The day dawned gray and overcast, the forecast called for rain with temperatures in the 50s. But there are no rain dates when the caretaker for the Horns Pond campground moves in for the season, the symbolic commencement of hiking season.

Approximately 15 volunteers joined members of the Maine Appalachian Trail Club and employees of the Bigelow Preserve on a 4.3-mile hike up Bigelow Mountain to the Appalachian Trail campground.

This was no ordinary pleasure hike. These folks were there to work. Work they did.

Besides carrying the personal necessities for a day of back-country adventure, the hardy, dedicated hikers filled their packs with the supplies the caretaker would require to survive the summer living outdoors and maintaining a campground used by hundreds of backpackers. Supplies ranged from fire extinguishers, cooking fuel, tools and bedding to personal effects such as clothing and nature guide books.

The campground is used not only by people hiking the entire Appalachian Trail – through-hikers – but also section-hikers, overnight guests and day-hikers. It offers a glacial pond with water suitable for drinking after simple filtration and ample angling opportunities for fishermen. It is a mere 182.7 miles from Katahdin in Baxter State Park, the terminus for through-hikers heading north from Springer Mountain in Georgia, a total hike of more than 2,160 miles.

The day did not end, though, after a wet hike through a lush deciduous and evergreen forest.

After a quick lunch, volunteers began work on other tasks: An old outhouse needed to be demolished and the caretaker’s shelter needed to be constructed and stocked.

Lifetime MATC member Larry Lovejoy of Westbrook swung a sledge hammer down onto the old privy.

“They told me I’m in charge (of the outhouse project) but so far, I have no crew,” he said in a jovial voice.

No matter, he seemed to be doing fine on his own, though others later joined him in the destruction.

Volunteers built the framework for a tarp that would cover the caretaker’s three-room tent. Others moved items from the storage sheds behind the outhouses to the caretaker’s site, the heftiest being a large kitchen box.

Caretaker Alice Nelder, 57, most recently hails from North Jay but grew up in Wilton. She has worked at various jobs in her life, mostly in office support. She discovered the AT position during an Internet job search.

So how does an office flunky her age suddenly come to decide to live outside and care for a campground on the AT?

As a gray snowbird hopped along scavenging for crumbs, Nelder related her tale.

Her younger brother was in a tragic motorcycle accident more than a decade ago, surviving a six-month coma but with significant deficits. In the process of his recovery, he made a list of three things he wanted to be able to accomplish – to go back to work, to walk and to climb a mountain. He has only been able to fully succeed at the first goal.

“I’m the one who became his family advocate during his recovery,” said Nelder.

“One day I just asked myself, Why can’t we take him up a mountain?'” she continued.

She set her sights on being able to provide wilderness experiences for people with special needs. First, though, she needed to know more. So she decided to attend Unity College and get a degree in outdoor recreation.

Before attending college, Nelder spent time working with the Student Conservation Corps learning how to build and maintain trails.

“I could tell in the interview (for the SCC) that all they thought I was old’,” she said. “I may be old, but not in my heart,” she continued.

Her longest stretch living outdoors has been 10 days, though she’s not worried about the lack of modern conveniences. She says she is “looking forward to a little peace and quiet, time to heal from the recent death of both her parents, meeting all the wonderful people and teaching them about the area.”

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