Walking With Winter

AT in Winter

After being off the trail for almost two months (since the November work trip) due to holidays and weather, Sunday (Jan. 12) was too good an opportunity to miss to get out and do some blowdown scouting and maintaining. In deciding where to go, we had a couple of factors to consider. Primarily, the concern was for sections of the trail that are the most heavily used and those would be between Rockfish Gap and the Humpback Rocks area. The Club's annual "Freezeree" was taking place over the weekend so those folks could be counted on to check out the five miles between Rockfish and the Shelter. Maintainers had been on the Albright (trees down) and Section 5 (looking good!). The decision was made to hike Sections 6 and 7 which would take us down the Howardsville Turnpike and up the back side of Humpback Mountain to the blue blaze that goes down to The Rocks. This section of AT is frequently used as part of a circuit hike that includes Humpback Rocks.

It was a gorgeous day - sunny, extremely windy at Humpback Gap/Parking, but much calmer once we dropped out of the Gap and got into the woods. Lots of layers going on and coming off were the key to staying comfortable during the day. The winter woods, with the sunlight angling in and illuminating the bark on the bare trees, plus the visibility through the woods makes for a beautiful hike, an entirely different experience from when the trees are leafed out and the underbrush is thick and green.

We got a lot of work done, mainly diverting melt/rain water, as you will see, and we cleaned out all the water bars. Tree debris was also removed and some sawyer work was noted for future trips. Leaves were cleared off of the steps so hikers could see them. It was a very satisfying day because we got so much work done while enjoying a great hike.  The pictures below tell the story of our day:

Small patch of ice on the Howardsville - took this pic just to show it had been icy .... little did I know!

Lots and lots of water running down Howardsville - almost a creek.

The water bars on Howardsville were doing a good job.

 BIG ice! I felt silly after taking that picture of the ice in the puddle.

 One of many ice formations along the Howardsville Turnpike/AT - makes for an interesting, beautiful hike ..... and lots of melt water on the trail!

The woodpeckers have been working on this tree ... the upper portion is also riddled with holes.

 A sawyer-size blowdown on the Howardsville/AT.

 We hiked by the former 'Big Tree Jr' .... still marveling at the size of the root ball and the work the sawyers did to remove the rest of the blowdown from the AT.

Winter view, just up the trail from Big Tree Jr.  Views like this, that you don't see any other time of year, make winter hiking special. No bugs makes it extra-special!

 

We got to Bear Spring and found a LOT of water! Photos of water, due to shadows, etc. don't turn out well so here's a video. You will see how much difference it makes when leaves are removed from channels and water bars. If you're familiar with this spot on the trail, you might be surprised at the amount of water in the rock channel across the trail - usually it is dry! This was our lunch spot, while watching and listening to the water run.

This is the water bar we put in above Bear Spring in July and it is working like a champ! I confess to doing a "happy dance" to see this. The trail below, which was formerly an eroded mess and had to be rehabbed, is in great shape - no erosion found, due to the new water bar.

In the 'Alpines' above Bear Spring, the rhodies are getting ready for spring already.

 Another spot where water was flowing across and down the trail. We got it diverted, but the footing isn't great with a lot of loose rocks. This will likely be the site of a work trip project in 2014. There is some side hill tread repair that needs doing just below the water problem - since it is quite a hike in, two issues that can be dealt with by the same crew will make the longer trip in worth while.

Our destination, before we turned around and hiked back out. After talking to a single hiker coming up the blue-blaze from HB Rocks and a couple coming back from having missed turning on to the AT north (to make the loop back to the parking lot), we realized just how much confusion there is at this spot. Plus ... this is the view of the sign that people have when coming up from the Rocks ..... many walk right on by and up the hill, heading south (not north!) on the AT. This confusing situation will have to be remedied in the near future with better directional signage.

 Nature's winter garden.

Melt water, rolling off the mossy rocks.

 We noticed, once we got above Yellow Jacket Ridge, that the trail was getting a little "crunchy" as it was then getting cold enough again at the higher elevations for the muddy trail to refreeze.  As we hiked back to the parking lot and got to lower elevations, the trail became soft again. When we reached Howardsville, we noticed that with all the melting that had occurred during the day, there was even MORE water on the trail. We could also hear the sound of water rushing, far off down the hillside .... some place where we did not know there was a creek. As we got higher in the drainage, the sound diminished. Fortunately, the weather was warm enough that it was water and not ice on the trail, otherwise it would have been a skating rink.

It was quite a wonderful day on the trail. We were on the trail in January of 2013, too - that was also a good day. This time however, despite the BRP showing closed Saturday night, it was open Sunday morning which saved us about 1.6 miles of road walking ...... no road walk was a terrific way to start our day! Walking with winter ..... we highly recommend it.

