Trail Maintenance
Ever wonder who does all the work to create and maintain the AT? Volunteers do. There are 31 trail clubs who each take responsibility to maintain a segment of the Trail. RATC maintains 120+ miles from Rt. 611 near Bland, Virginia to Black Horse Gap near the Blue Ridge Parkway mile marker 97. The club also maintains Blue blazed side trails that access the AT in our section.
We have over 100 volunteers who do “light duty” maintenance on assigned sections. This can be things like
- cutting back brush from the trail
- clearing water bars
- removing branches and small obstructions
- checking shelters and privys for trash and graffiti
A weekly work crew does the heavy work
- building and replacing steps
- adding water bars to stop erosion
- installing cribbing to shore up the trail
- side-hill to widen the trail
- replacing bridges
You can join the weekly work crew at any time — their work hikes are listed in our Meetup group.
The documents, links, and videos listed on this page are useful resources for our Trail Maintainers.
- RATC Trail Section Maintainers
- Maintainer Guidance
- Appalachian Trail Condition Evaluation Report [auto-download in Microsoft Word Format]
- Hazard Tree Awareness Form and Guide
- Hazard Tree 360 Risk Assessment
- Performing Work Activities in the Field
- Performing Work Activities with Hand Tools
- String Trimmer and Brush Cutter Operations
- Chainsaw Operation
- Hazards and Mitigations for Chainsaw Operation
- USFS Trail Building and Maintenance Guide
- Reimbursement Process for RATC Volunteers
Identifying Plant Species of Interest