submitted by Ben Campbell
Hi PATC members! Some of you may remember us from last year, but we are a group of 9 students from the University of Virginia who are members of a service organization called Alternative Spring Break (ASB). Each year ASB organizes a variety of student-led service learning trips for UVA students to take part in over spring break. We are committed to providing meaningful ways for students to connect to the communities around them and participate in service opportunities. Our particular group is very passionate about environmental conservation and exploring the outdoors, which is why we wanted to come back for a second year working with your PATC chapter in the Shenandoah area.
This year we teamed up with Bill Holman again to work on some of the Mutton Hollow Trails. We had the chance to live in the Mutton Top Cabin for a week and experience all of the fun and unexpected surprises that come along with living without water or electricity. It was an adventure and we all had a great time sitting by the wood stove each night relaxing. Although we started off with some cold nights and icy roads, by the end of the week we had beautiful sunny skies and clear hiking trails.
Our goal for the week was to work on clearing some new trails including a short connecting trail by Conley and Morris cabins and a longer extension of the Cliff trail that approaches Shenandoah National Park. By the end of the week we became pretty skilled at moving logs, using handsaws, and wrestling thorn bushes. Overall we had a great experience and a lot of fun exploring the area and getting our hands dirty! The highlight of our trip was when we finally made it to the top of the Cliff trail extension and saw the Shenandoah National Park boundary line. We were even able to climb to the top of some hidden rocky cliffs that overlooked the Shenandoah Valley.
We all came away from the trip with a new sense of appreciation for all of the work your organization does year-round, and for the beautiful area we have around us. We all hope to continue working in the area and contributing to your mission was also taking time to explore the mountains and relax when outside of the classroom. We admire all of your hard work and dedication to protecting and maintaining this area, and hope that we were able to help out and contribute in a small way.
Special thanks to Bill Holman for helping us out all week and thanks to the PATC for allowing us to have this experience!
Hi PATC members! Some of you may remember us from last year, but we are a group of 9 students from the University of Virginia who are members of a service organization called Alternative Spring Break (ASB). Each year ASB organizes a variety of student-led service learning trips for UVA students to take part in over spring break. We are committed to providing meaningful ways for students to connect to the communities around them and participate in service opportunities. Our particular group is very passionate about environmental conservation and exploring the outdoors, which is why we wanted to come back for a second year working with your PATC chapter in the Shenandoah area.
This year we teamed up with Bill Holman again to work on some of the Mutton Hollow Trails. We had the chance to live in the Mutton Top Cabin for a week and experience all of the fun and unexpected surprises that come along with living without water or electricity. It was an adventure and we all had a great time sitting by the wood stove each night relaxing. Although we started off with some cold nights and icy roads, by the end of the week we had beautiful sunny skies and clear hiking trails.
Our goal for the week was to work on clearing some new trails including a short connecting trail by Conley and Morris cabins and a longer extension of the Cliff trail that approaches Shenandoah National Park. By the end of the week we became pretty skilled at moving logs, using handsaws, and wrestling thorn bushes. Overall we had a great experience and a lot of fun exploring the area and getting our hands dirty! The highlight of our trip was when we finally made it to the top of the Cliff trail extension and saw the Shenandoah National Park boundary line. We were even able to climb to the top of some hidden rocky cliffs that overlooked the Shenandoah Valley.
We all came away from the trip with a new sense of appreciation for all of the work your organization does year-round, and for the beautiful area we have around us. We all hope to continue working in the area and contributing to your mission was also taking time to explore the mountains and relax when outside of the classroom. We admire all of your hard work and dedication to protecting and maintaining this area, and hope that we were able to help out and contribute in a small way.
Special thanks to Bill Holman for helping us out all week and thanks to the PATC for allowing us to have this experience!
Best of luck in the
upcoming months!
-Liz Holohan, Ben
Campbell, and the rest of the ASB 2015 Shenandoah Crew
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