Paddling, Biking, Volunteering, Rafting, and more

The van is all packed and Ellen and I leave today for a 5 week driving trip to New England. We'll be doing a lot of camping, mostly sleeping in the van on the double bed I built (with a Sealy mattress on it and all the gear under it.)



First we head to Pennsylvania for a paddling Elderhostel on the Delaware River, then to New York/New Jersey to visit friends of Ellen's and attend a wedding, then a drive along the ocean up to Maine (camping along the way) where we join a volunteer trail project in Acadia National Park hosted by the Appalachian Mountain Club. A whitewater rafting trip is also a probable Maine adventure. On the way back home, we stop in Camden, Maine, for a second Elderhostel program -- sailing 6 days on the windjammer Angelique somewhere within the 1000 square miles of Penobscot Bay. We'll also bike on numerous trails near our route. I'll have photos and info for all these adventures as Internet access allows.



Regarding the volunteer trail project -- I've participated in 20 volunteer trail projects over the last 13 years -- mostly for the US Forest Service, but a few for the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Lake County Forest Preserve District.

Friends have asked how you go about building a trail where none existed before, so to demonstrate the steps involved in building a new trail from scratch, I've put together a photo tutorial here composed of photos from some of the projects I've been on across the country.

Check back over the next few weeks and see Chuck's latest adventures!