The next wilderness stewardship project of the Friends of the Allegheny Wilderness will sponsor the clean-up of the 13-mile Hickory Creek Wilderness trail April 19 to 21.

Volunteers will be leaving from the Hickory Creek Wilderness trailhead on Hearts Content Road Friday evening, April 19th, spend two nights in the wilderness, and hike out on Sunday, April 21st.

Minimum tools such as axes and elbow grease are all we will use to remove woody debris from the trail (no bow saws or cross-cut saws), in order to help perpetuate the rustic wilderness character of the trail. And of course, no power tools such as chainsaws are permitted in wilderness, so there will be no specialized training needed in that regard.

There is no charge to join this program, but participants will need to bring all of their own food, camping equipment, and come fully prepared for any weather conditions we may encounter.

To get a sense of the kind of work we'll be doing, an article from FAW’s December 2003 newsletter entitled “A Word About Wilderness Trail Maintenance” provides a good overview of the bear-minimum touch that is used to maintain the Hickory Creek Wilderness trail to wilderness standards.

And here's a fun video showing scenes from previous FAW stewardship projects.

Leave A Legacy

Good news! FAW just received a new shipment of our popular "Leave a Legacy" bumper stickers.  If you would like one or more to display on your bumper or elsewhere to show your support for the acutely urgent need to protect wilderness in Pennsylvania's only national forest, simply let us know by sending email to: info@pawild.org and FAW will mail them out to you asap, free of charge!

2/25/2013