CVATC Has Special Workday To Build A Temporary Bridge

The Cumberland Valley Appalachian Trail Club held a special workday on July 15, 2023. The purpose was to reroute a small section of the Appalachian Trail and build a temporary bridge. The reroute and temporary bridge are necessary so that the nearby permanent bridge can be rebuilt.

More than 30 people came out to help on the workday. They included regular CVATC volunteers, members of the Meetup group Day Hikers of Central PA and several new volunteers. The effort was led by Craig Dunn, who has been CVATC’s Trail master since its founding.

The relocation is approximately one half mile north of the Scott Farm A.T. Work Center. Volunteers hauled lumber and other materials for the bridge, used a chainsaw, string trimmers, various hand tools and a DR mower to clear the new trail, painted blazes and constructed the temporary bridge.

The bridge to be replaced was installed in 2007. The stringers for that bridge were reused telephone poles that have since become spongy and unstable. An additional walkway leading to the bridge on both sides was constructed in 2012 and will not need to be replaced. Now that the temporary reroute and bridge are in place, work will begin soon on the new permanent bridge.

​Founded in 1991, CVATC is one of 30 volunteer clubs that maintains the A.T., America’s best known and most used long distance hiking trail, stretching from Georgia to Maine. CVATC’s A.T. section is over 17 miles, from Center Point Knob to Blue Mountain, in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.