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Building the New Four Soldiers
Path and Underhill Path 6:30 am, Laura's alarm clock sounds, she begins to put on all of her warm layers. I follow in suit and Dan rises soon after. Matt rolls over and goes back to sleep. We make our way down to the stove for food and some hot drinks. Brisk morning air shocks our still warm and sleepy bodies. Going down to the Pond of Safety a family of moose just off the peninsula acknowledges me while gathering some water along the pond shore. All four of us gladly wrap our hands around a warm mug of tea. 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; chain saw, brush saw, clippers, metal fire rakes. Dan asks, " Does anyone mind if I start with the cutting today? ", which the rest of the crew is fine with. He fires up the saw, taking down any tree that stands in the line of pink flagging tape. Laura gases up the brush cutter in preparation to fight the miles of hobble in front of her. Matt and I will rake and clip for the morning, ugh! Cutting with the power tools not only makes time pass by well, but also moves along the trail rather quickly. When that task is finished there remains only raking and clipping. This is not a difficult task, however it becomes extremely monotonous and taxing. Eight hours a day are spent either stooped over clipping the six-inch remnants of hobblebush or raking duff out off the treadway. This is our job, our every day life. What a satisfying way to spend one's time. No matter the hardships any person on trail crew endures; exhaustion, pain, injuries, mosquitoes and black flies all day long, heat, cold, you name it, this still remains an excellent job. To wake up in full view of the Northern Presidentials and spend the morning hiking up such a beautiful trail-- my gosh, what a wonderful job. This fall we have had the chance to experience blissful solitude in remote wilderness far from habitation, let alone any other busy hiking trails. It has been a bonding experience like no other. Complete saturation with one another practically all the time has been surprisingly easy with few conflicts. Once again it will be difficult to leave beautiful Randolph. But next summer is right around the corner. Aaron Parcak has been on RMC’s trail crew since 1999. In the spring of 2000 and fall of 2001, he was a fall caretaker at Gray Knob. This fall, he led the four-person crew that constructed the new Four Soldiers Path and Underhill Path.
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