Yesterday–September 30–was the first day of a new bridge build on Section 5 of the Catamount Trail in Stratton, VT. This was day-1 of a 4-day build and a lot needed to happen. Forest Service policy states that any bridge over 20 feet long needs to be built using steel I-beams. This is great, but the problem was the site for the bridge is ~ 2 miles from the nearest trailhead with the last ~1/4 mile being quite wet. The agenda for the day was to finish hauling all of the building materials to the actual bridge site and possibly put some of the larger pieces in place.
Fortunately for everyone, the building materials had been hauled in most of the way, and it was that last 1/4 mile that was wet that we had to deal with. I have to say, before we started we weren’t really sure what was going to happen, or how hard it was going to be to move the beams. But with a little optimism and 16 able and willing bodies we got it done!
Now, we’re not Done done. There is still quite a bit to do and during the next couple of days members from the Forest Service and Catamount Trail Volunteers will be out in the woods enjoying the fall colors, getting muddy, and working hard to complete the new bridge for use this winter.
If this looks like fun there are many, many other opportunities to get out this fall and help clean up and prepare the Catamount Trail for winter. To find a trail work day in your area please visit out Fall Trail Work Page to see a complete list of opportunities.
In the meantime enjoy a few photos from our day out on the trail yesterday!
Happy Fall… Think Snow!
