Hoodlums Host 2026 Trail Maintainers Workshop
By Tom Moran
From March through November PATC’s Hoodlums conduct work outings in the Shenandoah National Park’s North District on the 3rd Saturday of each month. The sole exception is in September, when they host an event that reaches beyond its member list and is explicitly open to PATC members outside the group. As in recent years, Dave Nebhut was the organizer of the North District Trail Maintainers Workshop, which spans parts of three days and is hosted in the Mathews Arm campground. Working with Dave to lead the workshop activities was Head Hoodlum Tom Troutman.
The purpose of the workshop is to offer trail maintainers at any level, from beginner to experienced, the opportunity to improve their skills as well as make acquaintance with peers from around PATC’s many domains. This year’s event drew trail maintainers who work in such diverse areas as the South and Central districts of SNP, the Tuscarora Trail, Rock Creek Park, and the AT in Maryland. There were also a handful of volunteers who had scant experience but were eager to gain basic skills to support their volunteering aspirations. All of them shared the common goal of improving skills while making new friends and important contacts to help further their volunteering aspirations.
Organizers arriving early Friday the 18th were immediately confronted with an issue—the group camping area, which had been reserved for nearly a year, had been double booked and was already occupied by another group. They quickly found a block of adjacent campsites and worked as a team to redirect incoming attendees as they arrived throughout the day. After this hiccup, it was time to pitch tents, enjoy a campfire and mingle with fellow attendees. Saturday morning following breakfast, Tom Troutman brought folks together for introductions, a safety discussion and crew assignments. Saturday was to be a working day—hands-on skills learned by conducting real maintenance activities on trails adjacent to the group campground at Mathews Arm.
Trail Work Basics crew members drove to the Elkwallow Picnic area before hiking onto a nearby section of the AT. Here they were taught names and purposes of structures, rules for blazing, invasive plants ID, weeding basics, and simple hand sawing with pruning saws including safety and binds. The crew was led by Certified Trail Maintainer instructors Jim Fetig, Wayne Limberg, and Kevin Cwalina, who divided the crew in three working groups. Hands-on practice included construction of four rolling grade dips, repair of an undermined check dam, check dam and water bar cleaning, and reconstruction of seven water bars. The training also included tool identification and uses, safety considerations, PPE, and reporting. Crew members included John Foley, Ethan Glick, Janee Harris, Alex Hart, Troy McCurry, Christian Wilson, Paul Perry, and Paul Kitchings.
The Novice crew was led by Certified Trail Maintainer instructors Tom Troutman and Mike Gergely and included Brian Blackman, Amanda deBrun, Sarah DeGennaro, Sarah Montana, Carl Leubsdorf, and Anthony Senerchia. The crew hiked out along the Traces trail, pausing to discuss safety protocols and the work that needs to be done to the trails before applying the skills selectively covering the full range of maintainer skills.
The Advanced crew hiked over to Overall Run trail, a section of trail difficult to maintain because of heavy hiker traffic, steep terrain and lack of easy access to maintainers. The amount of time hiking to and from the work areas left only a few hours to make a dent in the trail areas suffering from erosion. Plenty of follow-up work was noted. Led by Dave Nebhut and Tom Moran, the crew also included Noel Freeman, Elizabeth Moser, Dave Jordahl, Rich Lordahl, Marie Seymour, Mark Wrobel, Ed Howell, Dallas Cecil, and Steve Woofter.
The workday ended around 3:30 for all the crews and we hiked back up to the campground, for a chance to sit down in a comfortable chair with a refreshing beverage and begin anticipating the dinner already being prepared. Hoodlums chef
Joe Wood, assisted by
Cindy Ardecki, was creating a banquet including chicken, grilled sausages, pepper and onions, and pasta. Vegan options were included. He had a tired but hungry set of mouths to feed! Following dinner, folks adjourned to the campfire for a while before turning in for the night.
Sunday morning, Joe and Cindy prepared coffee and a light continental breakfast, and we began the day’s program. Two one-hour sessions were offered, from which participants could choose from options that included a hands-on crosscut saw demo, “what’s in my pack”, a discussion on what District Managers expect of Trail Maintainers, map and compass and SNP Wilderness boundaries. Then, Shenandoah National Park Biologist Jake Hughes discussed invasive species of plants in the park, passing around samples he had collected that morning, Jake has great insights into pragmatic strategies on how they might be controlled or limited within the role of a typical maintainer.
Following these sessions we concluded with a large brunch, again prepared by Joe with Cindy’s help. Scrambled eggs, sausage, potatoes, the works. Vegan options were carefully segregated and available. The sumptuous meal concluded the event, folks headed off well fed and with that satisfied sort of tired feeling.