Kyle Scalera ’20 Completes Eagle Project

People were assigned to clear the trail.  They had to cut down fallen limbs, pull weeds, rake dirt to flatten out the new trail and outline it with branches to keep people on the path.  Another group worked on building stairs.  The trail is quite steep in places, so stairs were needed to make it easier to walk.  Some stairs were built out of landscape timbers held down with rebar and backfilled with dirt.  Others were created from old broken concrete pieces found in the woods that were shimmed into place.  The middle of the trail crosses a ravine, so a sixteen-foot bridge was built.  The ground was leveled on either end to support the bridge, and the struts and cross pieces were installed.  The younger scouts did most of the drilling as they could fit into the small workspace between the boards.  The fourth group installed a gate at the end of the trail.  They had to cut the fence, straighten an existing pole and pour concrete to hold the new fence post.  At the end of day one, only the gate was done. 

Day two brought another sixteen volunteers, many who had been there the day before.  The bridge floorboards and railings were installed; the bridge was done.  It has a view looking down the ravine.  More stairs were needed, so more landscape timbers were obtained.  The stair construction was quite a feat, as they had to be safeguarded from erosion and wide enough so people wouldn’t walk around them.  As the final sets of stairs were completed, everyone commented on how much easier it now was to navigate the trail.  There was lots of garbage to dispose of, including an old canoe that was found in the woods.  Switchbacks were created to make the trail less steep, and mulch was added to make it less muddy.  To safeguard the path from future flooding, rain swales built from logs were installed to direct water off the path.  Using more found materials, Mr. H created an art piece to mark the entrance of the trail.  The volunteers did the impossible; at 3:30 PM on August 25, everything was done.  There was a group walk of the trail followed by a ceremonial closing of the gate.  

Altogether, it took twenty-six people volunteering over 200 hours across two days to complete the project.  The before and after video shows how amazing the transformation was.  Kyle is very proud of the finished trail and especially thankful to everyone who worked on it.  Doane Stuart is grateful for his hard work, and the legacy he has left his school.