TRAIL MAINTENANCE DAY AT MT. OSCEOLA

The day was so much fun for everyone - we had volunteers from all ages, all out enjoying the camaraderie of shared work to help support the trails we love! Mt. Osceola is extremely popular in summer due to its gradual ascent to the highest peak in Waterville Valley, on the NH four-thousand-footer list at 4,340 feet and has a vast panorama from its summit ledges!

Our group included members of GayOutdoors Pemi Valley Hikers. We are fortunate to have these groups as partners, and our trails project fit in well with our philosophy of getting involved with given back to the trails!

Mike Boisvert and Jon Normand, crew leaders, really made the day a fun and educational experience. I'm not sure if anyone in the group will ever be able to pass another water bar again without wanting to clear the debris out of it!

We spent the day cleaning 51 water bars, removed two blowdowns and cleared back encroaching vegetation. Large crowds out today despite the cloudy weather, but everyone, and I mean everyone, was kind and respectful of fellow hikers. We love these kinds of people!

And throughout the day, we received a multitude of thanks of hikers passing by. Afterwards, we invited everyone back at Mike and Jon’s house along the Mad River for some appetizers/ beverages followed by a BBQ feast that included balsamic marinated grilled chicken, vegetable lasagna, penne pasta topped with a vodka cream sauce, roasted ginger carrots and rosemary potatoes, steamed broccoli and for dessert, a NY style cheesecake with red velvet cake and cream cheese frosting. YUM!

As we look back on the day, it really hit home the importance of GayOutdoors. GO is a resource to perform trail maintenance projects around the White Mountain National Forest and to protect our trails by getting involved with sweat equity. It’s really rewarding to be able to look back and see the work we do together. We want to thank everyone who helped out. We cannot even begin to say how much fun he had working with you all. Thank you all so much, for everything. We hope this inspires more to join us next year!

Mike and Jon

Volunteer with GayOutdoors members for a day of trail work on our adopted trail, Mt. Osceola! Mt. Osceola is extremely popular in summer due to its gradual ascent to the highest peak in Waterville Valley, on the NH four thousand footer list at 4,340 feet and has a vast panorama from its summit ledges! We will focus on clearing drainages, removing blowdowns, and clearing branches that encroach within the trail corridor. 

We encourage help from volunteers who love the outdoors, enjoy hands-on conservation work, and are excited to work with our GayOutdoors members! We hope to work efficiently so we can summit! Plan on a full day and we usually finish around 4PM however if you need to get home earlier you can hike back down to your vehicle at any time. As part of our philosophy, we believe in doing our part to give back to the hiking community!

You don't have to be an expert to help and we can easily train you. We’ll have fire rakes, grub hoes, saws and loppers for everyone.  We switch off the tools we use with other members so everyone gets a chance to do something different during the day!  

Members from another group, Pemi Valley Hikers, will be helping us. Meet us at the trailhead at 8:30 and bring snacks, lunch, water and what you normally would carry for a 4,000 footer hike but be sure to bring work gloves. I’ll be driving a blue Toyota Tacoma truck.

Thanks so much to everyone; your efforts are absolutely critical to keeping our trails open and accessible for everyone. The White Mountain National Forest have so much appreciation for everything we do. We look forward to working with you for another great season. We can’t wait to see you on the trails!

To say THANK YOU for your help you are invited back at our house near Welch and Dickey trailhead afterwards for appetizers and a BBQ!!! Please bring your own beverages. 

Everyone is invited to spend a FREE weekend at our house Friday and/or Saturday night with breakfast each morning. We only have 6 bunks so the first 6 guys that contact us to reserve will get one; and let us know which night[s] you’ll be lodging with us. You’re on your own for dinner Friday night but you’re welcome to use our kitchen facilities to cook.  We plan on having a campfire followed by fireworks Saturday night!