Author Archive: admin

MATC Annual Meeting

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Please join us at the Annual Meeting, held in person for the first time since 2019. Saturday, April 22, 2023, 9 am – 4 pm Schair-Swenson-Watson Alumni Center, Colby College, Waterville, ME (Directions) Hear what’s going on in the club. Get ready for a successful season. Highlights include:  Barry Dana Barry Dana is a teacher, artist, and former chief of the Penobscot Nation. He grew up on Indian Island in the Penobscot River, where he learned traditional skills and values from tribal elders. Barry creates traditional styles of birchbark baskets, many etched with artwork or quill decoration. Credited with reviving the […]

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Advisory to Appalachian Trail Certified Sawyers on Battery-Electric Chainsaw Use

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While corded electric chainsaws have been available for years, over the last decade, chainsaw construction design has evolved to include battery‐powered cordless designs. As these quieter, lighter tools have become increasingly available, there is increasing likelihood that A.T. Certified Sawyers would prefer to apply these tools in lieu of gas‐powered chainsaws in the course of their work to maintain the A.T.

This advisory aims to provide reasonable considerations to the benefits, drawbacks, and other considerations of these respective design models of saws, that all require adherence to accepted safety practices.

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Help Wanted

Trail Maintainer Needed – White Cap District

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White Cap Section #27A – This section starts at Long Pond Stream and continues south to the Morkill Road, which is .5 miles north of the Wilson Valley Lean-to. Total length of the section is 3.2 miles. This section has been well maintained and is accessible from both ends. A maintainer is expected to visit his or her section 2 to 3 times a year, clearing blowdowns, cutting back bushes, painting blazes and cleaning waterbars. Onsite training will be provided. Interested parties should contact:Brad Deane – White Cap District Manager207-232-1735whitecap@matc.org

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Summer 2023 Trail Crew Projects

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The Maine Trail Crew is a joint venture between the Maine AT Club and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy that is dedicated to repairing steep and washed-out sections of the AT.Volunteers are welcome to join us for one to six weeks from June 19 – August 24, 2023.Projects run from Monday morning (you must arrive Sunday by 4pm) to Thursday or Friday. Check out the Summer Project List below. For more information about Volunteering with the Maine Trail Crew click here.

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Maine Lobster Now Sponsors MATC

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MATC is happy to announce that Maine Lobster Now is now a sponsor! Maine Lobster Now’s mission is to provide customers throughout the United States with access to fresh seafood. Located in Southern Maine, they are dedicated to establishing lasting relationships with local fishermen in an effort to support the local economy and to continue offering the best products available.

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Corridor Monitors Wanted

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OPEN MATC CORRIDOR MONITORING ASSIGNMENTS (Updated 1/7/23) There are only nine opportunities left for becoming involved in this exciting aspect of caring for the Appalachian Trail in Maine.  For information about corridor monitoring and field training sessions, visit the MATC website at www.matc.org or contact me (Dave Field) at 862-3674, meeser3@roadrunner.com.  You must participate in a field training session before an assignment will be made permanent.  If you are unable to join a group session, I will make arrangements to train you on your own section. Note: The mileages given for each section are the distances along the boundary lines […]

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Maintainer Patch

Trail Maintainer Wanted – Katahdin District 

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Rainbow Ledges –This section starts at the signpost on Rainbow Ledges and extends south 3.5 miles to the Rainbow Mt. side trail junction. This assignment also includes the 0.4 mile side trail to Big Beaver Pond and the 0.75 mile side trail to Rainbow Mt., which has excellent views of Katahdin and the peaks of southwest Baxter State Park. There is no direct road access to this section of the A.T., it is accessed via a 1.5 miles maintainer access trail and then hiking south on the A.T. for 2.5 miles to Rainbow Ledges. MATC asks that maintainers make 3 […]

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MATC Ridge Runner Program

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Submitted by Janice Clain The MATC Ridgerunners are in the field, monitoring high traffic and sensitive eco-systems at three strategic locations along the AT. Returning this season to Gulf Hagas is Robyn Crisp, an avid long-distance hiker who calls Colorado home. She started her season at the northern end of the Hundred Mile Wilderness, ready to meet southbound thru hikers to give them advice about safety, packing and enjoying and protecting the wilderness. She moved to Gulf Hagas in late June, and spends her duty time there interacting with AT thru hikers passing north and south, section hikers knocking off […]

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Maine Trail Crew Report

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Submitted by Janice Clain After the forced suspension of the program in 2020, the Maine Trail Crew is gradually returning to its pre-pandemic model based on a paid staff supplemented by volunteers. Due to COVID restrictions, the Trail Crew operated in 2021 as two four-person paid teams and completed most of the projects originally scheduled for both the 2020 and 2021 seasons. With the loosening of pandemic limitations, MATC hired a four-person professional crew supplemented by a base camp coordinator. The Maine Trail Crew Committee considers itself fortunate that four of last season’s paid staff were so satisfied with their […]

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