Trail Crew
Trail Crew meets every Wednesday from 10am to noon, except during bad weather and around holidays. Details on upcoming Trail Crew sessions will be posted here. Our work focuses on RRCT’s many public access properties, sometimes spending several weeks in a row at the same site. RRCT is also happy to help out at partner properties when Trail Crew is available.
There is a job for everyone, no matter your shape, skills, or strength. Join us the one week you have time or interest, or put Trail Crew on your calendar as your regular Wednesday morning ritual. It's a great way to experience a new preserve, get to know someone new, and learn new trail work techniques. Trail Crew tackles a variety of trail projects including clearing trail corridors, invasive plant removal, route finding and trail alignment, trail marking, constructing bog bridging and bridges, and improving signage.
RRCT brings specific tools that will be helpful. We encourage volunteers to bring personal tools as well. Hand saws, pole saws, and loppers are favorites. Crew members should bring a water bottle, and wear sturdy shoes, work gloves, and the right clothes for the day.
Trail Crew is led by RRCT's Stewardship Director Hanae Garrison. If you have any questions or concerns, you can reach me at (973) 255-7513 or Hanae@RRCT.org
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UPCOMING TRAIL CREW SESSIONS:
Wednesday, April 2nd, 10:00 am - Today we're back at Elmwood Trails in Pownal, this time covering the other half of the trail. We'll meet at the state's Tyron Mountain Access parking lot on Lawrence Rd. From there, we'll hike a short trail connecting to Elmwood Trails. We'll trim back encroaching vegetation along the trail corridor, cut invasive bittersweet vines, and be on the lookout for invasive hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) on the undersides of hemlock branches.
HWA is an aphid-like insect that feeds on hemlock sap, weakening the tree and resulting in dieback of limbs. The insects cover themselves in a white, waxy secretion that looks like little cotton balls on the underside of needles. HWA can be spread from tree to tree by birds, deer, wind, and in this case, from trail visitors brushing against infested branches. To slow the spread of HWA, we will prune hemlock branches and saplings along the trail. If you were at Trail Crew last week and used your own tools, please make sure to clean them!
RRCT will bring loppers, handsaws and a pole saw. Bring work gloves, sturdy shoes, water, and personal tools.
Park in the state's Tyron Mountain Access parking lot at approximately 53 Lawrence Rd, Pownal.
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Saturday, May 3rd - Can't make Wednesday morning Trail Crew? Join us for a hands-on Trail Skills Workshop this spring as we help establish a brand-new 1.5-mile primitive River Elf Trail on a recently conserved 150-acre property along the Royal River in New Gloucester! This exciting project, in partnership with the AMC Maine Chapter, will provide public hiking and fishing access once complete.
📍 Location: New Gloucester, Maine (RRCT conservation easement). Address will be provided to registrants. Parking lot and road shoulder parking are available.
🛠 Hosted by: AMC Maine Chapter Trail Committee & Royal River Conservation Trust
There are three sessions to choose from:
• Morning Session: 10:00 am to 12 pm
• Afternoon Session: 12:30 to 2:30 pm
• Full-Day Session: 10:00 am to 2:30 pm (BYO Lunch Break: 12 pm to 12:30 pm)
What You’ll Learn & Do:
Led by experienced AMC volunteer trail crew leaders, this workshop will cover essential trail-building skills, including:
✔️ Defining trail corridor dimensions and proper layout
✔️ Pruning techniques for sustainable trail maintenance
✔️ Trail placement (discussion-based)
✔️ Hands-on trail work – clearing brush, improving tread, and defining the new route
Project Details:
• The trail route will be pre-flagged before the workday.
• Volunteers will help clear and establish the trail, which crosses an open field, loops through the woods, and includes a spur trail to the river.
• RRCT Stewardship Director Hanae Garrison will be on-site all day to provide a walkthrough before we begin.
• RRCT Trail Crew will continue the work after our session in the weeks to come.
Registration is required. Sign up for a session using the links above!
No trail work experience is needed, and tools will be provided. Wear work clothes, sturdy boots, sunblock, and bug repellent (for ticks & mosquitoes). Don't forget a water bottle and snacks! If you are staying for the full-day session, pack a lunch.
Trip Leaders: Phillip Coyne, Rota Knott, Hanae Garrison (RRCT)
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*Photography and Filming Note: Your attendance at Trail Crew may be photographed or filmed and your attendance indicates consent to have any images or footage featuring you at the event to be used for RRCT-related materials and outreach. Should images or footage appear in marketing materials that you don’t wish to be featured in, you must notify RRCT at Info@RRCT.org, and RRCT will cease to further use your image or footage for any new materials going forward.
