Friends Of Allegheny Wilderness Hickory Creek Wilderness Trail Stewardship Weekend July 31-Aug. 2 In Warren County

Friends of Allegheny Wilderness will host a Hickory Creek Wilderness Trail Stewardship Weekend July 31 to August 2 in Warren County.

In addition to the FAW’s primary mission of working with local communities to ensure that increased wilderness protection is a priority of the stewardship of the Allegheny National Forest, Friends of Allegheny Wilderness has also been stewards of the 13-mile Hickory Creek Wilderness trail over the last two decades.

Our first trail stewardship event of the year this year-- our 20th season on the Allegheny-- will occur over the weekend of July 31st to August 2nd.

Precautions due to the ongoing coronavirus situation will be necessary to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. These include, but are not limited to:

-- The group size will be limited to no more than ten people.

-- Please wear a breathing mask to our meeting point at the Hickory Creek Wilderness trailhead on Friday afternoon.

-- We will be taking peoples’ temperature at the trailhead before heading out. If it is shown that you are running a temperature of over 100° F, you should not participate.

-- Please do not participate if you know you have COVID-19, have been experiencing symptoms indicative of COVID-19, or have been exposed to someone with COVID-19.

-- Social distancing throughout the course of the weekend will be needed.

-- If possible please bring your own tools so that we are not passing tools back and forth. If you have your own hard hat, please bring that too. Hard hats for those who do not have them will be provided after being sanitized.

-- Please bring your own food, water, and cooking stove so that we are not sharing such items back and forth over the course of the weekend.

-- If you have your own hand sanitizer and/or disinfecting wipes, please pack them.

We will be meeting on Friday afternoon, July 3 at the Hickory Creek Wilderness trailhead. We will camp in the wilderness Friday night, and Saturday night, hiking out on Sunday afternoon, August 2.

As always, since this is a federally designated wilderness, permanently protected from all forms of development and motorized and mechanized uses, we will be using hand tools only such as axes, pruners, and hand saws. 

No power tools such as chainsaws will be used, so there is no specialized training needed in that regard. Beginners welcome!

There is no charge to participate in this program, but volunteers should bring all of their own camping equipment, food and water, and come fully prepared for any weather conditions we may encounter over the course of the weekend.

To participate, email info@pawild.org to sign up or for more information.

This is a great, fun way to experience the Hickory Creek Wilderness, and to give back to America’s National Wilderness Preservation System!

For more information on programs, initiatives, other upcoming events and how you can get involved, visit the Friends of Allegheny Wilderness website.

[Posted: July 13, 2020]  PA Environment Digest