The Summer of 2016 has been a relatively cool one. At the High Peaks Alliance, we have taken advantage of the fair weather to maintain and improve the Fly Rod Crosby Trail. We held our second workday on June 11th, with the help of some community volunteers.

This workday, board members were joined by AmeriCorps and Maine Conservation Corps member Dylan Cookson, Trailmaster Bud Godsoe, and community volunteers. They started at the Madrid trailhead and carpooled up an old logging road to the Horse Hobble section of the Fly Rod Crosby Trail.

The group was divided into two teams that hiked south. The first team followed behind Bud Godsoe. As Bud bucked and limbed fallen trees with a chainsaw, they cleared out the cut remains and clipped branches that had grown onto the trail.

The second team forged ahead with cutter mattocks and began work on redirecting and cutting a 30-foot section of trail that was obscured by tall grass.

The Horse Hobbles Section of the Fly Rod Crosby Trail is a gorgeous hike. Volunteers stopped to take in the scenery as they passed curious plants, monolithic yellow birch trees, a forest floor mottled with wildflowers, and shoulder-high Hobble Bush.

The crew ended its workday with lunch by the stream. In all, the crew cleared 1 mile of trail and redirected a 30-foot section of trail. It was a productive and fun day with everyone happy to have spent so much time on this gorgeous section of the mountain trail.