At the Parksville Lake Campground in the Ocoee Ranger District of the Cherokee National Forest, there remains no trace of a crew of American folks who have united, from as far away as Alaska and as close as the Ocoee River’s nearby bank.
Participants of an inaugural 2011 Wilderness Trails Stewardship Conference have intermittently packed up and parted ways for Memorial Day Weekend and will regroup on Tuesday afternoon at Big Creek Ranger Station, located within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
This unique and memorable educational experience has been offered expense free to its first 25 registrants and made possible by Southern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards (S.A.W.S.) and The Appalachian Trail Conservancy (A.T.C.). Camping is being provided free of charge by the U.S. Forest Service. Women and men eat together, work together and share close quarters while in the classroom, in the field and at base camp.
Bill Hodge, S.A.W.S. director, explains, “We made sure that this conference was free. We don’t want to burden people who are willing to give up one or two weeks of their life to come out here just to pick up these skills. The Forest service played a big role in making this happen. I know we are all leaving here with certifications and some technical skills, but the people who are here are one of the highlights.”
Group training has resumed with wilderness skills content that includes Trail Leadership, Leave No Trace and Incident Management training. A fun and unforgettable first week has included two days of Wilderness First Aid training and certification, a one-day session on Wilderness History and Legislation and two days of Cross-cut Saw training and certification.
At the beginning of week two, conference attendees straggle into A.T.C. Base Camp, the headquarters of the Southern Wilderness Elite Appalachian Trail (S.W.E.A.T.) Crew, which plays a vital role in managing trails of the A.T. and Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
S.W.E.A.T. crew leaders, Jameson Demiglio and Mateo Romano prepare for a summer where they will lead eight consecutive crews, overseeing volunteers (including me) who will arrive from all over the country to maintain The Appalachian Trail corridor. The Wilderness Trail Stewardship Conference has been opened to S.W.E.A.T. Crew volunteers. Certifications and skill sets acquired here will play key roles in this summer’s A.T. maintenance.
Early afternoon, everyone congregates around a couple of picnic tables. Class training starts with the vital component of trip planning and preparation. Andrew Downs, Appalachian Trail Resource Manager for Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee explains, “Our work is very physically demanding, perhaps some of the hardest labor you will ever perform. Being in good physical shape will certainly help you maintain a good attitude. You also need social skills that will enable you to get along with fellow volunteers in often trying times”.
The evening is dedicated to backpack preparedness led by Mateo and a good night’s sleep, courtesy of a fairly busy day.
Driving to the Appalachian Trail head, Wednesday morning, is a fun road trip in the A.T.C.’s passenger van, driven by Jameson. He quickly earned the group’s respect. He recently through-hiked all 2,175 miles of the A.T., from Georgia to Maine in about five months, not an easy feat for anyone.
We road trip into the Pisgah National Forest and take in its breath taking window view, knowing that we camp there shortly. We arrive at the trail head and hike to our first work location and discuss trail assessment, maintenance, repair and reconstruction. We then continue our Leave-No-Trace discussion while completing some basic trail work tasks.
Aaron Sanford talks about his enjoyment, so far, of the trip, as we unload backpacks and trail maintenance tools from the van. “You know what, it all happened so fast that I didn’t have a lot of time to think about it. I had never been to the Appalachian Mountains and I expected another adventure and it’s definitely been that. The best thing is the people so far, for sure”, he explains. Sanford compares this conference to another training out west he attended and affirms his admiration for this one and the friends he has already made.
“I love the cross-cut training. I’ve used a cross-cut saw a lot informally and this gives me a chance to actually get written down on a piece of paper that I’m certifed to use these skills that I’ve learned over the last several years. They are actually going to mean something to somebody”, he emphasizes. Samford has done quite a bit cross-cut work in Wyoming and California.
Cross-cut work can be pretty dangerous, as a video displays during cross-cut class training. It is evident that our Wilderness First Aid Training could be useful, just in case something goes down other than a tree!
The primary purpose of the Red Cross Wilderness and Remote First Aid course is to provide individuals a foundation of first aid knowledge and skills to be able to respond to emergencies and give care in areas that do not have immediate emergency medical services (EMS) response, such as wilderness and remote environments. In this course, participants will also develop leadership skills and learn how to prevent, plan for and respond to emergencies.
In his own words, Instructor Jim Holland explains, “Wilderness volunteers are a very, very important group because they are unique in that they work far from any type of medical assistance. Cell phone access is seldom available, as are radios at times, so it’s important that they become self-sufficient. Wilderness First Aid is a step toward that self-sufficiency. It teaches them about the natural hazards. It teaches them about using tools safely and that prevention is one of the most important things you can do.”
