Ruth Ward
One of my favorite things about hiking in New Hampshire is meeting the many different types of people sharing the trails with me. Hiking, in a lot of ways, is a great equalizer, as it is enjoyed by the young, the old, richer folks, those of lower means, men, women, and people from all over the world. Especially following the Covid shutdowns, it seems that more and more people have taken to the great outdoors for fun, fitness and fresh air.
I had the distinct pleasure of attending the ribbon cutting of the new All Persons Trail (APT) at the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) Cardigan Lodge in Alexandria last Friday. It was my first introduction to the concept of having a trail in the woods that was accessible to people with physical limitations, such as those in wheelchairs, hikers with walkers, families with strollers, and more.
The idea of converting the Upper Valley Nature Trail into an APT came from the late Andrew Norkin, former AMC Director of Trails. The AMC New Hampshire Chapter Trails Committee started raising funds for the project in 2021. Alex DeLucia, Norkin’s successor, won a major grant from the New Hampshire Recreational Trails Program, and the work on the trail started in 2022. The plan was to have it finished by the fall of 2023. It did not make that deadline, but 0.5-miles is done. The rest will be done in 2024, and it will be a 1-mile loop trail.
Along the trail are four bridges, and three rest areas with picnic table and interpretive signs.
The construction of this kind of trail is very labor intensive and expensive. The project has to follow the U.S Forest Service Accessibility Guidelines for Recreational Trails, including grade, width and surfacing requirements. If you have ever walked or hiked in the woods, you know the level is uneven, rocks and roots are on the tread, and you have to watch where you put your foot. Imagine making that trail even with a stable surface.
In this case, “staff ran an excavator over the trail, removing about six inches of leaf and organic matter. They then filled the space with surfacing material, dirt berms, and crushed stone,” AMC reported. You now have a hard, stable surface that is easier to use and travel. The surface of the trail cannot exceed ½ inch of the bridge decking. AMC Trail Staff used 264 tons of surfacing material and 168 tons of crushed stone. All of this for a 0.5-mile segment of the trail – but well worth it!
AMC now has five completed APTs across the region. Acadia has several Wheel Chair accessible spots along the Park Loop Road and on Ship Harbor Trail; Lincoln Woods Trail in the White Mountain National Forest NH; Hellcat Boardwalk Trail, Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, MA; Dingmans Creek Trail, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, PA; and Limberlost Trail, Shenandoah National Park, VA. AMC is constructing another all-access trail at the AMC Noble View Outdoor Center, located in Russell, MA.
AMC is not the only organization having, or planning all-access trails. The Forest Society, Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, has been discussing building a trail next to its HQ on Portsmouth Street in Concord, NH. The Nature Conservancy has two APTs, One at Cedar Swamp in Manchester and one in Ossipee Pine Barrens in Madison, NH. There probably are others.
The trend for many outdoor organizations is to make it possible for all people to have the opportunity to experience the outdoors. Obviously making a trail in the woods comes with special problems, but for from what I have seen they are not insurmountable.
For more information just google “All Persons Trail.”
— Senator Ruth Ward (R-Stoddard) represents District 8 in the New Hampshire Senate
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