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PATC North Chapter

Welcome to the North Chapter of the

Potomac Appalachian Trail Club

North Chapter

We maintain 70 miles of the Appalachian Trail, from Harpers Ferry, WV to Pine Grove Furnace, PA.  We maintain 110 miles of the Tuscarora trail from Hancock, WV to Big Blue Mountain in Pennsylvania.  We also maintain about 62 miles of blue blazed side trails.  In addition to trail maintenance, we maintain 7 hiking shelters and 4 cabins along the AT and 6 shelters and 2 cabins along the Tuscarora. 

 

Our chapter is divided into two working sections -- the South Mountaineers (Maryland) and the Yankee Clippers (Pennsylvania) .   We are volunteers of all ages, backgrounds, cultures and skill sets.  

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The PATC North Chapter maintains the AT from Harpers Ferry, WV, through Maryland, to Pine Gap Furnace in PA.  We also maintain the Tuscarora Trail north of Hancock, WV.  In addition we maintain many side trails to both the AT and TT for a total of over 240 miles of trail.

 

Maps for these trails can be purchased from the PATC at their online store.  Our AT trails and side trails are covered by maps 2 through 6.  Our TT trails and side trails are covered by maps J, K, L.

The North Chapter organized in 1985 as the 1st Regional Chapter of PATC.  It all started when a member of Keystone Trails Association suggested  "organizing the Pennsylvania section".    

 

The suggestion was related to corridor management, but it was interpreted as organizing a local section of the PATC for interested Pennsylvania members. There was considerable interest in having PATC activities closer to home for distant members & since the constitution and bylaws were worded loosely enough, it was decided that there was no reason geographic location could not be construed as a "special interest", which allowed for the establishment of regional chapters.

 

As a result, an interested group of fewer than 20 people, including Paula Strain, Dave Raphael, Ray Fadner, Charlie Irvin, the Plancks and Elizabeth Johnston (known to her friends as "the old gray-haired lady of Pennsylvania") met at the Iron Masters Hostel in Pine Grove Furnace on Nov. 23, 1985.

 

Why the North Chapter for a name? Even though almost all of our trail work was initially done in Pennsylvania, there have always been a lot of Marylanders and folks from Virginia and Delaware who considered it their chapter. The word North seemed more inclusive. One thing you could count on, if it happened north of the Mason Dixon Line, the North Chapter was involved. In March of 1998, the South Mountaineers, Maryland's PATC trail crew and its overseers, became a part of the North Chapter.

 

The North Chapter took over the maintenance of the Tuscarora Trail in April 1993. At that time, the trail was virtually grown shut in most places. By October 1994 the Tuscarora was again passable. In 1996, the Tuscarora Trail and the Big Blue Trail officially merged to become the unified Tuscarora Trail, a 252 mile trail which connects to the Appalachian Trail near the Matthews Arm Campground at Skyline Drive in the south and at Dean's Gap near Harrisburg in the north.

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Chapter Officers

All chapter officers may be contacted at patcnorth@outlook.com

Elected Officers

President

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Vice President

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Secretary

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Treasurer

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Dee Utz

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Jim Peterson

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Kathy Seiler

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Dave Trone

Web Site

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Facebook

Mike Ramey

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Tawnya Finney

Standing Committees

Membership

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Publicity

 

Lands

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Activities

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Tools&Equipment

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Waynesboro Outreach

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Steve Koeppen

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Chris Firme

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Jim Peterson

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Tom Rostek

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Ken May

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Kathy Seiler

Minutes of Past Chapter Meetings

Small Title

Last Updated: 9/23/2023

Announcements

Trail Updates

For trail updates for the Appalachian Trail, see the Trails Updates section at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy

Pennsylvania Work Trips

The Pennsylvania Section of the North Chapter (Yankee Clipper) usually schedules work trips twice monthly on the first and third Saturdays of the month.  The first Saturday of the month work is done on the AT and the third Saturday of the month work is done on the Tuscarora Trail.  To have your email added to the Yankee Clipper contact list for notification of work trips, send an email to patcnorthchapter@gmail.com

Yankee Clipper Work Trip on the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania

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Date:  October 7, 2023

Time:  TBA

Location:  TBA

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The next Appalachian Trail work trip is planned for the first Saturday in October

 

 

BE SURE TO REPLY TO PATCNORTHCAPTER@GMAIL.COM SO WE CAN CONTACT YOU DIRECTLY IF PLANS CHANGE.

