Beyond the Blazes: Behind Closed Doors, April 2009 issue

By
Ben Rose
Posted April 3rd, 2009

We call this column “Beyond the Blazes” because of the nice alliteration, but also to call attention to the activities which happen out of public view to keep Vermont’s hiking trails alive and well. This month, let’s look at two particular Green Mountain Club programs that happen off the trail: Stewardship and Publications.

Stewardship: Fancy word, intoned somberly by land trusts everywhere. What is it? And why should hikers care? Well, “steward” is from Old English, and it basically means “to take care of a place.” The word is popular among land trusts because when they acquire properties or easements, they also take on the perpetual obligation to look after them. Organizations which conserve places for public purposes, such as pedestrian recreation and wildlife habitat, do not make money on stewardship, they spend money. That is why it is good practice to set money aside in an endowment to cover future stewardship costs associated with public lands.

The Green Mountain Club’s Stewardship Program was created in 1992 to care for the more than 30,000 acres of Long Trail and Appalachian Trail lands and conservation easements in Vermont, in partnership with public landowners—the State of Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, U.S. Forest Service, and National Park Service—and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. The program includes responding to easement violations and dealing with timber trespasses (rare but they have happened, and timber theft does get prosecuted); maintaining boundary lines; paying property taxes; and reviewing development proposals that might affect the trail.

The lion’s share of GMC’s stewardship work happens through our Corridor Monitoring Program. There are more than 50 corridor monitoring volunteers, and they are the heroic folks who volunteer not on the trail where hikers can see them, but off on the property boundaries, bushwhacking over rough terrain with compass in hand, from one orange boundary blaze to the next. Corridor monitors are the “eyes and ears” for their assigned parcels, walking the surveyed boundaries, inspecting survey monuments, noting boundary line conditions, and maintaining friendly communication with neighboring landowners. Over the years, observant volunteers have discovered incidents of ATV damage, timber trespass, and illegal cutting.

Each year, the work of Long Trail and Appalachian Trail (A.T.) Corridor Monitors ensures the continued protection of some of the most beautiful natural areas of Vermont for generations to come. Whether you are a trail maintainer, hiker, or just enjoy getting off trail with a map and compass, corridor monitoring is a great way to give back to the nation’s oldest long-distance hiking path. To learn more about the Stewardship Program or if interested in becoming a Green Mountain Club Corridor Monitor volunteer, contact Pete Antos-Ketcham, GMC Stewardship director: pantosketcham@greenmountainclub.org; 802-244-7037, ext. 17.

Then there is Publications. Most Vermont hikers know about the Long Trail Guide and the Day Hiker’s Guide to Vermont, which are like the Old and New Testaments of Vermont hiking trails. In recent years, however, the Green Mountain Club’s list of published titles has blossomed to include a waterproof map of the Long Trail, regional hiking maps of Mount Mansfield and the Worcester Range, a guide to Vermont’s fire tower hikes, and recently a map of hiking trails in the Northeast Kingdom. They all draw on the knowledge and dedication of GMC volunteers, and all can be ordered via www.greenmountainclub.org.

This spring GMC is publishing three brand-new books. Just released: So Clear, So Cool, So Grand—A 1931 Hike on Vermont’s Long Trail, by James Gordon Hindes, and edited by longtime GMC volunteer Reidun Nuquist. This remarkable journal is the first hiking memoir ever published by GMC. The year 1931 has interesting echoes for our own times; much has changed, and much has not.

The next new publication doesn’t have a final title yet, even as it nears completion. It will be called Walker’s Guide to Vermont—Paths and Trails for Shorter Getaways, or Green Mountain Club Guide to Walks and Rambles in Vermont—Shorter Outings in the Green Mountain State, or maybe Walks in Vermont—For Half an Hour or Half an Afternoon… something like that… anyhow, it will be a handy book, and everybody should buy it and check out some of the wonderful rambles to be found in various corners of the state!

Last but not least, in July, 2009, GMC will release A Century in the Mountains—Celebrating Vermont’s Long Trail, a gorgeous full-color coffee table book of beautiful photos and essays to commemorate the Long Trail’s upcoming 100th birthday (March 11, 2010). My guess is that nobody will carry this big book with them on the trail, but hopefully it will become a cherished addition to the libraries of many Vermont hikers’ homes, to be gazed at lovingly during the Mud Seasons yet to come.

Ben Rose is the executive director of the Green Mountain Club. For more about the GMC go to www.greenmountainclub.org.