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Reports from Committees... Treasurer’s Report I recently sent the club’s 2006 end-of-year financial data to Jamie Maddock for inclusion in the President’s Annual letter. Therefore, I will not reiterate them here, other than to say that the club remains financially sound with income and expenses being generally in balance and with modest reserves on hand. I should note, however, that with income down, mainly due to decreased camps use, memberships, and contributions, the committee chairs and co-chairs did remarkably well in keeping expenses in check. While the construction of the Stearns Lodge moves along as planned, the receipt of pledge payments is a well ahead of schedule with less than seven percent of pledges yet to be received. This overwhelming generosity and early payment of pledges have allowed us to pay as we go -- a bridge loan will not be necessary. The Randolph community is simply awesome! As was done last year, we plan to have the financial records audited by a team of interested club members, Ken Lee, Dan Tucker and Jim Hunt, and to have their report available at the RMC Annual Meeting. Thank you Ken, Dan, and Jim for volunteering your services for this important, though somewhat less than exciting, task. I personally owe a great deal of thanks to Michele Cormier for providing copious amounts of time and assistance. For consistency and confidentiality, Michele continues to handle all Stearns Lodge pledge related issues. Additionally, she makes essentially all of the clubs bank deposits and, with considerable patience, fields a plethora of my questions — from accounting to taxes. It is an honor to serve as your treasurer and it is with reluctance that, due to other obligations, I have concluded that I will be unable to continue serving as treasurer beyond my term’s end in August. I do, however, look forward to continuing to serve the club in other capacities. If you would like to serve as RMC Treasurer or know someone who may be interested, please contact me at 603-723-0854 or by e-mail.
We have had a good winter up at the camps. The winter started out fairly mild, but the winter experience is at full throttle as I write this in late February. We began the season with Chad McClean and Matt McEttrick trading a week on/ week off schedule. Chad had to leave early due to an injury, and is missed. We were able to fill in the gaps with volunteers, trail crew, caretaker alumni, and the occasional board member. Thanks to all who pitched in. Matt was able to quit his other job and has taken on the brutal 11 on/ 3 off schedule. A big “Attaboy!” goes out to Matt for all the hard work he has done for us over the course of the season. Sally Manikian has recently accepted the job as spring caretaker and will be starting up there on April 5. Sally is currently the caretaker at Cardigan Lodge in Meredith, NH, and also brings with her two seasons of experience caretaking for the AMC at Carter Notch Hut. Welcome, Sally! We are still accepting applications for summer caretakers. Our caretakers always like to see a friendly face up there, especially during the quieter times of year, and they truly enjoy treats from the valley. If you have a chance to, go on up and feed those poor souls!
At long last, RMC’s trail crew will have a place they can really call their own. From listening to organizations as varied as the Green Mountain Club and the Wonalancet Outdoor Club, and from our own experience with the Tuckers’ Jones Cottage, we know that having a central home will only add to the sense of spirit, will help retention of crew over the years -- and will make coordination by the volunteers that much easier. In a more intangible way, anyone who passes through the Stearns Lodge can’t help but be impressed at the obvious commitment that RMC’ers have for giving our workers every resource necessary to meet the challenges of the day. Simply put, Stearns Lodge speaks volumes about the depth of feeling for our RMC trails network and the importance we attach to it. For this summer, in addition to the usual spring patrolling, brushing, blazing, and cleaning of drainages, our crew will a tackle three major projects. First, one crew will spend about two weeks on the bank of the Pond of Safety stabilizing a steep, eroded descent from the woods road to the pond, and adding rock step stones to the viewpoint at the pond. In July and August, the crew will head to upper Amphibrach, working from the vicinity of the Cliffway to the Pentadoi, improving and adding drainages, and adding and repairing rock steps and step stones. Both of these projects are 50% funded by the Androscoggin District of the White Mountain National Forest.
From time to time RMC has had a fall crew that’s tackled a project or two -- more than just the usual fall drainage cleaning. This year, we’re pleased to have funding from the Waterman Fund and the US Forest Service to perform erosion control on RMC’s Lowe’s Path from Gray Knob to the summit of Adams. The Waterman Fund’s mission is to “strengthen the human stewardship of the open summits, exposed ridgelines, and alpine areas of the Northeast.” The Fund stresses outreach and education, so a part of the project includes before and after photos which will be used to make photo albums explaining the work. Copies will go to Crag Camp, Gray Knob and Stearns Lodge. The fall crew will work during the week in September and October as weather permits. And, for once, we won’t have to search for housing -- the crew will be in residence at Stearns Lodge. RMC board members Mike Micucci and Matt Schomburg are organizing our trails work trips this year. See the list on our web site -- we hope you can join the fun and lend a hand on our trails. Volunteers continue to be a vital part of our overall trails efforts. We hope to see you on our paths this summer, whether tackling the Great Gully, enjoying a long day wandering up Howker Ridge, or simply walking around Randolph on Bee Line and Diagonal. Happy hiking!
The RMC merchandise program is going well! We've recently added several new products including a winter fleece hat with a great looking RMC logo and a beautiful new long sleeve "performance" T-shirt depicting the Randolph Valley and the Northern Presidentials. These items are selling well and are nice complements to the other T-shirts, maps, and books the Club sells. The RMC merchandise program is critical to the club for many reasons. It's an important source of revenue used to support the club's mission, and the program helps hikers stay informed and safe with guide books and maps. RMC shirts and hats also provide great visibility for our club when our members wear their RMC gear out on the trails. We're always on the lookout for new products that make sense for our program. New items currently under consideration include a "day hike" trail map and guide, bringing back the RMC necktie, and an RMC bandana imprinted with trails. You'll find a full selection of RMC merchandise on the web site and at Moriah Sports in Gorham. You'll also find items available at the Lowe's Store in Randolph. Please stop by! There are two items of particular
interest. First, the second edition of "Randolph in
Appalachia" has just been put into stock. Second, the Waterman
book of trail development is in stock and selling well.
These are limited edition printings compiled and edited by the
club historians, Al and Judy Hudson. They are very well done
and interesting for anyone with an interest in Randolph history
specifically, and White Mountain trails history in general.
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The
biggest news for RMC’s trails this coming summer, is, of
course, happening right in the valley -- the opening of Stearns
Lodge for use by our trail crews and caretakers. Much has been
written in the RMC newsletter in recent years about what this
means for the club. For those of us directly involved in the
trails effort, the value of a place like the new lodge is immediately
apparent!
Our
other crew will be working on the trails in town, specifically
Diagonal, Wood Path and EZ Way. The crew will be repairing existing
work and adding new drainages and rock work. The New Hampshire
Bureau of Trails, through their popular Recreation Trails Program,
will fund 80% of this project cost. The “RTP” is a
reliable source of funding for clubs large and small each year.
The money the state distributes via this grant program originates
with the federal gasoline excise tax.