CHAPTERS & SPECIAL INTEREST SECTIONS

Chapters

Our territory covers 240 miles of the A. T. from Central Pennsylvania to Waynesboro, Virginia. Many of our members are not within the D.C. metro area. So, in the mid-1980s, Chapters were established in Pennsylvania & Charlottesville. Then Maryland was joined with the Pennsylvania Chapter creating the North Chapter. Later, the Southern Shenandoah Valley Chapter was added, and finally the Blue Ridge Chapter.

The Chapters exist to organize activities outside the DC metro area.

Chapters may schedule hikes as well as trail maintenance worktrips. During worktrips, they maintain trail tread, clear vegetation from trails, remove invasive species, branches, and fallen trees up to about 8” in diameter with handsaws, maintain trail blazes, clear water bars (structures which run water off the trail), and pick up litter and trash. Basic trail maintenance may also include assistance provided by certified chainsaw operators to clear trees of larger than 8” diameter.  

Occasionally there is a need for major reconstruction and improvement of existing trail tread (such as the elimination of trail creep over an extended length of trail, reducing grade on deeply rutted trail sections), putting new water bars and check dams in existing tread, extensive clearing of vegetation, clearing of large rocks from trails, organized extensive clearing of blow downs by trail crew, building bridges for stream crossings or shelter/cabin maintenance or construction.

View more information on each PATC Chapter using the QuickLinks on the left.  

Special Interest Sections

In addition to hiking & preserving our trails, PATC has 2 Special Interest Groups which are: 

    Mountaineering
    Ski Touring

More information on each can be found in the QuickLinks on the left.