McAfee Knob Ridgerunners Needed

McAfee Knob, the most photographed place on the entire Appalachian Trail, needs you.

The Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club is seeking volunteer ridgerunners to help keep this trail pristine for all visitors. High usage comes with environmental impact, from litter and graffiti to erosion and bear behavior. You can help mitigate these with outreach and trail maintenance.

Volunteer Ridgerunners engage hikers in friendly conversations about the natural and cultural significance of this area and tips on best practices for enjoying the Trail safely and responsibly. They report on trail conditions and perform light trail maintenance to prevent small problems, like dismantling illegal fire rings, packing out trash, and blocking social trails to discourage shortcutting.

In 2015, Ridgerunners contributed 627 volunteer hours, spoke with over 5,000 visitors, packed out 154 gallons of trash, and dismantled 34 illegal fire rings.

And they need your help!

The next training day is June 18 from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

And there are few things you need to do to qualify:

• Join the Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club ($15/year)
• Join the McAfee Knob Task Force meetup group (free)
• Commit to volunteer at least one weekend day per month (Fri/Sat/Sun), April through November
• Attend a training day, sign up for June 18 training on the McAfeeKnob Task Force meetup group or email Kathryn Herndon
• Join an orientation hike