Update on North River District Challenge:
Two more of our trail maintainers received their 90-mile patches for the North River District challenge this month. Thank you so much for keeping these trails looking great!
The weather is becoming milder. Get out and hike these trails. Hikes do not need to be on organized PATC outings.
For more information on our challenge, click on the link below.
https://www.ssvc.org/north-river-district-challenge.html
Congratulations!!
Two more of our trail maintainers received their 90-mile patches for the North River District challenge this month. Thank you so much for keeping these trails looking great!
The weather is becoming milder. Get out and hike these trails. Hikes do not need to be on organized PATC outings.
For more information on our challenge, click on the link below.
https://www.ssvc.org/north-river-district-challenge.html
Congratulations!!
Chris Bowlen
Chris Bowlen is a Master Naturalist and a member of the Virginia Native Plant Society. She has a particular interest in removing invasive plants to protect native biodiversity and can be seen pulling garlic mustard and other invasives on trails in PATC’s North River District.
Chris Bowlen is a Master Naturalist and a member of the Virginia Native Plant Society. She has a particular interest in removing invasive plants to protect native biodiversity and can be seen pulling garlic mustard and other invasives on trails in PATC’s North River District.
Tom Engle
Tom Engle maintains Dividing Ridge Trail and is a regular participant on Shenandoah Mountain Trail Crew worktrips. Tom is a Master Naturalist and has active in fighting invasive plants in our natural areas on Shenandoah Mountain. He is a certified B Level Crosscut Sawyer who has been very active in Ramsey’s Draft Wilderness.
Tom Engle maintains Dividing Ridge Trail and is a regular participant on Shenandoah Mountain Trail Crew worktrips. Tom is a Master Naturalist and has active in fighting invasive plants in our natural areas on Shenandoah Mountain. He is a certified B Level Crosscut Sawyer who has been very active in Ramsey’s Draft Wilderness.
Featured Trail in North River District:
Georgia Camp
The western trailhead for Georgia Camp Trail can be reached by crossing US 250 from the parking for Confederate Breastworks Historic Site. There is parking available on this side of US 250 using a short road. Begin your hike, by walking south on the Shenandoah Mountain Trail for approximately 1.3 miles to the start of the Georgia Camp Trail. This part of the Shenandoah Mountain Trail follows a gated road and has a slight and gradual gain in elevation.
Georgia Camp Trail is 4 miles long and follows an old roadbed for most of its route. The eastern end of the trail is also along US 250 and is marked with a sign. The trail is named after Georgia Camp Hollow with a history dating back to the Civil War.
During that time, Georgia Camp Hollow was pasture fields. The units of soldiers from Georgia that were stationed at Confederate Breastworks would use this area to graze their horses and cattle.
If you can arrange a shuttle, Georgia Camp trail can be one of the easiest hikes that you ever take with its gradual downhill slope. It is a pleasant, moderate, and scenic hike that is best suited to fall, winter and early spring when bare trees open up the views.
On Saturday, February 17, the Shenandoah Mountain Trail Crew braved the snow and high temperature of 30 degrees to complete some trail maintenance. Nine crew members joined the effort to cut overgrowth and help clear the Georgia Camp trail.
We hope you decide to check out this trail for yourself.
Georgia Camp
The western trailhead for Georgia Camp Trail can be reached by crossing US 250 from the parking for Confederate Breastworks Historic Site. There is parking available on this side of US 250 using a short road. Begin your hike, by walking south on the Shenandoah Mountain Trail for approximately 1.3 miles to the start of the Georgia Camp Trail. This part of the Shenandoah Mountain Trail follows a gated road and has a slight and gradual gain in elevation.
Georgia Camp Trail is 4 miles long and follows an old roadbed for most of its route. The eastern end of the trail is also along US 250 and is marked with a sign. The trail is named after Georgia Camp Hollow with a history dating back to the Civil War.
During that time, Georgia Camp Hollow was pasture fields. The units of soldiers from Georgia that were stationed at Confederate Breastworks would use this area to graze their horses and cattle.
If you can arrange a shuttle, Georgia Camp trail can be one of the easiest hikes that you ever take with its gradual downhill slope. It is a pleasant, moderate, and scenic hike that is best suited to fall, winter and early spring when bare trees open up the views.
On Saturday, February 17, the Shenandoah Mountain Trail Crew braved the snow and high temperature of 30 degrees to complete some trail maintenance. Nine crew members joined the effort to cut overgrowth and help clear the Georgia Camp trail.
We hope you decide to check out this trail for yourself.
Shout out to our newest hike leader:
Congratulations to Rob Perry for completing his hike leader training. We enjoyed joining him on his two training hikes on the Riprap/Wildcat Loop and Kennedy Peak Loop. Rob hopes to offer longer, more difficult hikes that may attract some new hikers to our chapter. We look forward to future hikes!
Congratulations to Rob Perry for completing his hike leader training. We enjoyed joining him on his two training hikes on the Riprap/Wildcat Loop and Kennedy Peak Loop. Rob hopes to offer longer, more difficult hikes that may attract some new hikers to our chapter. We look forward to future hikes!
A Comparison of First Aid Courses for Hike Leaders and Trail Maintainers
By Jean Stephens
If you are a hike leader or trail maintainer with crosscut or chainsaw certification, keeping your first aid (and CPR for maintainers) is required. PATC will reimburse hike leaders and trail maintainers for the cost of the class upon successful completion. Here are some options for getting your initial certification or recertification.
