Colton Barry had to work through obstacles
When Colton Barry presented his proposal for an Eagle Scout project, he considered COVID-19 as a factor, but didn’t expect the number of positive cases to remain high when he completed his project on Labor Day weekend. By creating shifts and limiting the number of volunteers in each group, Barry was able to complete the rehabilitation of a trail in Black Rock Forest.
Barry, a member of Troop 118 out of Salisbury Mills, said he and his fellow Scouts often camp and hike the trails of Black Rock Forest, in particular one half-mile path off Reservoir Road.
“A couple years before I realized there was a little bit of a gap between the quality of this trail and other trails, so I wanted to see if the trail was still in that condition,” the Cornwall High School sophomore said. “I contacted Black Rock and it was still in that condition. I knew the trail would be used by schools and other hikers, so I wanted to make it look the best it could.”
Barry met with forest manager Matt Brady (the beneficiary of the project) who welcomed the idea. In fact, Brady had told the Scout the trail was on his radar and he was in the process of forming a committee to organize the clean-up of the trail.
On July 20, Barry presented his proposal to the Boy Scout review committee, which gave its blessing. The only comment the committee had was with regards to obeying COVID-19 safety requirements, such as working in small groups, keeping families together, and making sure all volunteers wore masks.
Barry knew meeting these safety requirements would be a challenge, especially considering other fellow Scouts who completed their project didn’t have to meet such standards.
Barry had 27 volunteers whom he divided into four groups working in separate shifts – 8 a.m. to noon and noon to 4 p.m. on the Saturday and Sunday of Labor Day weekend.
The project, which required no fund raising and relied on materials found in the forest, included touching up and adding new trail blazes or markers which indicate hikers are following the right path.
“The way it turned out was better than I ever could have imagined.”
Colton Barry
Trenches, called “water bars,” were installed to help redirect water from higher to lower ground. Barry said water was prone to pooling on the trail, making it harder for hikers to maneuver. He said they would go around the water, making the trail twice as wide and ruining wildlife along the sides.
Parts of the trail were rerouted to minimize water erosion and then defined more so hikers wouldn’t go off and create separate trails. Those alternate paths were covered up as they’re not supposed to be there, said Barry.
Now complete, the half-mile trail offers a connection from Reservoir Road to Sphagnum Pond, one of the forest’s reservoirs. The trail looks down on the valley created by the pond. Hikers who go at the right time will be able to catch the sunrise or sunset.
“I couldn’t be happier,” Barry said of the final result. “The beneficiary was the first to say he appreciated the project. I was very surprised at the amount of help I got, especially over a holiday. The way it turned out was better than I ever could have imagined.”
Other than factoring safety protocols, Barry said one other challenge he faced was not anticipating the number of people who would be hiking on the trail over Labor Day weekend. He said the parking lot was packed, so volunteers had to take a side road and be dropped off.
Walking back and forth was a difficult task, said Barry, who, taking on a leadership role, had to learn how to be in many places at one time, as well as divide the work between older and younger kids.
Barry, a Scout since he joined as a Tiger Cub, hopes to earn his Eagle in June.
