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Trip Report    

Stewardship - Tolmie State Park

What a day on the trail. I left the park with a wholesome feeling of accomplishment. We weren't able to complete the whole boardwalk repair, but because everyone pitched in until the end, we were able to complete the essential and hardest parts.

Jim French Jim French
January 17, 2022
  • Road suitable for all vehicles

  • The trails in Tolmie State park are quite busy with over 200 hikers passing through during our work party. It is a heavily used trail that has several wet stretched that typically result in hikers stepping off the trail onto dry ground, resulting in a wider and muddier trail overall.  

    Our task on this day was to replace a 18 ft stretch of boardwalk (puncheon) that was destroyed by a falling tree.  One of the many complications for this project is the small intermittent stream that flows under the boardwalk making it very difficult to work and difficult secure the concrete pier blocks needed for a solid base for the timber supports and boardwalk decking.    

Everyone put in a super day, starting with our assistant leader Ginger S. who kept us safe and on track and continuing thru to our newest crew member Mark B. (Every hopes we'll be seeing Mark again).   A special thanks goes out to Dawn R and Jane F for their hard work, engineering and expert trail building guidance and supervision.  I need to spotlight Ken A. for his tireless determination to complete every bit of the project that was humanly possible.   A very special thanks goes to Jennifer F and Kathy F for helping us keep our spirits high (see photos) and doing just about everything no one else wanted to do.  I can't forget Lorraine M and Rangers Emily B and Joe M for helping out at the most critical times, hauling materials in on Friday and giving the crew a sense of accomplishment at the end, on our way out.  
It was quite a team effort.  At one point I thought we were dead stuck in the mud, but your determination and indefatigable spirit kept us going to a successful and safe stopping point.  We'll see what surprises and challenges the February 19 Tolmie State Park project has in store.