Franconia Ridge Trail Restoration in a Historical Context: 200 years of Trail Making and Trail Tending in the White Mountains with Nat Scrimshaw

Franconia Ridge loop trails—Falling Waters Trail, Old Bridle Path, Franconia Ridge Trail (section Little Haystack to Lafayette), and Greenleaf Trail (section Lafayette to Greenleaf Hut)—are currently being restored thanks to nearly 1.5 million dollars in both federal funds and private donations. The “Partnership to Restore the Franconia Ridge Loop” includes the United State Forest Service, New Hampshire State Parks, The Appalachian Mountain Club, the World Trails Network – Hub for the Americas, as well as other organizations and contractors. This project responds to severe erosion on Franconia Ridge loop access trails, and damage to the rare and fragile alpine ecosystem on the Ridge itself. Trail restoration includes reconstructing sections so trails are wider and have new side-hill alignments (rather than go straight up the fall line). However, trail construction alone will not ensure that trails are maintained, nor entirely address the impact of increased numbers in the alpine zone. This presentation considers the current crisis of trail maintenance and alpine area management in the White Mountains from a historical perspective and proposes solutions based on current trail science and the traditions of historic White Mountain trail clubs.

Nat Scrimshaw has been an active trail steward for over 50 years in both New England and Central and South America. Nat started volunteering on trails for the Waterville Valley Athletic Improvement Association (WVAIA) when he was 11 years old, and headed the WVAIA trail crew into the mid 1980’s. In 1988 he founded the Sandwich Range Conservation Association (SRCA), which for ten years organized a shared trail crew between clubs in the Sandwich Range. SRCA also pioneered the first “summit stewards’ in the White Mountains on Welch and Dickey in 1988. For the last 19 years Nat has been the Appalachian Mountain Club trail adopter for the Lafayette to Little Haystack section of the Franconia Ridge Trail, and he started the Franconia Ridge Summit Steward program in 2018, which is now managed by WTN Americas. Nat is Chair of Pan American Trails (PanAT) and the World Trails Network – Hub for the Americas (WTN Americas), and currently the Co-Chair of the International Trails & Sustainability Task Team.

This is a hybrid event. To receive a Zoom link, please register HERE.