
north of US Route 2. To this day, the two crews have served the
club admirably. In addition the Club has regularly received help
for short term work projects from various volunteer groups like
Americorps, the White Mountain School, and the Penn State Outing
Club.