The COHOS TRAIL ASSOCIATION

Gadwah Notch Trail
Odell Unicorporated Township/Columbia. This trail needs a good deal of work in several places from the gate all the way to the very entrance of Gadwah Notch.
The Gadwah Notch Trail is part of a route (that includes the Kelsey Notch Trail and Baldhead Mt.Trail) that takes hikers into the most remote country on the Cohos Trail north of the Kilkenny region. This is a critical trail in the system, as are the other two listed in the last sentence.
The first half mile is a grassy tote road that rises steadily uphill to Cathedral Meadow. There is no work required here unless trees fall into the lane. Between Cathedral Meadow and Moran Meadow, lots of thin trees break off or bend over and these need to be removed periodically. Otherwise the trail is fine.
At the entrance to Moran Meadow, the trail turns right uphill. There is a signpost and signage here. This post needs to be a big, heavy post. The present one needs to be replaced. Blazing on rocks on the old toteway should be touched up, or blazed grade stakes put in every 300-400 feet.
Trail climbs moderately up into Muise Bowl. No work required in the bowl.
Leaving Muise Bowl, the trail narrows and climbs steadily. There are ditches and waterbars in here that need to be cleared and improved. As the trail climbs, growth is beginning to infringe on the trail. This growth has to be aggressively cut back four feet to keep the trail from sealing itself.
Pathway begins to level out a bit and crosses a wet spot. A few stepping stones would improve things in here. A rotting log pile comes into view. Trail should be staked with yellow topped grade stakes to keep people on the "high" side here. Ditches need to be cut across this flat to help it dry out.
Pass the log pile and enter a raspberry patch. This patch needs to be cut back four feet each year. Drop down and cross Nash Stream (tiny here), and climb the rise to Bulldozer Flat. Minor clipping here.
Bulldozer Flat has rock cairns in it that need to be maintained and repainted. These cairns should be improved and built higher so they are more visible as one walks eastward toward Mt. Muise. Trail becomes very grassy and approaches a tree line. The blazes and arrow signs on the tree line have to be clipped around aggressively every year so the yellow paint can be seen for a good distance. Paint needs to be touched up and a few blazes here made bigger so they are visible from farther away.
Trail makes a turn on moose path and moves north through increasingly tall but wide open spruce. Path is easy to follow but this section is often very wet. A number of good ditches need to be cut directly across this trail to dry it out. These ditches would have to be cleaned each year and rebuilt as moose will degrade them readily.
This area between Bulldozer Flat and the new trail punched into Gadwah is the biggest trouble spot at the moment in this trail. It needs to be done and done well. Two people with mattocks could get the job done in half a day.