♦ ♦ ♦

Note: Flickr has changed the way pictures are embedded so you will notice some differences from previous posts. Personally, I'm not a happy camper with some of the changes, but it is what it is.

(All photos: Merlot)

6-Mile Crew (Sec 6, 7, 8A & 8B)

 

Work crews getting organized before heading out on their projects.

Saturday, the sun was shining on the crews as they met at the Humpback Visitor's Center and got their assignments and tools. Just down the sidewalk, at the Humpback Rocks Farm, it was eerily beautiful as fog hung around, back lit by the sun. Three crews were heading out: the Sawyer Crew to tackle Big Tree Jr., the Rockfish Crew to finish up stabilizing the trail on sections 1 and 2, and a third crew that was going to hike the approximately 6 miles of trail between the Humpback Picnic Area and Humpback Parking Lot. This 6-Mile Crew would scout the blue-blaze connector between the Picnic Area and the AT for future waterbars, clean fall leaves from existing waterbars, check new waterbars to make sure they are working properly and deal with any other maintenance issues along the way. 

Since Daylight Savings time had ended, sunset was going to be around 5:00 so the crews were shooting for a goal of being off the trail around 4:30 and back at the Visitor's Center parking lot shortly thereafter. Everybody loaded up their gear and headed out ...... the 6-Mile Crew was headed south on the BRP to the Humpback Picnic Area. On the way, the views west across the Valley were so beautiful with fog, that we went on to the Greenstone Overlook for some fog pictures before doubling back to the HB Picnic Area gate.

 

Fog blanketing the Shenandoah Valley ..... view from Greenstone Overlook.

 

 HB Picnic Area is closed for the season so we parked at the gates

 and walked .......

 

.... to the blue-blaze connector trail to the AT.

 

Several strategic water bar locations were scouted for future work trips. In this photo, you can see that the trail is becoming 'cupped' or U-shaped from water erosion. The Pulaski marks the potential location of a future water bar. (Photo: Lori A.)

 Once on the AT (Sec. 8B at this point, then 8A, 7 & 6), we cleaned out the latest fall leaf debris from all the water bars ... an early Christmas present for the regular section maintainers, who have done a great job this past year!

 

Some folks use an apple or an orange to test the slope of a water bar and see exactly where the water will go. No one had an apple or an orange, so we had some fun and substituted a "banana roll"!

 

There are several significant waterbars at The Gully, an area that is very prone to water erosion and has suffered serious damage in years past, before the multiple water bars were installed. 

 

 Leaf debris raked out and dirt that has washed in has been dug back out. When waterbars are regularly maintained, like those on this section, routine maintenance is a lot easier because the debris that washes in doesn't have a chance to "pack" tightly.

 

Lower water bars just below The Gully. (Photo: Lori A.)

 

 Fire rakes aren't the most comfortable tool to tote along for miles, but during spring/fall waterbar clean outs, they are indispensable and the tool of choice!

(Photo: Lori A.)

 

 In The Gully, this check dam/step has washed on the lower side to become a step that is uncomfortably high. We knocked down the berm on the left and moved the dirt in front of the step to raise the landing a couple of inches. This will be watched ..... if the dirt doesn't pack/hold up, then some retaining rocks will have to be placed, making a landing 'terrace' arrangement.

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This is at the very top of The Gully. The AT is on the left, just above the pack, then takes a left turn down the steep hill just below the large branches. This picture is taken on the hill above the trail where a runoff ditch has been put in to take the water to the right and keep it from going straight and dumping on the AT. This runoff ditch is being cleared of leaves and from the condition of the dirt underneath, it is doing its job of diverting water.

 

Removing a root that has been exposed by water erosion. Once these roots wash out underneath and stick above the trail, they are generally cut out so some hapless hiker doesn't manage to get a foot underneath and take a major tumble. (Photo: Lori A.)

 

 Battery Cliffs was a great place for lunch and to watch the fog. (Photo: Lori A.)

 

 Leaving the Cliffs heading north, there is a very narrow tread and a major laurel bush trimming was done to widen up the area. Ed is heading off with the clippers so this is before ...... (Photo: Lori A.)

 

 .......... and after the laurel bushes were trimmed back. (Photo: Lori A.)

 

Just past the Cliffs, a dead tree, that was still hard as iron, had fallen and was encroaching on the trail. This is how a very hard tree is trimmed with a very small fold-up saw.

 Tag teaming was required!

 

FINALLY ........ got that limb cut off!

 

After cleaning out the waterbars installed this spring on Sec. 7 (working great!) and the waterbars installed this summer at Bear Spring (also doing the job!), we came to the former Big Tree Jr. blowdown area and were able to admire the great job done by the Sawyer Crew.  At this point, the fog was really closing in at lower elevations. (Photo: Lori A.)

