Friends of Allegheny Wilderness will hold their first Trail Stewardship Days Weekend April 6-7 to clear the 7-mile Minister Loop Trail in the proposed Minister Valley Wilderness Area of the Allegheny National Forest in Warren County.

If there is time, they will also of course pause at the triple forks area to collect trash and demolish any non-Leave No Trace-conforming gigantic fire rings and rock furniture, etc. that may have been built over the last year by thoughtless, irresponsible campers.

Volunteers will meet at the Minister Creek parking lot on Route 666 on Saturday morning, spend the night in the proposed wilderness area, and hike out on Sunday.

For more information or to volunteer, send email to: info@pawild.org.

FAW is also organizing these events in the next few months--

-- April 27-28: FAW has been the formal adopting organization of the 13-mile Hickory Creek Wilderness trail since our inception and has done an absolutely tremendous, first-rate job of keeping the trail clear of fallen woody debris and encroaching live vegetation for people walking trail single-file on foot for almost two decades now.

If you could suddenly see all in one place the sheer volume of woody material FAW has removed from the trail over the years, it would blow your mind. There isn't a harder-work group of volunteers out there.

Please come be part of the fun! We will meet at the Hickory Creek Wilderness trailhead on Saturday morning, spend the night in the wilderness, and hike out on Sunday.

For more information or to volunteer, send email to: info@pawild.org.

-- May 11: The annual Allegheny Reservoir Clean-up. As usual, FAW volunteers will be participating in this annual event, which is organized by the larger umbrella of the Allegheny River/Allegheny Reservoir Clean-up Committee. While we will likely mostly be heading across the state line to help clean up the shoreline in New York, we will be in very close proximity to the proposed Cornplanter Wilderness and proposed Tracy Ridge Wilderness in the Allegheny National Forest. Visit the Allegheny Reservoir Clean-up webpage for more details and to sign-up.

-- July 27-28: Hickory Creek Wilderness trail stewardship. Same as the April Hickory Creek Wilderness project. Falling trees and limbs around the trail loop is a ongoing process — this is a wonderfully wild forest, so there will likely be new material on the trail that needs to be cleared.

For more information or to volunteer, send email to: info@pawild.org.

For all trail stewardship projects FAW will be utilizing non-motorized hand tools only, such as axes, pruners, and saws. No chainsaws or other power tools are ever allowed in designated wilderness areas like Hickory Creek, or wilderness study areas like Minister Valley, so no specialized training is needed in that regard.

For more information on programs, initiatives and upcoming events visit the Friends of Allegheny Wilderness website.

(Photo: Friends of Allegheny Wilderness Trail Crew.)

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