Work Trip Report - ODATC - July 20, 2013

 

July 20, 2013 work trip crew

Hi All –

Our July Work Trip was predicted to be hot, hot, hot but with a nice breeze and the humidity down, it was not as bad as anticipated.  The late afternoon shower, ok, thunderstorm , did add some excitement to the end of the day, with a few crews scrambling to get to shelter and more than a few of us getting soaked.  Thank goodness for a change of clothes.  My boots took more than a few days to dry!  A total of 17 people venture out that day split into 6 crews covering most of our section of the trail.

The sawyer crew of Ed Sr., Richard and Jim D didn’t have as long of a day as last month, but, worked just as hard covering the west side from Dripping Rock to Three Ridges Parking.  This section is very rocky in places and not fun to be carrying a chainsaw.  But these three troopers prevailed and cleared all the downed trees from that side of the woods.  Thanks for all that you did guys!

The crew of Ed Jr,, Bill and Mark F were on the west side as well walking the trail heading north of Three Ridges Parking to Cripple Creek.  Their mission was to help new section maintainer, Bill, with weed whacking and becoming familiar with that area.  They ventured all the way in and turned around at Cripple Creek where the fun began.  They got their upper body workout by weed whacking all the way out finishing in spite of the storm.  Thanks for all the manicuring done!

Karen, Dave W and Dave A were on the back side of the mountain leading up to Humpback rocks.  Their quest was to move a log from the side of the trail that was causing erosion issues and put in waterbars where needed.  They also checked up on Big Tree Jr. to determine plans for future removal.  They had to scramble to finish up before the storm set in, leaving a rock bar or two behind strategically hidden.  A wise decision with the lightening in the area.  That waterbar got a very good workout the first day on duty.  Thanks to this crew for their construction work! (Bear Spring Wash-outs) ; (Along The Trail To Bear Spring)

Fran was up to her amazing blazing again on the section north from Dripping Rock to Humpback Rocks Picnic area.  I went along to help.  The Fran Blazing Technique has been thoroughly tested over years of blazing our 19.1 mile section and provides the perfect blazes on the trees.  Let’s hope the rain didn’t spoil Fran’s masterpieces!  Thanks for all your artwork on the trail. (How Fran paints those beautiful blazes!)

Dave G and Margaret went down to the shelter to put the final touches on the new steps.  They also brought down a new journal and some lime for the privy.  They didn’t stop there.  On the way out, they did trimming and weed whacking on the AT all the way to Glass Hollow overlook.  After that, the storm came in and it was time to get off the trail.  Thanks for completing that variety of tasks.

It was a digging and tree removal day for the last crew of Jim S, Christina, Lisa and Mark who spent their time working south of Rockfish Gap.  They worked in the muddy soil installing two new waterbars, doing rehab on others, and have the dirty clothes to prove it.  They also removed two trees from the trail, one a step over that is now being reserved for a waterbar, the other one was a bit more challenging, being a couple miles in, running down the trail and quite large. How come the crew on this northern section did not get any rain?  Thanks all for the upkeep completed.  (Waterbar Nirvana) ; (The 40-Easy-Steps Blowdown)  ; (Crawling Critters!) ; (A Look Back Into History)

Really, a huge THANK YOU to all the crews for their devotion to the trail shown by the huge amount of work accomplished in spite of the storm! Looking forward to our adventures in August! 

Take care,

Lori 

  
(Photo: Lori A.)