By Leanna Joyner

The word “recreation” has its roots in the Latin word meaning “to create, to bring forth,” which is a fitting way to think about all the ways volunteers refuel themselves while benefiting something bigger. That they choose to spend their time in this way is not insignificant.

“Recreation and leisure are about recharging your batteries. Sometimes doing something useful and productive can be more battery-charging than watching TV,” says Roanoke A.T. Club volunteer Kathryn Herndon-Powell, who also works as the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s (ATC) education and outreach coordinator.

A.T. visionary Benton MacKaye thought that the undeveloped power of people — if applied — could do great things, and he felt that it would be all the more meaningful if it were done of one’s own volition, which he described as leisure.

“One hundred percent leisure,” responded 2019 Konnarock volunteer Deborah Carter McCoy when asked if she considered finding, hauling, cutting, and stabilizing rock for stone steps was leisure. “The reason I say that is I enjoy being outside. I enjoy gardening; granted, it’s not gardening. I enjoy being close to the Earth. My Konnarock work was an interesting way to be in nature, and close to the Earth in a way I’ve never experienced before. It was relaxing. You could see your progress. You were physically moving and working, but it didn’t feel like work,” she says. “I have an office job as a writer and editor and my profession is how I frame ‘work,’ so for me to do something completely different was fun. I was away from my desk. I didn’t have to look at the computer screen. I was able to shut my brain off in much the same way as when I am on vacation.”

Emily Zimmermann with her father Mike at the site of the Little Bigelow Lean-to Privy re-build project in 2019 – By Mike Zimmermann

Roanoke A.T. Club volunteer Josie DeMarce says that her experience as a Trail maintainer and a volunteer ridgerunner are rewarding for her because she gets to do something productive while getting exercise. “It takes effort, work, and planning, but so does hiking and backpacking,” says DeMarce. “It’s just about carrying more stuff and heavier stuff, and getting dirtier. It’s what I like to do in my down time. Working as a clinical psychologist, it’s easy to get out of balance only using mental energy and not physical energy, so it balances me out and makes me feel better overall.”

DeMarce says that as much as she values the personal renewal, volunteering also gives her the chance to connect more deeply with people. She describes how doing Trail work with one or two people offers the opportunity to really get to know a person on a more profound level than most common interactions with people.

That dedicated time with people is probably why Mike Zimmermann characterizes his volunteer work alongside his wife, adult daughter, and adult son as a “family reunion.” “From the beginning it’s been a family affair,” says Zimmermann who, along with his family, first maintained the Bemis Stream Side Trail in Maine and since maintains a section near Rangeley for the Maine A.T. Club. They started maintaining as a family when their daughter, Emily, was 20 and their son, Rob, was 22. Because of the distance from their home, a six-hour drive, they would camp out for the weekend to work a few consecutive days several times a year.

After Emily’s completion of her A.T. thru-hike in 2010, she also adopted a section in Maine at Sabbath Day Pond. Now the family works together on Mike’s assigned section and Emily’s assigned section, which respectively offer opportunities to refresh the spirit as they absorb the views and inspiration from the Height of Land, and soak in the magical sounds of the loons on the pond after a full day of hard work. “My wife, Barbara, says ‘volunteering is what you do to help make the world a better place,’” explains Zimmermann in describing the family’s strong sense of commitment to the hard work of volunteering on the A.T. “Our work makes it better for hikers so they don’t have to crawl through blowdowns, walk through mudholes, or get their shoulders wet through too much encroaching brush.” For their effort, he says, they’re rewarded with the natural things you come across in the woods and the heartfelt and sincere gratitude of hikers who affirm their work in the moment.

“There’s nothing better than doing something you feel good about that other people appreciate,” echoes Carter McCoy, the Konnarock volunteer. The ability to make a difference, and to see the difference, is important to these volunteers, but that’s not all. Each volunteer also talked about how what they learned along the way enriched their experience. DeMarce described the training in Leave No Trace that deepened her understanding and the ways in which she can convey to visitors the “why” behind any number of recreation-based decisions, from proper food storage to campfire site selection. Carter McCoy learned trail building skills that deepened her appreciation of trails as a lifelong hiker, and Zimmermann sparked, then fulfilled, his curiosity about the original location of the A.T. in Maine. It was through the experience of volunteerism that they cultivated their varied and unique passions.

Volunteers are creating their own experience. It is the unique experience that they choose to return to, often over great distances, because it’s meaningful to them to see the accomplishment of the toil, renew their mind and body, receive the gratitude of others, learn new things, spend quality time with good people, or simply to set aside time in nature to do something good for this cause. To find one’s purpose in volunteering, these volunteers recommend: trusting that to start, you don’t need anything but to be enthusiastic and try because there is something for everyone, if you choose to step into the invitation.

From left: The ATC’s Konnarock Trail Crew team that built the steps (pictured here) at Battery Cliffs – Courtesy ATC; Volunteers remove invasive species along Fontana Dam – By Leanna Joyner