Ridgerunners & Caretakers
Ridgerunners
and caretakers are generally seasonal employees or volunteers assigned to hike
and camp along high-use sections of the Appalachian Trail or to remain at
heavily used overnight sites. The ridgerunner and caretaker program helps
promote a quality recreational trail experience by talking to visitors about the
AT and its intended primitive experience, its location, regulations, and
traditions, as well as ways they can minimize their impact on the Trail.
Ridgerunners and caretakers spend most of their work day on the Trail, talking to hikers and other Trail visitors. Caretakers provide information and education to the public at a fixed site, while ridgerunners provide similar information while hiking along the trail.
At trailheads they may discuss hikers’ itineraries, potential campsites and
the importance of using already impacted campsites in heavily used areas. At
campsites and shelters they might talk about effective food storage in bear
country or area campfire policy. On the Trail, they might point out the
impact to natural resources of cutting switchbacks.
Ridgerunners also provide a valuable service to maintaining club volunteers
and land managing agency personnel, by reporting back to them about the
conditions they encounter while on the Trail. In some cases, they also
perform maintenance. They make note of the condition of the Trail itself,
campsites, shelters or other built structures and report any conditions that
need immediate attention to maintaining clubs and agency partners.
For more information about the Ridgerunners and Caretakers Program contact the GATC Information and Education Director.