October 14-16, 2016
You’re Invited! – Click Here to Sign-Up
Harvard Cabin Mountaineers,
Hope everyone had fun and safe summer season. Marcia and I are currently traveling east towards New Hampshire. Having left Moab, Utah a few days ago we are on course for a just-in-time arrival to the 2016 Harvard Cabin Work Weekend set to kick-off on Friday Night, October 14th. If you are in the area and feel like a some Fall tramping on the rock pile and seeing the cabin in another season you are invited to stop-by, say hi, and lend a hand.
If you are interested in joining us for the weekend you can sign-up using the form linked above. Enter your name on the lower portion of the the form to let the club know how many to expect. You can ignore the travel/carpooling logistics info pertaining to club members traveling from Cambridge. That said, If you are in the Boston Area and are interested in carpooling, you may be in luck. Alternatively, you can reply here and let me know. Keep in mind, I’ll be at the cabin Friday Night and away from e-mail.
Sorry for the short notice. I really should have sent out this e-mail weeks ago. It’s looking like it will be a fun and very productive weekend. If we get to see some of you it will only add to the fun. Marcia and I will be around the cabin off and on throughout the remainder of the Fall, so if you can’t make it this weekend because you already have sending plans, we might need some more help in the coming weeks. Please let me know if you are interested.
That’s all for now from a congested interstate somewhere near Columbus, OH….this 4G stuff is really cool and really fast….like, 65 MPH all day!!! 14 more hours to the trail head! Hope to see some of you. If not, get psyched for snow and ice and we’ll see you this Winter!
As always, thanks for reading and keeping the Harvard Cabin warm and well!
Rich Palatino
Harvard Cabin Caretaker
Trail Adoption
A bit earlier this year the Harvard Mountaineering Club became the official trail adopter of the Huntington Ravine Fire Road. Trail Adopters are utilized across the country by the US Forest Service as a way to address trail maintenance issues that might come up from time to time. Becoming a trail adopter gives volunteer groups and/or individuals the permission and training necessary to mitigate trail maintenance needs as they arise. In the northeast this likely includes over-growth on lesser used trails and the clearing of the occasional blow-down. Maintenance issues like this are sometimes best dealt with by capable members of the public who are willing and regular users of a particular area. The efficiency of such an arrangement benefits everyone by circumventing the back-log of work and funding issues that forest managers tend to be dealing with.
It is only fitting that the HMC has taken on this role given the fact that Ted Carman and crew cut the fire road as they staked out sites for the construction of the Harvard Cabin in the early 1960’s.
Work Weekend Details
As with everything relating to life at the Harvard Cabin and in the mountains, safety is paramount. If you are planning to help with trail work we are asking you arrive equipped with basic personal protective equipment to include sturdy foot wear, gloves, eye protection and helmet. You will not be excluded if you don’t have such gear, but the more volunteers that bring their own the better. Same goes for hand-tools. If you have your own,please bring along any hand tools that you imagine would be useful given the days work. Simple hand tools should suffice. Please, Please, Please – only bring tools you are familiar with and comfortable using. Thanks.
Friday, October 14th, 2016
08:00 PM – Arrival
Feel free to show up at the Harvard Cabin on Friday Night – It will be later evening – 8 PM or so before the cabin is opened. Of course, bring you sleeping gear and some food. It should be a fun night evicting the summer residents. Cabin was spic-and-span when it was secured last Spring, so it should be a quick turn-around and a fun evening.
Saturday, October 15th, 2016
07:00 AM – PInkham Parking Lot
Snow Ranger and Trails Manager Helon Hoffer will be arriving at the Forest Service Garage located at the North End of the Pinkham Parking Lot. He would appreciate any help hiking up hand-tools that will be used for the day.
09:00 AM – Harvard Cabin
Helon will be meeting volunteers at the Harvard Cabin for a short safety briefing and to go over the plan for the day. In recent years, it has been increasingly difficult to get the Piston Bully (snow cat) above the Dow Cache. HMC Volunteers will be assisting the Forest Service in clearing and widening sections of the fire road where new growth is making access and rescue operations difficult, especially during low snow periods.
10:00 AM – 04:00 PM
Find us on the fire road somewhere above the Dow Cache.
04:00 PM – ???
Various odd-jobs around the cabin before dinner and evening socializing.
Sunday, October 16, 2016
All Day – A bit more relaxed of a day. Various projects and pre-season prep around the cabin. Tasks for all abilities and energy levels.
NOTE – Harvard Cabin is not affiliated with the Appalachian Mountain Club. Harvard Cabin is maintained by Harvard Mountaineering Club for use by the general public. The cabin is operated under a special-use permit granted by the USDA Forest Service. Cabin space and tent-sites are available on a first-come, first-serve basis between December 1st and March 31st each year. Specific instructions for staying at the cabin can be found online at http://www.HarvardMountaineering.org/cabin
