Friends of Allegheny Wilderness Plans Hickory Creek Wilderness Trail Cleanup

The Warren-based Friends of Allegheny Wilderness (FAW) is looking for volunteers to help with a trail cleanup project in the Hickory Creek Wilderness Area in the Allegheny National Forest (ANF) over the first weekend in April. Hickory Creek Wilderness is located in southern Warren County.

In addition to FAW's ongoing primary mission to see that wilderness protections in the ANF are increased, the non-profit organization over the years has also made significant volunteer investments in wilderness stewardship. This has included maintenance of the Hickory Creek Wilderness trail, ecological restoration within Hickory Creek Wilderness, removal of refuse from the Allegheny Islands Wilderness, and other projects.

FAW's next major stewardship project will be a cleanup of the 12-mile Hickory Creek Wilderness trail on April 1st-3rd. The organization has consulted with and received approval from the U.S. Forest Service to proceed with the project. The FAW crew will leave from the Hickory Creek Wilderness trailhead on Hearts Content Road Friday evening, April 1st, spend two nights in the wilderness, and hike out on Sunday, April 3rd.

Minimum tools such as axes and elbow grease are all that will be used to remove woody debris from the trail, in order to help perpetuate the rustic wilderness character of the trail. There is no prior trail maintenance experience necessary to participate. No power tools such as chainsaws are permitted in wilderness, so there will be no specialized training needed in that regard.

There is no cost or fee to volunteer, however participants will need to bring all of their own food, camping equipment, and come fully prepared for the weather conditions. This is a great, rewarding way for wilderness aficionados to intimately experience the natural beauty of Hickory Creek Wilderness firsthand!

To register for the project, or for additional information, those interested should contact FAW at 814-723-0620 or info@pawild.org.

Friends of Allegheny Wilderness online: http://www.pawild.org

National Wilderness Stewardship Alliance online: http://www.nationalwildernessstewardshipalliance.org

Photo courtesy of FAW