The best training is the 20-hour Wilderness First Aid (WFA) course given by MedicSOLO. MedicSOLO goes over most scenarios you might find in the course of a hike or maintaining trip with both in classroom and outdoor scenario practice. It is an intense course which I believe everyone should take at least once to truly get practice and information for what you might come across on the trail. MedicSOLO has just started offering an online version of the class where you learn at your own pace, then do scenarios online with an instructor. SSVC’s Gary Flynn had this to say about the MedicSolo classes: “In WFA, going through two days of hands-on scenarios, repeated practice at procedural patient assessment (very important!), and the final comprehensive written test of the WFA classes made me much more accomplished and competent looking back on it. I had an actual emergency last year I had to deal with and I would not have been effective at all with only one of the evening first aid class.” “If you want to actually be able to handle an incident, take a WFA class.”
On occasion, MedicSOLO will offer CPR classes before the first aid class. Check their schedule to see if CPR may be offered with a WFA class you might wish to attend. To see schedules and register go to: https://www.solowfa.com/
Another option is Nation’s Best CPR. This company provides certification for both the Red Cross and the American Heart Association. The course consists of online learning followed by a two-hour in-person class to review the basics and go over some scenarios (mostly CPR). This course provides the basics of first aid but does not go through scenarios you might find on the trail. Because of the fast nature of the training, you will not retain the information as well as you would through the MedicSOLO class. It is okay as a refresher course. Classes are usually offered in Harrisonburg. To see schedules and register go to:
https://www.nationsbestcpr.com/
Another option is to take classes through a Harrisonburg company called Emergency Prep. They offer both blended classes (online and in-person) or in-person classes. Gary Flynn recently attended an Emergency Prep class and offered these comments comparing another company’s class and Emergency Prep’s class: “Tonight’s instructor was much better at conveying the information in an organized way that stressed the most important points. Particularly in the CPR section, he built a narrative that I believe would be very effective at embedding understanding in students’ minds.” “. . . tonight’s instructor seemed to be aware of the class’s limitations and did a good job of helping students to understand what to remember and how they’d be most effective. There were no tests or hands on practice to speak of for the first aid material.” To see schedules and register for Emergency Prep classes go to:
https://www.eprepcpr.com/
Whichever class you choose to attend, please make sure to keep your certification current so that you are prepared if there is an emergency on your hike or maintaining trip.
By Jean Stephens
If you are a hike leader or trail maintainer with crosscut or chainsaw certification, keeping your first aid (and CPR for maintainers) is required. PATC will reimburse hike leaders and trail maintainers for the cost of the class upon successful completion. Here are some options for getting your initial certification or recertification.
The best training is the 20-hour Wilderness First Aid (WFA) course given by MedicSOLO. MedicSOLO goes over most scenarios you might find in the course of a hike or maintaining trip with both in classroom and outdoor scenario practice. It is an intense course which I believe everyone should take at least once to truly get practice and information for what you might come across on the trail. MedicSOLO has just started offering an online version of the class where you learn at your own pace, then do scenarios online with an instructor. SSVC’s Gary Flynn had this to say about the MedicSolo classes: “In WFA, going through two days of hands-on scenarios, repeated practice at procedural patient assessment (very important!), and the final comprehensive written test of the WFA classes made me much more accomplished and competent looking back on it. I had an actual emergency last year I had to deal with and I would not have been effective at all with only one of the evening first aid class.” “If you want to actually be able to handle an incident, take a WFA class.”
On occasion, MedicSOLO will offer CPR classes before the first aid class. Check their schedule to see if CPR may be offered with a WFA class you might wish to attend. To see schedules and register go to: https://www.solowfa.com/
Another option is Nation’s Best CPR. This company provides certification for both the Red Cross and the American Heart Association. The course consists of online learning followed by a two-hour in-person class to review the basics and go over some scenarios (mostly CPR). This course provides the basics of first aid but does not go through scenarios you might find on the trail. Because of the fast nature of the training, you will not retain the information as well as you would through the MedicSOLO class. It is okay as a refresher course. Classes are usually offered in Harrisonburg. To see schedules and register go to:
https://www.nationsbestcpr.com/
Another option is to take classes through a Harrisonburg company called Emergency Prep. They offer both blended classes (online and in-person) or in-person classes. Gary Flynn recently attended an Emergency Prep class and offered these comments comparing another company’s class and Emergency Prep’s class: “Tonight’s instructor was much better at conveying the information in an organized way that stressed the most important points. Particularly in the CPR section, he built a narrative that I believe would be very effective at embedding understanding in students’ minds.” “. . . tonight’s instructor seemed to be aware of the class’s limitations and did a good job of helping students to understand what to remember and how they’d be most effective. There were no tests or hands on practice to speak of for the first aid material.” To see schedules and register for Emergency Prep classes go to:
https://www.eprepcpr.com/
Whichever class you choose to attend, please make sure to keep your certification current so that you are prepared if there is an emergency on your hike or maintaining trip.
SSVC's February: Winter Hike Challenge Winner
Christa Neher is the winner of our toboggan for the February Winter Hike Challenge. She joined us on our Saunders-Monticello Farm Trails hike on February 16. Christa also helps with trail maintenance on our trails in the North River District. Congratulations and thank you for all your participation in our chapter.
Our next and final drawing will be after March 18 as spring begins the next day. All you need to do is join us for a hike or walkabout this month to enter. We will have one winner each month through March and a grand prize winner at the end of winter.
Hope to see everyone on the trail.
Christa Neher is the winner of our toboggan for the February Winter Hike Challenge. She joined us on our Saunders-Monticello Farm Trails hike on February 16. Christa also helps with trail maintenance on our trails in the North River District. Congratulations and thank you for all your participation in our chapter.
Our next and final drawing will be after March 18 as spring begins the next day. All you need to do is join us for a hike or walkabout this month to enter. We will have one winner each month through March and a grand prize winner at the end of winter.
Hope to see everyone on the trail.
Christa is in the middle of this photo from our hike at Saunders-Monticello Farm Trails.