 

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Yankee Clipper Work Trip on the Tuscarora Trail in Pennsylvania

 

Date:  October 21, 2023

Time:  TBA

Location:  TBA

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The next Tuscarora Trail work trip is planned for the third Saturday in October

 

 

BE SURE TO REPLY TO PATCNORTHCAPTER@GMAIL.COM SO WE CAN CONTACT YOU DIRECTLY IF PLANS CHANGE.

ATC Fall Workshops

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Please note the following ATC workshops offered this fall. Some are geared towards new volunteers (essentials of Trail maintenance) while others are focused on developing leaders for current volunteers.  We also have openings in several of the Mid-Atlantic Crew sessions for anyone looking for a multi-day experience.   Individual links and dates are listed below and all can be found on this page:  https://volunteer.appalachiantrail.org/

 

One day workshops: 

Saturday 9/9 – Trail Maintenance Workshop w/ MCM at Gardners, PA

Sunday 9/10 – Trail Maintenance Workshop w/ MCM at Gardners, PA

Sunday 9/17 – Essentials of Trail Maintenance Workshop w/ PATC near Pine Grove Furnace, PA

Saturday 9/23 – Orientation to Caring for the A.T. w/ BMECC at Hamburg, PA

Sunday 9/24 – Essential Trail Maintenance Workshop w/ AMC-DV at Wind Gap, PA

Saturday 9/30 – Field Leadership* Workshop w/ BMECC at Bernville, PA

Sunday 10/1 – Field Leadership* Workshop w/ ATC at Carlisle, PA

Tuesday 10/3 – Trail Maintenance Workshop w/ BHC at Wind Gap, PA

 

      *recommended for those that have attended an Essentials of Trail Maintenance Workshop of previous volunteers

 

Multi-Day Volunteer Opportunities: 

9/7-9/12 - Mid-Atlantic Crew Session 2, Wind Gap A.T. Relocation

9/24-9/29 - Mid-Atlantic Crew Session 4, Palmerton A.T. Relocation

10/4-10/9 - Mid-Atlantic Crew Session 5, Wind Gap A.T. Relocation

10/11-10/16-Mid-Atlantic Crew Session 6, Wind Gap A.T. Relocation

Links

Emergency

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Emergency - 911
Poison Control 800-222-1222
Mayo Clinic First Aid web page

State Police, Parks, Forests

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Maryland State Police

   Barrack B Frederick - 814-600-4150

   Barrack O Hagerstown - 301-766-3800

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Pennsylvania State Police

   Troop H Harrisburg 717-671-7500

   Troop G Hollidaysburg 814-696-6100

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Maryland State Park Offices

  Greenbrier - 301-791-4767

  South Mountain - 301-791-4767

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Pennsylvania State Park Offices

  Caladonia - 717-352-2161

  Colonel Denning - 717-776-5272

  Cowan's Gap - 717-485-3948

  Pine Grove Furnace - 717-486-7174

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  Buchanan State Forest - 717-485-3148

  Michaux State Forest - 717-352-2211

  Tuscarora State Forest - 717-536-3191

Local Medical Facilities

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Carlisle UPMC  - 717-249-1212

361 Alexander Spring Road

Carlisle, PA 17015

 

Chambersburg Wellspan Hospital - 717-267-3000

112 North 7th Street

Chambersburg, PA 17201

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Frederick Medical Center

ER Facility Under Construction

 

Fulton Co. Medical Center - 717-485-3155

214 Peach Orchard Road

McConnellsburg, PA 17233

 

Gettysburg Wellspan Hospital - 717-334-2121

147 Getty's Street

Gettysburg, PA 17325

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Hagerstown Meritus Health - 301-790-8000

11116 Medical Campus Road

Hagerstown, MD 21742

 

Waynesboro UPMC  - 570-723-7764

32 Central Avenue

Waynesboro, PA 17268

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Maintainers

Pennsylvania GPS Coordinates for AT and Tuscarora

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