American Hiking Society volunteers reroute part of a Tusten Mountain Trail in the Upper Delaware

A small group of volunteers visited the Delaware River corridor for the first time last month with one mission in mind: rerouting a section of the Tusten Mountain Trail in Narrowsburg, N.Y. 

They were from the American Hiking Society and in the area for a volunteer vacation to benefit the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River. I joined the group for three days and two nights.  

The site was selected thanks to a first-time submission from Ingrid Peterec, chief of interpretation at the National Park Service, to the American Hiking Society, which hosts volunteer vacations across the country to rebuild and maintain trails.

This project was one of about 50 other volunteer vacation sites in 2024.

“It’s nice when we have groups like the American Hiking Society who have something kind of canned that we can pull off the shelf and participate in for a week that helps manage those logistics,” said Lindsey Kurnath, National Park Service superintendent of Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River. “It gives us the extra oomph to get something done.”

The goal

When we sat down at our Kittatinny Canoes campsite in Barryville, N.Y., on night one, our crew leader, Lisa Speas, told us, “We’re here to get it done.” Not all volunteer projects are completed in the week that they are given, so it was a top priority for the group to come here to do what they signed up for. 

The rest of us – which included a decades-long volunteer, another newbie, a soon-to-be crew leader for another volunteer vacation, and a trail lover – nodded our heads in agreement. The weather forecast was ideal, hovering between 70 and 75 degrees, and we were surrounded by beautiful vistas, but there was work to be done. 

“I’ve decided the last half of my life, for as long as I can, is committed to maintaining and building new trails because I highly believe in the power of nature and the forest,” Speas said. “I think it can heal, bring joy, be your happy place, take you away from tech, and the stresses and constant bombardment of life.”

After introductions on Sunday, Sept. 8, we got as much rest as we could and woke up at 6:30 a.m. to have breakfast and leave in time for the Zane Grey Museum where we would meet the National Park Service. 

For the next couple of days, we worked on re-routing a half-mile portion of a trail on the right entrance of the three-mile loop.

Re-routing included removing a wooden bridge about half a mile from the entrance, covering up the old trail, painting new trail markers on trees and removing debris. We removed windfalls, rockslides and surface outcroppings from trails while building up tread surfaces in eroded areas. 

Kurnath said that while this project was on the radar for over a year, it was able to get done thanks to American Hiking Society volunteers.

“We wouldn’t have been able to do this trail as quickly without the help,” said Ed Rozandski, a National Park Service maintenance work leader. “It would’ve tied up resources that we could be using in other places. It was a huge help for us.”

On the trail

The six of us were accompanied by four to five National Park Service maintenance workers who operated machinery and provided direction throughout the day.

The Park Service equipped us with vegetation hand clippers, handsaws, rakes, shovels, Pulaskis, and more to get the job done. Jessica Weinman, National Park Service facility manager, also provided guidance on the days we were there. 

Between 8:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., we worked straight through to clear the new trail before breaking for lunch. Sandwiches and fruits were enjoyed while we sat on a log recouping before our final push of the day until 2:30 p.m. 

Volunteers got their hands dirty to ensure that this would be the best possible reroute for those using the trail. Even while we were there on post-Labor Day weekdays, there were multiple trail-goers. 

“I love being on the trail,” said Kelsey MacDonald, a volunteer from New Hampshire. “It brings me a lot of joy and helps me reset mentally and physically. I know how much work goes into them from doing trail work days on previous trips.”

For lunch on the second day, Kurnath and Weinman joined us. Besides me, it was everyone’s first time in the Upper Delaware Valley, which meant there were a lot of questions about how things operate.

“This allows us to focus at some of these smaller national park units, helps us bring our resources together, and get a project done,” Kurnath said.

By the end of the second day, our goal was complete. The trail was beautifully re-routed in a time that was shorter than expected. 

“It’s a lot better for families and small kids now,” Rozandski said. “They won’t have to walk over a bridge with a giant ravine under it with no railings on both sides. It takes a lot of danger out of that walk.”

Off the trail

A volunteer vacation does include a little bit of a vacation, too.

Volunteers paid $450 per head to be there, which includes food and accommodations. Because it was everyone’s first time, it was only right that there was time spent on the river. On Wednesday, the National Park Service hosted a seven-mile guided river trip led by interpretation staff, with canoes and equipment provided. 

Following that, the volunteers explored nearby Milford, Pa., where they enjoyed a nice dinner together.

Every other day, volunteers worked together to make dinner at camp, which included a menu of hamburgers, stir fry, tacos, pasta, and more. Food was plenty, thanks to Speas’ careful planning, including delicious desserts and a s’mores night on the last day. 

Because the project was completed in a couple of short days, the volunteer group went back to walk the entire Tusten Mountain Trail with their clippers to remove any debris. At the top of the trail, volunteers could enjoy the beautiful view of the Delaware River below. 

On Friday, National Park Services hosted a trail walk with one of its naturalists for a final exploration of the area before volunteers started to head out.

“We would absolutely like to work with the American Hiking Society again,” Rozandski said. “The whole group was awesome and hard workers.”