ODATC Trail Clean-up 11/19!!

OVERVIEW

Hey All!!

To say the least, it has been a hard week. It is important to spend time doing things you care about and getting outside (so for a lot of us, those two things are one and the same). So, if you would like, join me and Emi Saturday morning while we do some trail maintenance on the AT with the Old Dominion Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ODATC).

Every third Saturday of the month ODATC meets to maintain different sections of the trail. This Saturday specifically we will be going to the Humpback section. (Yay! Humpback!!) The portion ODC will be working on specifically will be about a mile from the trailhead.

To volunteer with ODATC you MUST fill out the acknowledgment form stating you have read their COVID safety policy. It takes approximately 72 seconds (and less than that if you have fast wifi). This is the form: https://appalachiantrail.org/get-involved/volunteer/safety/covid-19/

We will only be participating in half of the volunteer work day and we will not be going super hard on our trail maintenance. Just bringing an understanding of where we are to the table.

To bring:
Shoes to hike and do trail maintenance in
Long pants
Work gloves
Water !!
Snack

So, timeline:
8:15 – Meet at Echols
9:00 – Get to the Humpback. Sort tools and such!
9:45 – Start hiking to our maintenance section. … Maintenance.
12:00 – Finish up with maintenance work and head on home.
1:00 – Home.

*Will be getting Bodos either before or after the trip which shall be decided soon, so if you want free Bodos at some point on Saturday, join us.
**We need another driver. You will get reimbursed for gas.
****If you are interested here are some additional resources that were sent our way by ODATC:

“Section maintainers, let us know if there is work needed on your section. If anyone has been out on the section recently, let us know if you saw anything that needs addressing. See the google doc for more details.
“The COVID Job hazard protocol remains in place. In order to participate in a work trip all A.T. volunteers will need to view a short video and complete an online acknowledgement found at www.appalachiantrail.org/volunteeracknowledgement. “This is a requirement for volunteers working under Volunteer in Parks (VIP), on APPA and state lands, to demonstrate they have read and acknowledged and agree to follow actions to improve safety found in the COVID-19 JHA and training. If you did this last season you do not have to repeat.
“If you are new to (or experienced) AT maintenance, I suggest that you review the information found at https://appalachiantrail.org/get-involved/volunteer/safety/ and https://appalachiantrail.org/get-involved/volunteer/safety/training/ and consider completing the Trail Safe training. ATC has started adding maintenance information to the web site.
“You will find additional resources from the Adaptive Recovery Task Force related to trail work operations and safety during COVID-19 at https://appalachiantrail.org/get-involved/volunteer/safety/covid-19/ . This page includes:
* Guidelines for AT Volunteers and Staff
* Decision Flowchart for Adaptive Recovery Activities
* Risk Continuum
* COVID JH
* Resources for Self-Assessment”