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Reports from Committees... From the Archivist
Anyone wishing to contact the
archivist may use e-mail (abhudson@anthro.umass.edu), USPS (Al
Hudson / 111 Amherst Road / Pelham, MA 01002), or telephone (Randolph:
603/466-5509; Pelham: 413/256-6950). Camps News This past Columbus Day weekend I had the privilege of being up at the camps with our fall caretaker. The weather was fantastic, a beautiful sunset was followed by a nearly full moon rising over the flanks of Madison, and the camps were full. It was great as Camps Chair to integrate myself however briefly into the caretaker life. Sharing the joys of the mountains with all the different families, groups and solo hikers, along with an invigorating hike to Adams summit on our wonderfully maintained trails, reminded me of why the RMC exists and why we strive for excellence in all our RMC programs.
This winter we have two caretakers on tap to provide full time coverage. Matt McEttrick, a seasoned caretaker and trail crew member, returns to RMC along with someone new to RMC, Chad McLean. Matt worked at Canyonlands National Park as a river guide this past summer, and has recently been guiding at Ancient Pathways Bushcraft School in Arizona. On Matt's weeks off this winter, he will return to his job at REI. Matt comes with great hopes for a snowy winter up at the Knob. Chad has recently worked on a Forest Service crew out of Conway and was previously leading students in outdoor programs at the Howard Gardner Transitional School. On his off week, Chad will be working on a rustic cabin he is building himself. The RMC Camps committee welcomes a new member - our 2004-05 former winter caretaker Derek "Storm" Schott. Storm already has been very helpful getting the camps ready for winter and with the hiring of winter caretakers. Mike Pelchat will also serve on the committee again this year. I encourage all of you to make
a trip up to Gray Knob this winter and stop in to say hello --
or perhaps bring your warm sleeping bag and spend the night. Trails Report One day in the middle of this past summer, I found myself visiting with Field Supervisor Chris Fithian, reviewing the work to date. It was a whirlwind of activity, reflecting both the spirit of this summer’s trail crew and the wealth and diversity of RMC’s trail system. Their work covered quiet community paths, busy mountain thoroughfares, and high-elevation alpine projects.
- Annual patrolling in early June, including chainsaw and axe removal of blowdowns, and cleaning of many hundreds of waterbars and ditches. - Erosion control work on Randolph Path between Sylvan Way and Valley Way, and along Amphibrach. Fifty percent of the cost of this work was reimbursed by the White Mountain National Forest. - Erosion control work on Bee Line and Diagonal. The Diagonal also received new cedar and tamarack bog bridges, as well as a short relocation between Burnbrae Path and EZ Way. The Bee Line now sports a short, new relocation to avoid a driveway walk at the top of the Bee Line. Thanks to Sandy Treddenick, who graciously gave permission for this short section of trail. - Brushing on many miles of trails, most notably Sylvan Way, Israel Ridge Path, Castle Ravine Trail, Perch Path, Gray Knob Trail, Randolph Path, Cook Path, Ice Gulch Path, Owl’s Head, many of the trails on Randolph Hill and shorter sections of other paths too numerous to mention here. For the third year in a row, several RMC crew members received their US Forest Service chainsaw certification. The three-day course covers important maintenance, operation and safety issues, and finishes with a practical chainsaw felling test. Volunteers added to our accomplishments this summer, leading brushing efforts on trails from Four Soldiers to the Lowe’s Path. Thanks go to work trip leaders Peter Behling, Chris Bishop, Irene Garvey, Mary Krueger, and Aaron Schomburg.
