Reflection, Reparation, Repentation, Rejuvination, and Recreation

Reflection, Reparation, Repentation, Rejuvination, and Recreation
Having fun on the Midnight Beast

Friday, April 18, 2008

Trails Survey

529 yd 12" corr plastic cv (5)

539 yd nf wb(not an obst) (6)

578yd 24" cp cv fc(7)

.58 mi nf wb(nn)(not an obstruction)

.59 mi 3085(mk need new)nf cv(8)

.60 mi nf armored water crossing (9)

.61 nf wb rr tie (10)

Name that section of trail in the above transcription(hint: it's in
the 3000 section of the Blue Hills)

Chances are, you'd have a tough time finding that, and may be tougher
to decipher all that shorthand. But in the context of a full Trails
Survey report, it all makes sense....

The abbreviations are trail features and descriptions of mechanical
structures you may have never noticed--culverts, waterbars,
intersection markers, and distances from beginning of the trail,
etc....The (5) numbers are references to footnotes for recommended
action, repair, the level trail crew expertise needed, etc......

In the Fall of 2007, the Friends of Blue Hills posted an enticing
employment opportunity--they wanted to pay someone to travel EVERY
trail in the Blue Hills, and record every nuance of every yard
thereof. Being paid to be outside on the trail every day was very
enticing, so I got in line with quite a few applicants in front of
Bob Flagg's house and waited my turn. Well, not literally in front of
his house, but in the virtual email line that was forming......

After an intensive interview process, and out of many qualified
applicants, they hired two of us, myself and Ken Jones, an avid
outdoorsman in every sense. So we split up the park and we each do one
section at a time. We started in December, and I got a few days in,
but with all the snow and the holiday hooplah, I didn't really get
started until after First Day. So I've been stacking up some mileage
and getting to know the place real well, literally. And I'm a
double-agent, acting as a TrailWatcher too!
Armed with my tool cache--GPS for yardage/mileage, digital camera,
cell phone, digital voice recorder, batteries for all of that, a trail
saw just in case, water and sustenance in my camelbak along with
space blanket and an extra kitchen sink-- I average about 1 mph on
foot, or less, while stopping to find hidden culverts, and to record
all of the details as I go along. I make notes of where work needs to
be done, from brushing out the trail, to major rockwork and everything
in between. I have to stay organized so that when I'm transcribing
back home on the computer, it will all make sense. The transcribing is
the hardest part, actually sitting still for a long time, listening to
my own voice, translating into the abbreviated shorthand you saw
above, which saves precious file (and paper) space. Then I check my
work a couple-few times, hoping that my cat didn't walk all over the
keyboard and make his own comments. Only after all that, I send my
cyber-trail off to my boss. Then I wait for the weather to cooperate,
and go do it all again. It hasn't been, actually, an outside-every-day
job, but gets me out there a coupla times a week, before I go warm up
in the kitchen at my night job.
Now that it's past April 15th, I am stacking up some serious
trail-time on my bike again, so I'm getting the survey done in record
time. I kinda miss the hiking-times that I had over the winter, but
not really. Actually the hiking really made me learn the place, and my
kids came out with me a coupla times, so it was well worth the slowing
down......