ABOUT THE RPHCV CLUB
The first official RPH Work Party was in July 1999, where Tim and cousin Mike the cook and future webmaster, along with 1985 Through Hiker Chuck Wood (WoodChuck) spent the weekend camping out at the RPH Cabin on the AT, wowing the hikers with great food, and doing some general maintenance at the shelter, such as painting. The weekend was a great success, all the hikers that came through had a real treat from the usual Ramen noodles and we got a lot of work done around the shelter.
Starting next year we got things off to a bang with a brand new Barbecue made from a 50 Gallon drum by our good friend Honest Jack Parker. Jack pulled out all the stops and Tim had a special Steel grill top cut to fit the grill, now we could throw on 10 steaks at a time!
Each 2nd weekend in July, the Work party has grown and taken on bigger projects with more and more volunteers showing up for just the good fun, meeting fellow through hikers, hard work, and of course, great food! Projects have ranged from painting, digging out the well, digging and building a new outhouse, building a new bridge and all manner of trail maintenance.
Not everyone who shows up is a Long distance hiker, or even a hiker at all, many folks love to stop by and lend a hand while enjoying nature and talking to the through hikers about their adventures on the AT.
With the tenth anniversary of the RPH WORK PARTY coming up this July, trail work has spread out a bit beyond the vicinity of the cabin to include the surrounding areas, The Club has ongoing trail maintenance projects on the AT around Fanhestock State Park as well.
A few years ago Tim and a some of the regulars who have been coming back year after year decided to make the loose association a little more formal and formed the RPH Cabin Volunteers Club in 2008 and is now affiliated with the NY/NJ Trail conference.
The Clubs mission is to service the Appalachian Trail and Support AT thru - Hikers by teaching and training members in skills related to trail maintenance, conducting trail maintenance projects to repair damage to the footway or upgrade the trail with steps, bridges etc.
We plan to hold recreational day hikes, overnight hikes, picnics and other outings related to hiking, backpacking and trail Maintenance, plus of course, our annual not to be missed RPH CABIN WORK PARTY every 2nd weekend in July!
MORE COMING SOON ...
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