It was golden trees and blue sky for the October Work Trip.
It was a 'picture perfect' day for a work trip Saturday with crisp fall temperatures, blue skies and the Blue Ridge Parkway and Appalachian Trail glowing with fall colors. The predominant color was gold .... lots and lots of gold and when the sun was shining through the golden leaves, it was spectacular. There was some red on the maples and the staghorn sumac was also deep red, but in the woods, it was pretty much a golden day.
The three-person crew for Section 5 set out to finish the work that the September crew started ....... redefining the tread on the approach trail to Glass Hollow Overlook. After hiking all the way to the Overlook and taking a lot of pictures because it was just so beautiful, we started the side hill work. Almost immediately, the work began where the September trip ended .... with a yellow jacket sting. At virtually the same place on the trail as the previous month's incident, a yellow jacket decided that somebody's hair smelled mighty good and it went in to investigate. Needless to say, the human reaction was a vigorous effort to get the wasp OUT of the hair and although that effort was finally successful, there was a painful sting left as a souvenir. Fortunately, there was no adverse reaction; however, other yellow jackets were around and started following crew members up the trail and aggressively harassing them, so tools and packs were quickly picked up and everyone relocated farther up the trail and started work again.
Views from Glass Hollow Overlook: Left - Humpback Rocks, Right - Rockfish Valley
The side hill work went fairly quickly and there were also some large rocks taken out of the trail. By early afternoon (near 1:00), the crew had reached the top of the approach trail and after clearing off the rock steps to the AT, it was time for a welcome break and some food. The rocks in this area offered convenient places to sit and relax during the break and with lots of hikers coming through and most deciding to check out the view at the Overlook, the approach trail/AT intersection was a 'happening place' during lunch.
Side hilling in progress and a completed section of refurbished tread.
Freshly cleaned steps at the top of the approach trail and the intersection with the AT.
The rest of the day was spent working our way back towards the Howardsville Turnpike, taking out rocks that were causing hikers to 'go around' and messing up the trail tread, cleaning steps, clearing out drainage ditches, moving loose rocks, and cribbing up a spot where a tree went down and the roots pulled up the outer tread edge plus some trail, leaving a hole that was a hiking hazard. As we got closer to Howardsville Turnpike, we could hear the sound of a chainsaw and knew the sawyer crew was clearing a tree that had fallen across the blue-blaze trail out to the Humpback Rocks Parking Lot.
Left: Digging out a large rock in the tread; Right: Stump hole cribbed up and filled in to make the trail safe for hikers again. (Photos: Lori A.)
On the final hike out on the blue-blaze to the HB Rocks Parking Lot, a bear was spotted up ahead on the edge of the trail! Unlike most black bear sightings, normally a black furry rump rapidly disappearing into the bushes, this bear didn't flat out run, but zig-zagged its way down the mountainside through the bushes. We were close enough to the parking lot to hear voices so perhaps this bear has spent time around the picnic area and is somewhat accustomed to people - seeing the crew did not send it into a total panic. Our intrepid crew leader had her camera out and started taking pictures. When you are taking pictures in a hurry, the light is getting low and you have a moving target, "blur" tends to be the result, however, in the best picture of the series, you can definitely see a black bear shape right in the middle of the photo:
Bear!!
(Photo: Lori A.)
The crew on Section 5 had a great day and lots of work got done. It is remarkable (and satisfying to those doing the work) how lots of 'small' projects will add up and noticeably improve a section of AT and make it more pleasant and safe for hikers. We talked to a lot of those hikers Saturday - the trail was really busy with folks enjoying the superb fall day. We answered many questions about what we were doing and as a result, there were a couple of folks who were interested in possibly joining a work trip in the future.☺ Here are a few photos of just how busy the Humpback Rocks Parking Lot was once we finally got off the trail - the lot was full, cars were parked down both sides of the drive to the BRP and there were even cars parked along the main road!
The HB Rocks Parking Lot (full!!) and cars along the BRP.
So as not to end with car pictures, here are a few more fall scenes from our gorgeous day on the AT:
The woods near 'Manatee Rock' with a few small trees showing some red fall foliage.
Red, green and gold ........ a festive mix.
Solid gold - the leaves seem to make their own sunshine.
There were still some wildflowers blooming in the woods:
(Photos: All photos by Merlot unless otherwise noted)
Note: for location, mileage and other features on this section of AT, visit the Section 5 page at:
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