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January 1, 2023

Wilderness Education Students from SUNY Potsdam Repair The Gulch

The Gulch, a steep area along the shores of Sugar Island flow, was a trouble spot on the Red Sandstone Trail. As a result of continued erosion, the bridge in that area was washed away and the stair structures had fallen into disrepair. Most hikers detour around the mess – even though this takes them through private property. Luckily the landowner is aware and OK with this arrangement, even if it is not ideal. The detour takes people too close to his home and routinely sets his dogs into a tizzy. We’d like to get the trail off his property.

Therefore, this fall students from the Wilderness Education Program at SUNY Potsdam took on a challenging trail work project for one of their classes. The students developed a plan that required no additional materials. They used bench cuttng to make a moderately sloped trail to ensure hiker safety.

Nonetheless, there is no avoiding the inevitability of continued erosion in the area. It is likely that a large boulder will become dislodged and a large tree will fall in the next few years. The students’ plan is the most likely to survive these impacts and easiest to repair. Next spring we will add cribbing or other supports to keep the trail from eroding. Hikers should continue to use caution in this area but they can now pass more easily without detouring onto private land or disturbing the landowner’s dogs.

In addition to building the new trail, students put in the hard work to pull up the old decaying stairs and bridges and haul the materials up to the road for disposal. As you can see, in such a steeply sloped area this is a major undertaking. We are lucky to have such skilled and hardworking volunteers dedicated to our trail! Participants’ comments:

“Trail work was a first time experience for me, but working hard as well as gettng dirty was so fun, and this type of work made me feel connected to the community which is worthwhile” - Chelsea Wright

“I really loved working with classmates in an outdoor settng, and gettng to see what our hands and hard work did at the end of the day." - Norah Pease

“Working with my hands and being able to see the results of something I helped create was super sick. I liked working together with others and there was a great sense of teamwork and community. " Henry Mueller

“Dirty clean fun” - Mason Fuller

The SUNY Potsdam Wilderness Education Minor was created by chapter member Mark Simon and is now led by chapter member Adam Wheeler. They are regular contributors to our trail work at Stone Valley and Red Sandstone Trail.

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