Volunteers Needed for the Appalachian Trail Crew this Season

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) is currently searching for volunteers, 18 and over, to help maintain the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) through their Konnarock and Smokies Wilderness Elite Appalachian Trail Crew (S.W.E.A.T.) programs. No previous Trail experience is required - just a desire to work hard, live in the backcountry and have a great time among new friends. All food, tools and equipment will be provided at no cost.

The Konnarock Crew was founded in 1983 and named after its original base camp in southwest Virginia. The crews work on the A.T. from Rockfish Gap, near Waynesboro, Virginia, to the Trail's southern terminus at Springer Mountain in Georgia. The program is a joint venture among the ATC, the 12 southern Trail clubs, the U.S. Forest Service, and the National Park Service. Crew members spend 5 days at a project campsite, working 8-hours a day, on Trail related work.

The ATC S.W.E.A.T. Crew is a mobile crew, carrying all food, tools and camping gear into the heart of the largest and most beautiful managed wilderness area in the east, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The crew focuses on the difficult trail problems that occur in the backcountry with the tools they carry in and the materials that they find. Each crew works six days in the field repairing the Trail, building steps, and clearing the Trail.

Both of these all-volunteer trail crews are led by paid trail crew professionals who teach volunteers trail stewardship and Leave No Trace skills during the multi-day adventure.

For more information about these Trail Crew programs or to volunteer, please click here.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com