SECTION 11

2.3 Miles

Cripple Creek (double creek with cribbed wall) to BRP at Three Ridges Overlook

 

Long cribbed wall - A Konnarock project when they were helping the club rehab this section. The wall cribbed up a section of trail that was steeply sloped and crushed rocks were used as fill to level out the tread. It was an impressive project when they were building it and it still is. One end of the fill section is problematic ..... there is a tree with roots, deeply embedded rocks, etc. which makes for tricky footing and engineering a fix is on the list of future projects.

Trail tread with cribbing off the left side. You can see the problematic tree at the top of the photo. (Photo: Dave W.)

Looking the other way down the tread and the height of the cribbing - quite a project!

(Photos: Dave W.)

Koolaid & K Steps - These are a fairly long stretch of steps up a steep slope. The primary builder was Kool-Aid,  a Vietnam Vet who was on a Konnarock crew (the 'K' part of the name)  rehabbing this section of AT.  He got his name in Vietnam because his wife would send him packages of Kool-Aid to make the water easier to drink after they treated it with iodine. The steps took a week to put in and were a lot of hard work and there were a lot of happy smiles when the project was finally completed.

Old jumbled steps (descriptive rather than a formal name) - The second set of steps on this section. At one time, they were nice steps, but they get a lot of water flow and it has caused the rocks to loosen up, fall out, and otherwise become unruly. Hikers tend to make their way up the big rocks that edge the 'steps' rather than walk through the jumble. The steps are slated for a major rehab (which will probably have to be 'replacement') in the future.

Rockslide Area - There are several rockslide areas similar to this one in this section. In this photo the AT is hard to spot without the blaze on the large rock in the middle. ~Paul G.

(Photo: Paul G.)

Turtle Rock - Almost 2 miles north from the Three Ridges Overlook, the AT squeezes through the tree on the left and this rock which I affectionately call Turtle Rock. ~Paul G.

(Photo: Paul G.)

 

Trailside cliff faces - This section has some nice cliff faces along the trail in at least two places. In the spring, when there is ice/snow melt and runoff or a lot of rain, the water shoots off these cliffs in small waterfalls and is quite a sight to see. Along the base of the cliffs is a good place to find Trilliums blooming in the spring.

Just past Turtle Rock the AT, seen here on the left, comes to within 15 feet of the base of an impressively large rock wall. (Photo & description: Paul G.)

 

 

Here is a fuller picture of the rock wall which parallels the AT for a bit. I estimate the wall is about 50 feet high. (Photo & description: Paul G.)

 

 

Cripple Creek - This section ends at Cripple Creek, 2.3 miles north of the Three Ridges Overlook. What is notable is that this creek usually has a very strong flow. This picture is a portion of Cripple Creek, the only portion that had even a sliver of water, taken after a very dry month. ~Paul G.

 

 

(Photo: Paul G.)