Saturday, April 24 was the first event of the WODC 2004 trail season. After a brief morning shower, a number of trailhead projects were completed:

1) The old kiosk was moved from Ferncroft to Whiteface Intervale. Fred, David, CC, Pierce, Larry, & Peter extracted the old kiosk with jacks, shovels, and bars. The kiosk was lowered onto David's trailer for the ride to Whiteface where it was raised into position with a hoist. A new map was installed, and the first group of hikers was inspecting the display while we were still in the parking lot. Even the old metal literature box survived the trip, and stands ready to distribute WODC newsletters at yet another trailhead.

2) The protruding rocks were removed from the Ferncroft parking lot access road. The smaller rocks were extracted with a bar, while Pierce crushed the tops of the larger ones with a rock hammer! Everything that might catch the snow plow has been removed. The Forest Service road crew is expected to grade the road and eradicate the remaining ruts later in the spring.

3) Final assembly of the new Ferncroft kiosk was completed. After years years of work by the USFS and WODC,  Peter and Judy installed the new interpretive panels, including an enlarged version of the WODC Map.  A new literature holder was also installed, which has multiple compartments for newsletters and brochures.  (The kiosk roof was previously stained to blend in with the surroundings, and a metal drip edge installed to protect the roofing.)

4) The tool trailer has been moved to the parking lot from its winter home in the Hurley's barn.  The trailer has been placed behind the kiosk to stay clear of road maintenance and mowing activities.  Karl Behr, who owns the land along the road, asks that any overflow parking continue to be on the west side of the road (towards the mountains) so as not to block farming activities or damage the field.

Peter Smart
April 2004