This article appears in the 2024 Fall Long Trail News and was written by GMC’s Education and Volunteer Coordinator Lorne Currier.
Volunteerism is a long-established essential part of operations in the Green Mountain Club, particularly trail maintenance. Every mile of trail, every shelter, privy, white blaze or waterbar has either an individual or a group of Section volunteers responsible for it. Volunteers do most routine annual maintenance, and the Long Trail would fall into disrepair without them. If you are or have ever been a GMC volunteer, we thank you!
A History of Volunteerism
Volunteers cut the Long Trail from Massachusetts to Canada from 1910 to 1930, and they worked along with the paid Long Trail Patrol after its establishment in 1931. They ran all club operations until the first permanent employee was hired in 1973. Today full-time staff members work closely with volunteer leaders to reach our strategic goals.
The shelter adopter program began in 1980, followed by the trail and shelter adopter program in 1991, supplementing trail work that had always been section volunteers. Today nearly 200 adopters and 14 regional sections are the first line of defense for regular annual maintenance. They contributed more than 6,000 hours of work on more than 500 outings in 2023.
Until recently many adopters lacked personal connections with the GMC staff. They filled out requisite maintenance reports and sent them off into an apparent black hole. But given the increasing complexity of managing and maintaining trails, and the value of capable volunteers, the club saw a need for better training and communication for trail volunteers.
Increasing Trail Complexity
Climate change and evolving hiker use are greatly affecting trail conditions on the Long Trail System. Bigger and more frequent storms overwhelm waterbars and increase erosion. Mud season-like conditions can occur anytime. Invasive plants, wet heavy snow, and hurricanes, thunderstorms, tornados (!!) can fell hundreds of trees. Shorter winters with less snow invite more year-round use of the Long Trail, and more visits to undermaintained historically lower-use trails.
Twenty years ago, new adopters received trail or shelter assignments and a list of responsibilities, and were left to their own devices. A trail could survive with basic lopping of branches, removal of deadfalls, and blazing. Today, tread work and managing surface water and erosion are the volunteer’s most important job, and doing these tasks properly makes all the difference between trails that wash away in intense storms or effectively drain water off the trail and keep hikers on them.
New volunteers join sections or adopt a section of trail every season. And although many volunteers have more than 30 years of experience, trail maintenance standards and techniques evolve, and consistent training benefits everyone.
Increased Training for Volunteers
Our guiding goal is to make each volunteer the best possible volunteer they can be. We do this via clear and regular communication, a standardized onboarding process for new volunteers, and enhanced opportunities for training in groups and one-on-one.
In 2017, GMC created a full time Volunteer and Education Coordinator position (held by me since 2019!). I quickly learned what limited support trail volunteers had, so we began to boost the onboarding and feedback process. In 2021 we added a seasonal staff position, currently Volunteer Supervisor Kate Songer. Kate joins adopters and sections in the field two or three times a week, offering hands-on instruction and developing “trail eyes.” We work with each volunteer to determine which projects to prioritize and how to do them well.
“The field training was essential,” recalled Michael Howson, a new adopter in 2024. “It gave me a greater appreciation of the work, what to look for and what is OK to do or not do. There is no way I would have been able to pick all that up from a manual or online presentation. I would not have expected that judicious trimming of branches is acceptable in a wilderness area or how to look for drainages other than water bars.”
Longtime adopters can learn new skills, too. Judy Raffone and her husband Robert, adopters of the LT between Forest Road 10 and Little Rock Pond, commented: “Though we’ve been maintainers for years, having a one-to-one learning experience was phenomenal, much better than a seminar or webinar. Kate introduced us to a better tool for cleaning water bars and we learned we could be more aggressive in our cleaning.”
Field training also instills a deeper investment in the volunteer role. As Kate explains it, “I love building a one-on-one human connection to other folks who care about the Long Trail System as much as I do. By spending time on the trail and talking with the volunteer about what maintenance it needs, we build a greater sense of stewardship and connection to the network of trails, volunteers, and crews.”
We also foster that connection with twice-annual all-adopter Zoom calls. Introduced during Covid, these are opportunities to meet and swap trail problems and successes. Communication continues in the field season as volunteers submit reports, and work with staff and other volunteers to meet challenges. No one person can maintain the entire Long Trail, but with our united workforce of staff and volunteers it becomes not only possible but successful.
Empowering Volunteers for Success
Dedicating GMC resources to support volunteers has moved us closer to our goal of making each volunteer the best they can be, and sets current and future volunteers up for success. Many volunteers, at GMC and elsewhere, skew on the older side. Volunteering for trail maintenance is easier with freedom from work, financial, and family responsibilities.
As these volunteers retire, adequate staff capacity is needed to support new volunteers. They may need loaner tools and multiple training outings. They may need smaller roles in order to balance life, work and volunteering. The commitment to supporting the development of skilled new volunteers now will pay dividends in decades to come.
Thank You
It would be remiss of me to omit an explicit note of appreciation to the volunteers who make it all happen, and to members and donors whose support enables our investments in volunteer programming. Next time you’re on the Long Trail, remember that every trail mile, shelter, or waterbar has a devoted volunteer. That has been the case for 114 years. With your support, I’m confident we’ll extend that streak another century or more.
Leave a Reply