Building the John Robb Lean-to in the Catskills
One question I am asked quite often is just how much work is involved in building or replacing a bridge or a lean-to in the Catskill Park? The answer is that this kind of work involves a lot of labor and materials. The labor involved includes obtaining the necessary approvals, planning out work days and then working with the dedicated volunteers on getting materials to the site and then taking part in the construction. While there plenty of dedicated, hard working and amazing volunteers who want to be involved in these project, we are always looking for more to get involved. When it comes to building lean-tos and bridges, more hands really do make the work go faster.
On the other hand, one of our biggest hurdles when it comes to doing these projects are the material costs of bridge and lean-to projects. Bridges require lots of lumber and hardware and even a simple roofing replacement project for a lean-to requires hundreds of dollars worth of cedar shingles. The Trail Conference works hard to stretch its budget as much as possible to cover these projects, but help is always needed to make these projects a reality.
When I’m asked by someone how they can help, I always ask first that they consider joining the Trail Conference and being on the volunteer crew that is building the lean-to or bridge. Then I say that if they are unable to volunteer and get out to do the work, the best way to help is to support our programs in the Catskill Park through membership in the Trail Conference and then by donating to the Trail Conference to directly support Catskills programs. It only takes a minute online and all you have to do is include Catskills Trail Programs under the “special instructions” field and your donation will be put to right to work on the trails, lean-tos and bridges of the Catskill Mountains.
For more information the Trail Conference’s Lean-to and Bridge programs in the Catskill Mountains:
There are some great stories on Adventures in the Outdoors about the work that I’ve taken part in as both a volunteer and as a staff member of the Trail Conference.
Jeff Senterman 