Rockfish to Reeds: Work Trip Report - ODATC

Hi All --

Sorry this work report is a little late getting out. We had another beautiful day for a work trip which allowed for us to go ahead with the picnic as planned at the Humpback Picnic area. This month, there were three crews out at locations chosen to stay close to the road or the picnic area since we were breaking early to get to the feast. There were no sawyer crews or blazing this month. The ODATC hike scheduled on September 13 from Reeds Gap to Humpback parking reported only two trees down on the west side. Our thanks to the hikers for taking the time out to scout! Of the two trees, one was very small and Ed F. took care of the other tree during his scouting trip the next day. Thanks Ed F!

The crew with Karen, Dave, Dorothy, Paul and Richard tackled the gully area near Battery Cliffs. They did an incredible amount of work, digging out waterbars, junking up stairs and redefining trail. There's more information, with pictures of course, on what this group accomplished on the blog. Check out the 'Rocking It' At The Gully! post.

Ed, Richard, Dennis and Emily (Dennis' daughter) were on the Jack Albright Loop. There they did some sidehilling and cleaned out waterbars. That just wasn't enough for this crew. They wanted more! So, they split up with Dennis and Emily coming over to assist the third crew while Richard and Ed went back to the tool shed to check out the chainsaws and afterwards also joined the third crew. Their help couldn't have been more welcome.

The third crew consisted of Steve, Jenni, Greg, Dave, Kathy and myself on the section from the Howardsville to Jack Albright Loop. The goal was sidehilling along this section starting from the north. A few areas were done before getting to Glass Hollow, where we marked trail down to the overlook and broke for lunch. We were working on the flagged sections when a crew member was stung by a bee and had a serious allergic reaction which required EMT assistance. This expanded crew was wonderful as they all pitched in and worked together to provide aid and comfort to the downed crew member, assisted the EMTs in getting to the location and then helped with the carry out to the ambulance. The crew also made sure that all of the tools got back to the shed. The sting-affected crew member was treated and released from the hospital and is doing fine.

My mistake when I said we had three crews out, actually we had four crews out. The fourth crew was setting up the picnic. Our cooks and master shoppers for the day were Claudia, Linda and John. They had just finished up the shopping when the bee sting incident happened, so Claudia and Linda (nurses) hiked in to assist with medical care and John worked with the Gully Crew to set up the picnic. The crew member with the bee sting was concerned that we would have to cancel the picnic, and was comforted to know that we were able to have the picnic, although a little later than planned. While we really missed the folks who were at the hospital at the time, the food and fellowship were certainly welcome after the events of the day (see picnic pictures at the end of this post).

So, a special thanks to the September crew for pitching in above and beyond. To the Rangers on the Blue Ridge Parkway and the EMT crew from Wintergreen who were called in to assist, and, to the hikers from Pennsylvania who also helped out. Everything worked out well because of the teamwork shown by all involved. Thanks ever so much!

Remember, this work trip and picnic were part of our efforts to support National Public Lands Day, which is actually on September 29. Because of this work and the Family Hike being lead by Theresa Duffey on September 29 (See the ODATC website for details and bring your families out to attend!) the club received from a USFS grant the following PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) to use on future work trips:

2 - Stihl Helmet systems

2 - Logger's First Aid Kits

2 - Chaps 36"

16 - Gloves (Various sizes)

19 - Safety Glasses

10 - Yellow Firefighters helmets

200 Disposable Ear Plugs

Thanks to the folks at the USFS who made this possible and to Theresa for picking up these supplies while attending the VARO meeting on September 15.

If you're feeling left out on all the exciting events going on, don't forget the Rockfish to Reeds blog, which tracks all of our antics and provides interesting tidbits and insightful information:

Our upcoming events are below. Last two trips of the season!

Date Location

Oct. 20, 2012 AT Work Trip

Nov. 17, 2012 AT Work Trip

Thanks again and again!

Lori

PICNIC PICTURES