PATC - North Chapter

......stewards of the Appalachian Trail

Please follow these instructions: 

• Lift your right arm straight up
• Bend your elbow & drop your hand behind your head
• Vigorously clap yourself on the back

CONGRATULATIONS!!! 

Over 6,756 hours of sweat equity was given to the trails, shelters & cabins of the PA District by the Yankee Clippers.

This labor of love covered the 168 miles of trails of Appalachi...

UPDATE:  Since Pete received his award from his hospital bed after knew surgery (and likely remembered little due to the painkillers), members of PATCNorth took the party to Pete's home on Nov. 23rd.   Read his official award nomination  or see photos of Pete's Avery Award Celebration.

By the way, Pete is recovering exceptionally well due to his dedication to the therapy, which he takes as seriously as his role as PA District Manager.
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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...

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 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 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 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...

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....

The 1st time I hiked the AT in Pennsylvania, I had a profound experience which I will never forget.   It was a beautiful Sunday morning & as we approached the Tumbling Run Shelters on our way to Chimney Rocks, there were 2 gentlemen & a beautiful dog checking out the area. Later I came to understand they were the Overseers for the shelter area, however they are also some of the best marketers of the AT in  PA as well as the PATC.    I went home that ...