Alpine flowers off the Davis Path, with Mount Washington in the background.
Get above treeline on any of New Hampshire’s high peaks, and you’ll find a landscape of contrast. Here in the alpine zone, a single step could disrupt decades of plant growth. But these summits are also home to sub-zero temperatures and some of the highest winds ever recorded.
“[The alpine zone] is an amazing place where I find profound peace. It is also extremely fragile, and very unforgiving,” says Pat Grimm.
As an Alpine Steward with AMC, Grimm knows this duality well. Stewards volunteer two weekends during peak hiking season (May to October), walking through the popular Mount Washington and Franconia Ridge areas, and having conversations with hikers. By explaining Leave No Trace principles and keeping hikers on the trail, they mitigate human impact on the landscape. By sharing trail conditions and weather updates, they protect people from an unpredictable and dangerous environment.
“Alpine Stewards love hiking above treeline. They want to share that with other people, but they also come at it from a standpoint of wanting to protect the alpine zone and educate people,” says Kyra Salancy, AMC’s Outdoor Program Center Volunteer Coordinator.
Training for Stewardship
Like many initiatives on the high peaks, Alpine Stewardship came out of a collaboration between partners with a common goal. It also sits at the center of AMC’s unique approach to conservation—combining hiker education, scientific research, and trail work.
Responsibility for the program is shared between AMC, the White Mountain National Forest, and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Salancy coordinates with these partners, recruits volunteers, organizes their training, and provides in-season support.
Training takes place before the field season, usually in May. Volunteers take a combination of virtual and in-person sessions on alpine ecology, basic trail maintenance—such as removing cairns—and the ins and outs of being a part of the AMC community. They’ll also take a Wilderness First Aid course if they aren’t already certified.
Experienced Alpine Stewards on a casual hike to Square Ledge, near the AMC Pinkham Notch Visitor Center. Newer Stewards stayed behind to learn about using iNaturalist from AMC staff.
The other key component of training covers how Stewards support AMC scientists. They’re trained in using iNaturalist, an app that empowers hikers to make observations and share them with researchers. AMC uses the app to track flowering times in the alpine zone, among other projects. Flowering times are one way scientists monitor the impacts of climate change in the White Mountains.
“When they’re out on Franconia Ridge and Mount Washington, there are a few specific sites that have been monitored for years for the plants that are part of that project,” says Salancy.
The volunteers’ scientific work also helps them engage with hikers and encourages them to get involved.
“It’s a great way to start conversations with hikers, too. The hikers will see them taking photos of the plants and they’ll wonder, ‘What are you looking at there?’ And they’ll get in a great conversation about the alpine plants, and get people excited about trying to help protect the alpine zone,” Salancy continues.
A Day in the Mountains
While community science and some light trail work are both part of the role, Alpine Stewards spend much of the day simply hiking and talking to people.
Volunteers can spend the night at an AMC location while on shift, free of charge. For Stewards on Mount Washington, that means sleeping at Joe Dodge Lodge and either hiking to summit or utilizing the Mount Washington Auto Road. Franconia Ridge volunteers stay at either Greenleaf Hut or Liberty Spring Tentsite.
Once in position above treeline, it’s the Steward’s job to engage with anyone interested in talking. Often that means asking folks how their hike is going and taking their photo. They’ll also answer questions and share fun facts about the summit. If weather conditions are taking a turn for the worse, they keep hikers informed. Stewards have direct radio contact with New Hampshire Fish and Game staff and the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center.
Alpine Azaleas near the summit of Mount Washington. Walking off trail can disrupt decades of growth for some species. Photo by Emily Davenport.
Protecting Rare Species
Not all conversations are easy ones. One of an Alpine Steward’s responsibilities is ensuring hikers stick to trails. Straying from them can cause erosion and damage the small alpine plants that call the alpine zone home. Some of these species are only found in the White Mountains.
Rather than policing the summits, Stewards work to instill a sense of community responsibility for the alpine zone’s fragile environment. Steward Craig Repasz recalls a time on Little Haystack Mountain when he saw two young hikers go off trail. After a friendly chat with the first, he was about to approach the other. Then something happened.
“The hiker I had just been speaking with turned to me and said, ‘Don’t worry, I got this one, he is in my group’ and then started speaking Mandarin to the hiker… The language barrier was breached.”
Meaningful conversations like these, plus a free place to stay, are perks. But often the reward is just getting to be in the mountains.
“There are occasional moments when I can just sit and appreciate the spectacular beauty of the alpine zone, from the tiniest flower to the grand views, especially early in the morning,” says Grimm.
Her advice for anyone curious about the program? Come say hello.
“Hike up to Franconia Ridge or Tuckerman Junction on any weekend from May to October, find the Alpine Steward, and hang out with them for a while! Ask questions; see what it’s like.”