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By LUKE O'BRIEN
The bugs and breeze didn't discourage the 26 GMC volunteers
who showed up on June 1st to work on the summit of Bald Mountain
in Westmore. Together volunteers from the NEK Section of the
Green Mountain Club and the Vermont Leadership Center gathered
with the ambitious goal of carrying in and replacing over
60 steps on the Fire Lookout Tower on Bald's 3315 foot summit.
The event was hosted as part of the National Trails Day celebration
held nationwide to hike, improve, and enjoy trails across
the country.
With near systematic efficiency the steps were ordered, prepared,
and delivered to the Bald Mountain trailhead near Long Pond
and then painstakingly carried up the 1.5 Long Pond Trail
to the summit of Bald.
Through a careful process that often tested the limits (and
fear of heights) of many a volunteer, the old steps were removed
one-by-one and replaced with new pressure treated two-by-eights
until nearly every step on the tower was replaced. The wood
was provided by the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks,
and Recreation and fashioned by Bob Fisher.
The most difficult stage of the operation, perhaps, was bolting
the new steps in place, a process that involved some careful,
often brute manipulation of the pre-drilled steps and the
metal tower brackets. By two o'clock, nearly every step was
securely attached and over six trash bags were collected from
the summit and the old Fire Warden's Cabin.
What's next for Bald Mountain? Well, currently members of
the Vermont Leadership Center's Kingdom Corps program, the
Westmore Association, and the NEKGMC are working to stabilize
and improve the two main routes that access the Bald Mountain
summit: the Mad Brook Trail from the north and the Long Pond
Trail from the south. In addition, trail registers will be
placed on the two trails to monitor year-round use.
In the future, we hope to continue working on Bald Mountain
to further protect the historic Lookout station by restoring
the landings and roof on the tower and renovation of the Fire
Warden's cabin. In addition, the Kingdom Corps, GMC, and Westmore
Association will be working together with Department of Forests,
Parks and Recreation to further coordinate the maintenance
and development of the Willoughby region's other great trail
resources.
Thanks to all of the people who volunteered their time and
energy to make this year's National Trail Day a sucess. We
hope to continue. Stay tuned.
For information contact Luke O'Brien 723-6551 or <kingdomcorps@vtlc.org>.
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