Holland is a National Registry First Responder, a Wilderness First Responder, a National Association of Search and Rescue SARTECH II, and teaches CPR, AED and Wilderness First Aid for the American Red Cross.
After Wilderness First Aid class, base campers wind down around home-cooked meals and random story sharing. New friends play a Howie Day song on their guitars. They sing the lyrics, “Even the best fall down sometimes.” A nearby whippoorwill seems to want to sing along, but a bit out of key. I am reminded of where I am and that I am only a guest here. This bird speaks of life to us and we stop playing to listen what she says.
Base camp’s fire continues to burn within its contained rock ring. Campers have mostly all gone to bed. I have another chance to sit with Bill Hodge before checking in for retirement. He speaks from the heart.
“We should be willing to step up and be good stewards of specially designated wilderness. That’s what Southern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards is all about and it’s certainly what this conference is all about. It’s starting to create that next army of folks willing to get out there, whether it’s doing trail maintenance specifically, or doing other work in these wilderness areas. To me, that’s sort of the core of what this conference was about or what SAWS as an organization is about.
It’s to allow people to continue to expand their knowledge base, so if you came this year, you will come back next year. We will allow you to take your training opportunities to the next level. Maybe we’ll offer Wilderness First Responder or incorporate Search and Rescue”, he explains.
Wednesday is dedicated to Wilderness 101. The Wilderness Act, which established the National Wilderness Preservation System, now comprises more than 105 million acres and contains wild places from all regions of the country. Relevant dates and events in America’s national forest history are presented in class by Ocoee Ranger District forest rangers.
Wilderness Values Questions are handed out and smaller groups split up to debate these issues during lunch break. “Do you feel hunting is an appropriate activity in wilderness?”. Do you feel it is OK to have trail signs in wilderness?” These are a couple of questions that attempt to get answered, but there isn’t much group consensus as individuals feel differently.
We reunite around base camp’s fire ring, that evening, to sit for a more detailed discussion. Wilderness management issues are presented to the group who represent public opinion. In many cases, there is no definitive agreement, once again. It’s apparent that it is tough to define a wilderness policy that satisfied everyone.
Davin Hattaway, from Washington D.C., expresses his thoughts. “What really is untrammeled territory? If there is a 1972 Chevy, Impala left abandoned in a designated wilderness area, should it be hauled out or left behind for it’s historical value?”
It is a tough call. One can argue that it’s not any different than restoring historic shelters.
Hattaway is at the conference with his wife, Anna Wlodarczyk. I get a moment to talk with both of them that evening. Anna Wlodarczyk says, “Well, I think it’s wonderful that we can bring together many different people who are attracted to wilderness. Perhaps people with different views can come together like this and enjoy it together and learn about it together and form a bond, in that way, makes wilderness a sort of a unifying force for people who perhaps would not meet otherwise.”
Davin Hattaway agrees. He adds, “I think it’s great to see the entire wilderness ecosystem sort of be together on one camp site. Yo got the folks who are from the national headquarters. You got the folks who are enthusiasts, like myself. You have all different ages, all the way down to the 22-year-old, just graduated, forestry student that’s going to be out there leading the SAWS (Southern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards) team. Seeing everybody together, everybody who has a role in the process from thousands of miles away and dozens of different age groups and professions and mindsets indicates that we are finally getting together and talking and learning together and seeing what the other part of this process is and how people react and how they interpret these issues. It’s great to see all of these people and talk to them all at once and see, as a whole, how it all comes together.”
I take a solo trail run that late evening along a still pond’s quiet bank. Just ahead, Jameson plays a breath taking “How Sweet It Is” on his harmonica. I stop for a moment to listen and am reminded of the precious gift all around me. I continue on my uphill run. A frog leaps out, tadpoles swim in shallow puddles, a snake crosses the trail just in front of my feet. I think more about my life, my boy, his mom and pizza. I am jogging Existence Trail.
I get back and wind down with some of my new friends. I talk to David Cohen, recent University of Georgia graduate. He says, “So, I guess I’ve gained a lot of insight into the issues at hand and definitely a lot of tools to explain those issues and get people, the average person, to better understand them and to hopefully encourage stewardship in the average person that might not have considered those issues beforehand. It feels really good to be around a group of like-minded people and know that you could really share your thoughts freely and people are going to also share those thoughts and know that you’re not the only person that feels a certain way about the world and our place in it and what we should be doing to protect it.”
So, why do we volunteer our time for these wilderness projects? Is it for a good time? Is it to keep the trails open to hikers? Is it for the friendships that are established? Is it for the skill sets and certifications?
Wilderness First Aid Instructor Jim Holland explains, “I feel that it’s important that everyone give something back to their community, to their state, to their country, to the environment that you live in. If you enjoy doing something, you should give something back to it. I have always tried to do that most of my life.”