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There is a job for everyone, no matter your shape, skills, or strength. Join us the one week you have time or interest, or put Trail Crew on your calendar as your regular Wednesday morning ritual. It's a great way to experience a new preserve, get to know someone new, and learn new trail work techniques. Trail Crew tackles a variety of trail projects including clearing trail corridors, invasive plant removal, route finding and trail alignment, trail marking, constructing bog bridging and bridges, and improving signage.
RRCT brings specific tools that will be helpful. We encourage volunteers to bring personal tools as well. Hand saws, pole saws, and loppers are favorites. Crew members should bring a water bottle, and wear sturdy shoes, work gloves, and the right clothes for the day.
Trail Crew is led by RRCT's Stewardship Director Hanae Garrison. If you have any questions or concerns, you can reach me at (973) 255-7513 or Hanae@RRCT.org
**********************
UPCOMING TRAIL CREW SESSIONS:
Wednesday, April 2nd, 10:00 am - Today we're back at Elmwood Trails in Pownal, this time covering the other half of the trail. We'll meet at the state's Tyron Mountain Access parking lot on Lawrence Rd. From there, we'll hike a short trail connecting to Elmwood Trails. We'll trim back encroaching vegetation along the trail corridor, cut invasive bittersweet vines, and be on the lookout for invasive hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) on the undersides of hemlock branches.
HWA is an aphid-like insect that feeds on hemlock sap, weakening the tree and resulting in dieback of limbs. The insects cover themselves in a white, waxy secretion that looks like little cotton balls on the underside of needles. HWA can be spread from tree to tree by birds, deer, wind, and in this case, from trail visitors brushing against infested branches. To slow the spread of HWA, we will prune hemlock branches and saplings along the trail. If you were at Trail Crew last week and used your own tools, please make sure to clean them!
RRCT will bring loppers, handsaws and a pole saw. Bring work gloves, sturdy shoes, water, and personal tools.
Park in the state's Tyron Mountain Access parking lot at approximately 53 Lawrence Rd, Pownal.
*************************
Saturday, May 3rd - Can't make Wednesday morning Trail Crew? Join us for a hands-on Trail Skills Workshop this spring as we help establish a brand-new 1.5-mile primitive River Elf Trail on a recently conserved 150-acre property along the Royal River in New Gloucester! This exciting project, in partnership with the AMC Maine Chapter, will provide public hiking and fishing access once complete.
📍 Location: New Gloucester, Maine (RRCT conservation easement). Address will be provided to registrants. Parking lot and road shoulder parking are available.
🛠 Hosted by: AMC Maine Chapter Trail Committee & Royal River Conservation Trust
There are three sessions to choose from:
• Morning Session: 10:00 am to 12 pm
• Afternoon Session: 12:30 to 2:30 pm
• Full-Day Session: 10:00 am to 2:30 pm (BYO Lunch Break: 12 pm to 12:30 pm)
What You’ll Learn & Do:
Led by experienced AMC volunteer trail crew leaders, this workshop will cover essential trail-building skills, including:
✔️ Defining trail corridor dimensions and proper layout
✔️ Pruning techniques for sustainable trail maintenance
✔️ Trail placement (discussion-based)
✔️ Hands-on trail work – clearing brush, improving tread, and defining the new route
Project Details:
• The trail route will be pre-flagged before the workday.
• Volunteers will help clear and establish the trail, which crosses an open field, loops through the woods, and includes a spur trail to the river.
• RRCT Stewardship Director Hanae Garrison will be on-site all day to provide a walkthrough before we begin.
• RRCT Trail Crew will continue the work after our session in the weeks to come.
Registration is required. Sign up for a session using the links above!
No trail work experience is needed, and tools will be provided. Wear work clothes, sturdy boots, sunblock, and bug repellent (for ticks & mosquitoes). Don't forget a water bottle and snacks! If you are staying for the full-day session, pack a lunch.
Trip Leaders: Phillip Coyne, Rota Knott, Hanae Garrison (RRCT)
***************************
*Photography and Filming Note: Your attendance at Trail Crew may be photographed or filmed and your attendance indicates consent to have any images or footage featuring you at the event to be used for RRCT-related materials and outreach. Should images or footage appear in marketing materials that you don’t wish to be featured in, you must notify RRCT at Info@RRCT.org, and RRCT will cease to further use your image or footage for any new materials going forward.
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