Many other volunteers spend considerable time on RMC’s trails endeavors, most notably Co-Chair Dave Salisbury, indisputably one of the region’s most experienced trail experts. Tami Hartley and Regina Ferreria stencil our new trail signs, and board member Matt Schomburg organizes our work trips. Thanks to all of you, and to plenty of others who lend a hand at various times throughout the year! One question that often gets asked of RMC, is who can apply for trail crew? The answer is... almost anyone. We do ask that prospective applicants be at least 18 years of age, because the crew uses power brush saws, chainsaws and operates complex rigging systems for building rock staircases and waterbars. No previous experience is needed... just a willingness to spend the summer working hard in the Northern Presidentials -- which, as most of us know, often means a healthy dose of bugs, rain and mud, along with cool mountain breezes, sunny days and great comraderie. For more information on RMC trail crew, visit www.randolphmountainclub.org. One of the nicest aspects of
RMC’s trails is that they are open year-round! Though a
mantle of ice and snow may be covering them as you read this
report, we hope you’ll find time to leave the workaday world
behind and enjoy the serene beauty of our mountains in winter. RMC Merchandise Sales and interest in the new long sleeve T-shirt and the patch seem fairly strong. Mike presented a check for the past few months' sales through Moriah Sports to the club Treasurer. Our arrangement with Moriah Sports, new this year, seems to be working well and gives our merchandise increased exposure. (RMC items are also available by mail, using the membership/order form in this Newsletter, and from our web site www.randolphmountainclub.org.) We are considering additional
RMC products, including water bottles, a map of short hikes in
and around Randolph, and a commemorative shirt or sweatshirt
for the Stearns Lodge. We are also continuing efforts to find
an attractive and reasonably priced winter hat. By the time you
read this, the hat should be available for $15. Web Site News
- The Stearns Lodge construction update page, with weekly news and photo updates. - The addition of RMC’s new Duo Dri™ Long Sleeve Crews and new RMC patches to the online store. - A new RMC public message board, hosted by Google Groups. - New caretaker journal entries from our fall and winter caretakers. - Pictures from the trail crew’s summer project in the Town of Randolph. Weekly updates of weather conditions and snow depth from Gray Knob will return to the web site in November, as usual. I’ve noticed that many people have been searching for the words “trail sign” and “auction” from our home page. Yes, I did say that a trail auction was supposed to start in June, but due to low production of new signs it was delayed. However, the auction has just started! All the proceeds go to the RMC trails system, and help us pay for the materials for new signs. If you have any suggestions
or ideas for the web site, please feel free to e-mail
me. Treasurer's Report Michele Cormier now faces the greatest challenge of her tenure as RMC Treasurer—training me to replace her. We recently upgraded our bookkeeping software and Michele is providing me with copious amounts of technical and other support. Thank you! The bottom line is that club remains financially stable and operationally is slightly ahead of where it was last year at this time. At the end of the 3rd Quarter 2005 we were awaiting trail work payments of $15,394; this year $7,102 remains outstanding. Plugging these figures into the attached income statement puts 2006 1st-3rd Quarter adjusted net income $890 ahead of 1st-3rd Quarter 2005. Pledges for the Stearns Lodge now total $368,715. With construction is underway, the board recently approved, if needed, obtaining a bridge loan of up to $100K. However, assuming a normal construction schedule and slightly accelerated pledge payments, we may be able to forgo having to borrow. Please note that for continuity
and confidentiality, Michele Cormier will continue to serve as
the point of contact for Stearns Lodge pledge and pledge payment
matters.
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This has been a year of mostly routine archiving
activity. However, I am happy to inform interested readers that
that Guy Waterman's An Outline of Trail Development in the White
Mountains, 1840-1980 (64 pp, with 15 maps) has been reprinted.
This monograph is based on a manuscript supplied by Laura Waterman
and edited by Al and Judith Hudson, who added an introduction
and an index to White Mountain Trails. It was originally published
by the RMC in 2005, but it quickly went out of print. Copies
may now be ordered on line from the RMC's web site at a cost
of $25.00 plus shipping and handling.
This
summer we had two capable and experienced RMC caretakers, both
also former members of our Trail Crew -- Aaron Parcak and Rachel
Biggs. The summer started off with lots of rainy days, but undampened
in spirit, our caretakers provided TLC to guests and visitors.
Our fall caretaker Cameron Martindell has made a big impression
on our camp visitors and the RMC community. His web site is an
ode to having fun in everything he does, and his reflections
have been published weekly on his web site and the RMC site.
During
the course of their eleven-week season, this season’s RMC
trail crew did it all. Their accomplishments include:
This
past fall, RMC once again hired a part-time fall trail crew,
to reclear our drainages after the leaves had fallen. Joining
RMC for three weeks of trail work in October and early November
were Chad McLean and Mike Finnegan. Chad joined RMC from the
Green Mountain Club, where he served as a caretaker. Mike comes
to RMC from the Forest Service, where he worked on their trail
crew.
When
we first started to design and plan for RMC’s web site in
1998, the web site committee made a promise always to add new
content and never let the site become “stale”. I believe
that we have definitely kept that promise! New additions to the
site from the past summer/fall include: