Spring 2011

It’s time for us to come out of our self-enforced hibernation and return to the backwoods! Another year, other opportunities to renew friendships and make new ones while doing something really, really good. Best of all, Homeland Security and the Transportation Safety people haven’t found out about us…yet…so there are no pat-downs and no one checks your baggage. Material, social, psychological, or metaphysical.

Check out this blog post and find out about some of our new events—even if the projects are not, in themselves, new!

March—to The Biby

“We are marching to The Biby, The Biby, The Biby...”

Yes, we’re going out to continue our project building the Biby Wilderness Trail. It looks like we'll break into some really good side-hill area — real clay! Really!! And, since this occurs before leaf-out, you’ll really see some views from this ridge over into the Alleghenies. We meet, as usual, at 9:30 A.M. at They Hayfield Family Restaurant in downtown Hayfield, VA.

April on the Potomac

We shall continue our tradition of providing outstanding trail work on the Potomac River in April, when we return to Great Falls National Park. Bruce Glendening, the PATC district manager for this area, always treats "his" volunteers well - with pizza on the trail, for instance. The views from the cliffs below Great Falls and above the Patawmack Canal (predecessor to the C&O Canal) just should not be missed. Fortunately, the terrain guarantees us the opportunity to do really good work here!

Sorry…

But you have to log in to the Crew Web site in order to register for one of our events. Registering helps us in these ways:

• It controls spammers.
• Your registration lets me know who plans to participate.
• If something happens, I can contact you because I know you’re planning to be there.
• Your registration on the site lets others, who might be inclined to participate, know that others will be there, too.

Use Your Facebook Account

Yes, you can log in to the Crew Web site with your Facebook account! Click the blue Facebook Sign-In button; a pop-up box appears that coordinates your site account with your Facebook account.

Visit Our Web Site!

You can contribute an article or a link to one of your favorite Web sites by logging in to our Crew Web site. Yes; I do review and edit articles (that’s what I do for a living, anyway). I also make certain that the text is properly formatted for the Web. But, don’t let that stop you! Oh, and be sure to point our site out to your friends, too!

I'm Looking Forward…

To working with all y’all “regulars” again and to meeting and working with all who volunteer to work with us. I am, as always, honored by your spirit and enthusiasm. I am always impressed by the way every one seeks out and works with one another, helping and supporting each other. And, of course, the quality of your work is consistently outstanding, too.

It has been an exceptionally long winter for me; I've learned all sorts of new things, particularly regarding elder care and crisis management. But, it is a new year with new opportunities and it is Spring, a time of renewal, especially of friendships. It’s always good to get into the backcountry, away from desktops and cell phones and such. Oh, and we have our new crew T-shirts, too! Everyone receives one, the first time you participate.

See you on the Trail!