After listening Tuesday to a presentation made by local members of the Maine Appalachian Trail Club regarding their volunteer effort to maintain and protect the 130 miles of trail in Piscataquis County, commissioners recommended that some of the federal funds received each year be used for special projects on the trail, starting with the 2005 budget year.

"We should return a portion of that to the Maine Appalachian Trail Club," Commissioner Woodrouffe "Tony" Bartley said Tuesday. He noted the commissioners already have a similar arrangement for funds received from the state for snowmobile registrations in unorganized territories. These funds are used to help local clubs maintain the snowmobile trails, he said.

It could be that the trail funds would cover the cost of an additional lean-to, Bartley suggested. More than 70 MATC volunteers, about half of whom hail from Piscataquis County, put in about 2,000 hours last year on the portion of the trail from Mount Katahdin to Bald Mountain Pond, according to Roger Merchant, a volunteer trail overseer. The volunteers range from 16 to more than 70 years old. Merchant said the MATC should not be confused with the Appalachian Mountain Club, which has a different mission.

As part of the MATC's functions, a caretaker in the organization's Ridgerunner program meets up with hikers to educate them about the area to minimize accidents, specifically in Gulf Hagas, one of the 10 busiest spots on the trail, according to Holly Sheehan of Portland, the MATC paid, part-time club coordinator.

Last year, the caretaker met with 1,729 day hikers, 614 backpackers, and a few through hikers in Gulf Hagas, Sheehan said Tuesday. Through hikers are those hiking the entire 2,167-mile-long trail from Springer Mountain, Ga., to Maine.

Some of those hikers are totally unprepared for their first encounter with the 100 Mile Wilderness, which includes crossing a significant river and a strenuous 8-mile loop hike, she said. Issues and needs facing the local volunteer effort include repair work on heavily used sections of the trail; drainage work at selected sites on the Barren-Chairback Range; rock work at Gulf Hagas Mountain, West Peak and Whitecap Mountain; bog bridging; and the construction of rock steps in certain areas, Merchant said Tuesday. Bigger projects will require about 100 crew weeks of reconstruction over seven summer seasons at a cost of $400,000, he said.

As for the county funds, Merchant said the group would recommend a project and return for the board's approval.
"This content originally appeared as a copyrighted article in the Wednesday, November 17, 2004 edition of the Bangor Daily NEWS and is used here with permission."