The Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) has awarded The Cumberland Valley Appalachian Trail Club (CVATC) a $650 matching grant for the purchase of a new DR-brand string trimmer mower for use on the Trail.  HERE is a link to a short video showing the mower in action.

This self-propelled, walk behind mower will replace CVATC’s aging mower so we can continue to maintain the open grassy sections of our trail. CVATC volunteers work hard throughout the growing season to keep the path mowed and clear of any encroachment from the field grasses and invasive plants.

This year, the ATC awarded $24,890 to 13 Appalachian Trail (AT) clubs through this program. These grants, provided by the ATC with generous support from L.L. Bean Inc., help fund necessary projects along the AT, such as trail, bridge and shelter construction, recruiting and training new volunteers, purchasing tools and safety gear, developing educational materials and community outreach. Grants from this program may make the difference in a club’s ability to perform the vital work that makes the AT such a great recreational resource. Grant recipients are expected to match grants with labor, money or in-kind contributions.

The ATC was founded in 1925 by volunteers and federal officials working to build a continuous foot path along the Appalachian Mountains. The AT is a unit of the National Park System, stretching from Maine to Georgia. At approximately 2,190 miles in the length, the AT is the longest hiking-only footpath in the world. Last year, nearly 6,000 volunteers donated more than 240,000 hours of their time doing trail-related work. More than 3 million visitors walk a portion of the AT each year. The ATC has awarded more than half a million dollars in grants to the ATC’s affiliated Trail clubs and their volunteers through the L.L. Bean grants to AT Clubs program since 1982.

The ATC works with 31 Trail maintaining clubs by providing resources, training and volunteers to help maintain the Trail. The clubs are responsible for trail maintenance, monitoring protected land around the Trail, providing information to the Trail users and the public, and participating in regional partnership committee meetings.

About Cumberland Valley Appalachian Trail Club:

The Cumberland Valley Appalachian Trail Club is one of 31 Trail maintaining clubs that help to maintain the AT from Maine to Georgia. Our section is responsible for 17 miles through the Cumberland Valley from the top of Blue Mountain to Center Point Knob.
  
Contact
CVATC
Attn: Kevin Shannon – President
P.O. Box 395
Boiling Springs, PA 17007
cvatclub@gmail.com
www.cvatclub.org
www.facebook.com/cvatclub

​Cumberland Valley Appalachian Trail Club (CVATC) has named its Trindle Road Parking Lot in honor of Craig Dunn. 
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Craig Dunn is one of the founders of CVATC, which was formed in 1991.  Craig has been a faithful friend, advocate and builder of the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) and other trails for approximately 40 years.  He began his A.T. work with the Susquehanna Appalachian Trail Club, serving in many leadership roles, including President in the late 1980s.  

After that, in the early 1990s, he distinguished himself as a leader in the movement to relocate the 17 miles of the A.T. in the Cumberland Valley of Pennsylvania from a road walk to a true trail.  Craig and others held public meetings, negotiated with landowners, and relentlessly but diplomatically pushed forward against opposition groups.  Through it all, Craig stood out as a voice of calm reason who advocated for the long-term benefits the relocated trail would provide to the local community.  In the opinion of many, these benefits have come to pass.

Craig has served as CVATC’s Trailmaster for decades.  Craig has also served on the Board of Managers of Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) and in several capacities with Keystone Trails Association. In 2003, Craig received ATC’s highest award, Honorary Life Membership.  Craig lives with his wife, Cindy Adams Dunn, in the Camp Hill area.  Follow this link to CVATC’s website for more about Craig: https://www.cvatclub.org/craig-dunn-receives-atcs-highest-award.html
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CVATC’s Craig Dunn Trindle Road Parking Lot is just west of the intersection of the Appalachian Trail and Trindle Road (PA Route 641), in Middlesex Township, Cumberland County, midway between Carlisle and Mechanicsburg.  It features eight parking spaces, including one space with handicap access and a rustic sign kiosk.  The parking lot opened in 2012.

