Hiking trails in New Hampshire’s White Mountains are known for their relentlessly steep climbs to high peaks above treeline.
They’re also known for water rushing down those steep trails after heavy rainstorms or during spring snowmelt, eroding the fragile soil and carving deep ruts.
Trail crews in the Whites now recognize that those straight-to-the-top trails built in the past 100-plus years can’t stand up to high use and more frequent and worsening rainstorms caused by climate change. Numerous river crossing on the Falling Waters Trail section of the loop have been heavily damaged by recent storms, making the crossings more difficult for hikers.
The Appalachian Mountain Club, the prime trail caretaker in the White Mountains, has been addressing that new reality in trail maintenance, and over the next five years will use $1.1 million in recently approved federal funds to repair and realign sections of the Franconia Ridge Loop Trail.
In peak hiking season an estimated 1,000 hikers a day traverse the 11.4-mile loop, made up of the Franconia Ridge Trail, Falling Waters Trail, Greenleaf Trail, and Old Bridle Path. The Franconia Ridge Trail, which travels through a fragile alpine environment above treeline across the summits of Lafayette, Lincoln, and Little Haystack, is also part of the popular Pemi Loop and the Appalachian Trail.
“The Franconia Ridge Trail Loop was built at a time when there was limited understanding of erosion or the realities of the volume of visitation that these trails see today,” Alex DeLucia, AMC Director of Trails, and Chris Thayer, AMC Director of External Affairs and Contracts, said in an email. “Many trails across the White Mountains, including those within the Franconia Ridge Loop, take the most direct route almost straight up to a summit or point of interest.
“These steep fall-line trails, combined with high amounts of recreational use, poor/thin soil makeup, and increasing amount of precipitation all contribute to high rates of erosion and negative resource impacts to alpine vegetation. Climate change is adding to this challenge by creating more frequent and severe storms that drop higher volumes of rain in shorter periods of time.”
Trails will be hardened by installing cut and split stones that will help stabilize the soil and provide a durable hiking surface. Trail sections will be realigned to follow mountain contours at lower angles, making for a more gradual elevation gain on steep slopes and channeling water across rather than down trails. Stone check dams will improve drainage to prevent erosion.
Significant planning will go into rehabilitating or realigning trail sections above treeline, where the stronger rainstorms and higher recreational use combine to harm alpine vegetation and contribute to soil loss and erosion.
AMC will work with the White Mountain National Forest, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, and the Franconia Ridge Working Group to identify where realignment is appropriate and prioritize projects. Work will begin in 2022, and is expected to last for five years.
The WMNF, as the land manager, will make the final decision on all work.
The groups have worked together over the years to rehabilitate the loop, but the federal money will support a more comprehensive effort.
The federal funds will be used only on 8.6 miles of the loop in the national forest. Trail work will not be done on lower-elevation sections of the Greenleaf Trail, Old Bridle Path, and Falling Waters Trail that are on New Hampshire state lands. The AMC says additional money could be sought to rehabilitate trails on state land.
Trail crews will work midweek to avoid peak hiking times, and no trail closures are planned. The AMC says unforeseen trail closures will be publicized widely.
The trail work is similar to a two-year project that rehabilitated the Crawford Path, a heavily-used trail built in 1819 that climbs to the summit of Mount Washington.
Trail work has evolved in the years since the Franconia Loop trails were built from 1826 to 1958.
“In the mid-20th century, AMC trail crews focused primarily on maintaining the trail corridor by cutting back overgrown brush and removing blowdowns,” DeLucia and Thayer said. “In the late 1960s and early 1970s, AMC trail crews began installing drainage structures on the trail and stabilizing sections of trail with rock staircases. These often involved using native stones nearby and building with materials at hand.”
But many of those rock steps are failing today.
“This is sometimes caused by soil erosion or a trail crew having used steps that are too large or narrow so hikers go around them and widen the trail,” DeLucia and Thayer said. “We learn over time as we continue to evaluate the success and failures of various trail structures across the White Mountains region.
“Today, we combine the lessons learned in the past with the collective experience of our local and national partner trail organizations to implement more modern techniques when constructing or rehabilitating trails.”
Beyond repairing damaged trails, the AMC stresses resource stewardship.
“While trail work aims to make the treadway more achievable for general hikers, the intention is always about sustaining the resource (soil, vegetation, etc.) for long-term viability,” DeLucia and Thayer said. “AMC has opportunities for others to get involved with maintaining trails through volunteering and gaining training and skills through our workshop offerings.”
Featured photo via Pixabay