Contributed by Gary Bruner, Overseer for Reese Hollow Trail & Shelter

Now is the time of year when PATC overseers come out of hibernation and start, well, overseeing. That means trail and shelter projects, and when I said ³Spring Work" I was being quite literal.

The Reese Hollow Trail is a feeder trail to to the Tuscarora Trail just west of Mercersburg, PA. The rece...

Contributed by PATC Blogger

“Give me a lever long enough, and I can move the world” (Archimedes)  or even more appropriate......"Better to slide it than roll it; better to roll it than carry it; and don’t carry it alone.   

As a relative 'newbie' to AT trail work in Pennsylvania, I...

Contributed by Pete Brown, PATC North District Manager

Known as a wild corridor, the Tuscarora Trail requires significant maintenance to keep it open for hikers, including dealing with large blowdowns.   Sometime you just make the trail move 'through' the downed tree.......

as shown by the skills of Patrick Willson making this bore cut step-through with his new Stihl 661.   Lug...

Provided by Pete Brown, PATC North District Manager & Marion Orlousky, ATC - Mid Atlantic Region

Yes, we can 'Weed 'Em & Reap' .....in fact, many invasive plants/weeds were introduced by European settlers for use as food, medicinal purposes and/or to prevent erosion.    Garlic mustard is one of these.....

.....1st recorded in Long Island around 1868.   It was us...

Contributed by Ken May, PATC North AT Overseer

ISSUE: Do you have to relocate the trail when human traffic is the source of consistent, significant water damage ??   ANSWER:  Build A Turnpike !!!

In May 2009, the PA Work Trip was a major undertaking.....building a turnpike on a section of the AT between Old ...

Contributed by Daniel Smith, PATC North Overseer

A snowy day hike at Mont AltoState Park can be a challenge & also a fabulous experience of the pure beauty of the forest in winter.

Jane Axman & Daniel Smith didn't let the cancelled February worktrip for the Yankee Clippers stop them.....not just because of a little snow & ice.   They did a dayhike from Mont Alto State Park up through Tarbur...

Contributed by Rick Canter, MD District Manager

On Valentine’s Day, the South Mountaineers cleared their biggest tree in the 22-year history of the crew's history. 

Overseer Mike Trettel first reported a monster oak tree across the Cat Rock Trail near the junction with the Old Misery Trail in Cunningham Falls State Park o...

Contributed by Dave Trone, PATC North Chapter Treasurer - from PATC Newsletter, September 2003, by Chris Fee

Archimedes is said to have claimed that, given a lever long enough and a place to stand, he could move the world.  Members of the PATC North Chapter took him at his word two years ago when we....

....used a mighty timber to jack up one of the old Birch Run She...

Contributed by Gary Bruner, Reese Hollow Shelter and Trail

As the overseer for the Reese Hollow Shelter and Trail (a feeder to the Tuscarora Trail in southern PA, just east of Mercersburg), whenever I head to the trail I’m all business. I load up my tools the night before, lay out my work clothes, and hit the ground running when I get on site.

It’s usually a nons...

Contributed by Andy Wolfe, a PATC North Chapter Overseer (and amateur photographer)

This juvenile Broad-Winged Hawk was photographed in early September near Pine Grove Furnace.   It's wing was broken probably chasing prey in close quarters or hit by a car in a dive across the road at night.   It was too tired and hungry not to allow me close with my lens. 

Photos contributed by Dewey Clark, PATC North Board Member & Trail Overseer

You will so enjoy perusing this collection of photos of the volunteers who form the PATC North Construction Crews....fondly called the Yankee Clippers.    Obviously it covers a period of years !!!  

There are photos of building bridges....for cars & for people, building shelt...

Post contributed by Bob Wise, Pete Brown & Kathy Seiler

What is the premier event for Trail & Shelter/Cabin work ??  Cake.....and sitting on the porch of a cabin built by the members !!! 

And to prove that, over 60 members of PATC North Chapter met to dedicate the newly renovated Little Cove Cabin & participate in the Annual Corn Roast.  

In additio...

Post courtesy of Gary Brunner, overseer of Reese Hollow Shelter for PATC North Chapter

The springs at the shelters along the AT (and in this case, the Tuscarora) shelters are magical places !! 

Since the first day I set eyes on the spring at the Reese Hollow Shelter, after volunteering to be the overseer of the shelter and Reese Hollow Trail back in Dec 2012, I've been smitten with it. I mean, there's just something arresting and compelling about a source o...

Post courtesy of Andy Wolfe, a PATC North Chapter overseer

If you have never climbed the escarpment on the 'blue trail' above Dead Woman's Hollow, you are missing out on a real cardiac carb burner.

Today with the temps in the 60s, the morning climb was comfortable yet raised the blood pressure and made our hearts remember our age.  The Anna Michener cabin has a new porch & it...

Courtesy of Andy Wolfe,  Rocky Knob Overseer from PATC North

Right now the woods in Michaux State forest are offering a great meal along the AT.  "Chicken Mushrooms" boiled and served with Ramen or Cream of Mushroom Soup are fantastic fare. And....no fear...there are no dangerous inedible fungus that look like Chicken of the Woods. They taste "just like chicken".   

Post courtesy of Jim Tabor, a PATC North Chapter Overseer from Monto Alto, PA

Rocky Mountain Shelter is celebrating its 25th year, built in 1989. Of the shelters on the 32-mile Pennsylvania AT section maintained by PATC North Chapter, it is the only shelter that is not right on the trail. It is downhill 3/10ths of a mile & the spring is 5/10ths of a mile below the shelter. The spring runs good all year long even in the driest part of the summer. Hikers wish it wa...

Post courtesy of Andy Wolfe, a PATC North Chapter Overseer from Shippensburg, PA

When you think of Heads or Tails.....do Timber Rattlers come to mind ??   These are female Timber Rattlers hanging out at a den site in the South Mountain section of Michaux Forest, waiting to bear their young next month.  

Post courtesy of Gary Bruner, Overseer of Reese Hollow Trail & Shelter 

Imagine waist-high ferns...indeed, the entire area is a veritable sea of ferns...and the trail running smack dab through the middle. To keep the trail open I must destroy a ton of ferns. Here's a shot I took.......

I was up at Reese Hollow Trail and Shelter today, where I am the volunteer overseer for PA...

You can no longer hear the bridge rattle when a vehicle crosses it.  Not like the time a dump truck hauling gravel to the cabin road had one of its wheels break through the deck.  Every time a vehicle crossed, the timbers in the deck would shift, groan & allow one more crossing.  But after several months of work, on June 28th, a large group ...

The Charlie Irvin Shelter at Waggoner's Gap on the Tuscarora Trail has been a work-in-progress for Pennsylvania volunteers.  The shelter sits overlooking the valley, so on Saturday, June 21, they had to build a temporary scaffold to complete the roofing boards, underlayment & install the roofing metal.   That was after they hauled in materials.   The also finished all the deck railings....