Kevin Shannon, President of CVATC, said:   “We’re glad to have this opportunity to honor Craig in this way.  Without question, Craig is the single person most responsible for CVATC’s success over the past 28 years.”
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A new sign will be installed at the parking lot to honor Craig, along with a Certificate from the Board of CVATC.  The sign was made by Vern Graham of Carlisle. Vern is a skilled carpenter responsible for many trail signs throughout the area.

CVATC's 2019 annual membership meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 20th at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 2 Forge Road, Boiling Springs.  The potluck will begin at 6:00 p.m., followed by elections and a presentation. 

All of the club's officers and directors whose terms expire this year are eligible for another 2-year term, and all have agreed to be nominated for re-election (although a couple of them would be willing to step aside if others would like to fill a position). If you would like to nominate someone for any of the open positions, please send your nomination to cvatclub@gmail.com by March 13th. According to our bylaws, no nominations will be taken from the floor at the meeting on March 20th. The following folks are nominated for the open positions that all currently hold:

President - Kevin Shannon
Vice President - Bill McCormick
Treasurer - Andy Thomas
Secretary - Jonathan Heilman
Director - Mike Bowman
Director - Skip Klein
Director - Christine Lauriello

As a heads-up, in 2020 and 2021, most of the club's officers and directors will have served the maximum number of terms permitted by our by-laws; therefore, we will be looking for several members to volunteer to serve in these positions on our Board. If you have any interest at all in stepping up into a leadership role with CVATC, I recommend that you attend one of our Board meetings to get familiar with what we do.  Our 2019 Board meetings are scheduled for March 14th, June 13th, September 12th and December 12th. All of them start at 6:30 p.m. and will be held in the back meeting room at Appalachian Brewing Company on the Carlisle Pike.

The May 19 CVATC work day is cancelled due to wet conditions.  See you on June 16.

​CVATC club member Rob Shaw, in conjunction with Silver Spring Township Parks and Rec., will lead a series of 3-mile out-and-back hikes starting and ending at Stony Ridge Park, located at 50 Bernheisel Bridge Road, Carlisle. The first hike is on Thursday, May 10th and then the second Wednesday of June, July and August beginning at 6 p.m.  The group will meet in the first stone parking lot to the left as you come into the main park entrance.There is no cost to join in these hikes and there is no need to pre-register. We hope to see you for one of these hikes!

The CVATC's annual membership meeting and potluck dinner will be held on Thursday, March 15th beginning at 6:00 p.m. Once again, it will be held at the Unitarian Universalists of Cumberland Valley Church at 2 Forge Road in Boiling Springs. Karen Lutz, long-time Director of ATC's Mid-Atlantic Region office will be our after dinner speaker. Please email Christine Lauriello at cjlauriello(at)comcast.net to let her know what you will be bringing to share at the potluck dinner. I hope to see you on March 15th! (Replace the (at) with a @)
Sincerely,
Kevin Shannon, President

"Trail Magic" is the term for unexpected acts of generosity on the trail.  Trail magic originated on the Appalachian Trail, and often includes drinks, food and other goodies handed out to backpackers.  

Our colleagues at Appalachian Trail Conservancy ("ATC") have issued some guidelines on trail magic on the trail.  Follow THIS LINK to find them.

by Craig Dunn

​The ATC Mid-Atlantic crew's two weeks working on our A.T. section in the vicinity of the Scott Farm was very productive.  Approximately 100 feet of new board walk was added to carry the trail over the worst seasonally swampy area, plus the crew reconstructed part of the collapsed rock cribbing that retains the ledge trail along the steep slope below Bernheisel Road and smoothed out the spots with previously rough footing.  Finally, the deteriorated bog bridge just beyond the first bridge north of the Scott Farm was replaced with a log lined causeway that is an excellent solution to that seasonally wet trouble spot. The crew and our local volunteers moved a significant amount of rock and shale.  In fact, when the Dickinson lacrosse team comes, we may exhaust the last remnant of our shale pile.

We had a very good local turnout to help the crew, with 10 club members and 2 KTA volunteers coming and working during one or more days.  The crew leaders were impressed with our turnout and were "surprised and moved" by our expression of appreciation by having the picnic with them.  They noted they did not experience such local participation and appreciation from the other club's they helped.  I think we can all be very proud of our club and our section of the Trail.