Getting Ready

Housing

You'll be staying at Mead Conservation Center, 517 Diamond Ledge Road, Sandwich, NH 03227. Please use this address for anything being mailed to you over the summer. This is a historic farmhouse with a kitchen, toilet, dining room, etc. You'll be sleeping in two adjacent cabins, with a shower block nearby. In addition to the four-person WODC crew, you may be sharing the facilities with another crew from the Squam Lakes Association.

There is a phone in the main house (603-284-6130) but there is no internet access. You should bring a phone card for any long distance calls. Mead CC is about a 20 minute drive from the Wonalancet trailhead, where many of the trails begin. There are several towns within a 30-minute drive where any visitors can stay.

How to Get Here

Manchester, New Hampshire is the best airport. You may be able to arrange transportation from there with another crew member. There is also a bus stop nearby in West Ossipee, NH, with service available from the airport. Your ultimate destination is Mead Conservation Center, as described above. See the main crew page for the required arrival and departure dates.

On-site Transportation

It is essential that at least two of the four crew members bring a car. Your accommodations, work, and other amenities are not within walking distance, so the crew must have its own transportation. Those that bring a vehicle must be willing to help provide transportation for the entire crew, who will in turn be expected to share the costs involved.

What to Bring

In general, bring good, durable gear, but leave your best stuff at home to save the wear-and-tear.

Essential Gear - Don't show up without it!

Leather hiking boots (Well broken-in, but not nylon, which doesn't provide the necessary strength or protection)
Liner socks (lightweight nylon or other synthetic)
Heavy hiking socks (wool or polypro)
Gaiters (ankle or calf length)
Shorts
Long pants
Tee shirts (at least one should be Coolmax or similar)
Lightweight polypro long underwear (tops and bottoms)
Sweater, jacket or warm shirt (wool or pile)
Hat and gloves (wool or synthetic)
Rain gear, jacket & pants (GoreTex is great stuff, but but a cheap $20-30 set of nylon gear works as well in the mud)
Leather work gloves
Safety glasses (if you don't wear prescription glasses regularly)
Sandals (for shower and camp use)
Headlamp and/or flashlight
Water bottles (at least two quarts)
Compass and whistle
Insect repellent and head net
Sunscreen, toothbrush, toothpaste, etc.
Aspirin or ibuprofen
Any prescriptions you may need to take
Pocket knife (anything bigger is a hazard on the trail!)
A good book
Telephone calling card
Sleeping bag and pad (for use in the field)
Bed linen & pillow (for use on a mattresses at base camp)
Sturdy day pack (2000+ cu. in. to hold about half this stuff)
Frame pack (4000-5000 cu. in., to hold everything for overnight trips)
A WODC patch attached to one or two items of these items (we'll send you the patch!)

Optional Items

Camera
Bike

What we will provide

Tents and tarps
Cook gear and utensils
Food storage and bear line (mostly for the mice, it it pays to be safe)
First Aid kits
Water filters
All trail tools
Radio or cell phone (as required)
Maps

Please do not bring any of these items with you. Leave your stuff at home, where its safe.

Before You Come

If you have a chance to take a Wilderness First Aid course before you arrive, please do so. The WODC will reimburse $60 of the cost after you arrive.

We also recommend that you spend some time reading Lightly On The Land. This is a great discussion of all types of trail work published by the SCA. We will normally arrange for the SCA to send you a copy of the book before you arrive.