 

 The AT and woods are beautiful in the fog, even as the fog was condensing on everything and falling from the trees like rain. (Photo: Lori A.)

We made it out of the woods around 5:00 as dark was falling. Everybody was a little wet from the condensing fog and tired from digging and dealing with wet leaves on wet rocks ... a slick proposition in places. It was a great day to be in the woods and we all felt really good with what we saw as we covered Sections 8A & B, 7, and 6 ........ especially satisfying was the confirmation that the newly installed waterbars were working, which meant they were properly sited when constructed, something that can be a tricky proposition. The AT along these sections has been "put to bed" for the winter .... fall leaves cleaned out of waterbars and off of steps, small blowdowns and debris removed, and projects for next year's work crews already being planned!

Thanks to everybody on the 6-Mile Crew for all the maintenance work that got accomplished while still having a really good time doing it!

Crew members: Lori A., John S., Ed F. & yours truly.

(Photos:  All photos by Merlot unless otherwise noted)

Blowdown Battle: Big Tree Jr. vs Sawyers

 

 The Winners!

Since early this summer, there has been a blowdown across the AT that the Sawyers have been "champing at the bit" to take care of ..... Big Tree Jr.  This is a very complex blowdown, further complicated by being a large and solid tree, not a dead rotten one. The plan was to wait until there wasn't a lot of traffic on the AT and then, the Sawyers would tackle the problem of BT Jr.  This month's work trip was The Day and with four of the club's sawyers on hand, Big Tree Jr. finally went down for the count and became a 'former blowdown'!

The following eight pictures and the photo above were taken by sawyer Richard W. (the photo above of the sawyer group was with the assistance of some hikers who came by):

 

Big Tree Jr ......... before the sawyers.

 

 Work begins ......

 

 The trunk has been separated from the root ball.

 

Dismantling BT Jr. begins, now that the trunk is 'down' and within reach.

 

The first of several happy sawyer pictures as BT Jr. is 'dismantled'.

 

 Another happy sawyer after a successful big trunk cut.

 

 Big main trunk cut .... sawyers still smiling.

 

 Action shot ..... sawyer teamwork!

♦ ♦ ♦

What hikers see now ...... the work crew that put in at Humpback Picnic and hiked to Humpback Rocks Parking came through the former Big Tree Jr. blowdown area after the sawyers had packed up and hiked out and this is what was left (notice how the fog has thickened up, too!):

 

 

 

 

 

 AT Sawyers were here!

Wow, guys ...... what a terrific job on a huge, complex, dangerous blowdown!! Everybody had a safe day .... the most significant accomplishment of all. Our Sawyers are The Best ...... on this project: Ed P., Richard W., Chris W., and Eric J.

(Photos: First 9 photos by sawyer Richard W.; next 4 photos by Merlot; last photo by Lori A.)

Bear Spring Washouts - Phase 2 (Sec 6/7)

 

A very successful Phase 1 Bear Spring AT rehab/repair

 (above the switchback), a month after the July work trip.

In July, a three-person crew tackled some bad erosion problems on the AT at Bear Spring. Since we were run off the mountain by a big thunder storm, we weren't able to finish the project. Actually, even without the thunder storm, we would not have been able to get the two necessary water bars installed because of the amount of work involved. The Bear Spring Phase 2 (water bar 2) project was scheduled for this August work trip.

One of the exciting aspects of trail work is to get a big project done and then see how it is "weathering" and in the case of water bars, were they properly placed and are they doing the job. The water bar and trail rehab in July got tested by the big T-storm the same day the work was done and there have been some additional big storms in the weeks since. When we got to Bear Spring, the first priority was to take a look at last month's work. Happily, the water bar is taking water off the trail and the 40 feet of rehabbed trail is packed down from hiker traffic, shedding water properly, and showing absolutely no signs of erosion which means Phase 1 can be put down as an unqualified success!! With that very positive outcome, the three-person crew this trip was ready to tackle Phase 2. On our way up to the work site, we retrieved those two rock bars that had been stashed due to lightning during the thunderstorm in July - we would definitely need them.

Since finding suitable rocks was a problem last month, we expected the same issue this month and it started out looking like we weren't going to find anything. The second water bar location was below the switchback and much lower on the AT, so we scrounged around the area between the upper and lower portions of the trail and around the spring itself. Fortunately, we eventually found two rocks that would 'make do' and moved the water bar location slightly uphill to an even more narrow spot so the two rocks were all we would need to span the trail tread. Once we found the rocks, the rest of the project went without a hitch and the water bar installed beautifully. There were frequent breaks because lots of hikers were on the trail and they had to be directed safely across the project, especially before the rocks in the tread were set. There were also questions to answer about the work we were doing, how to volunteer and lots of "thank yous" for our efforts.

Here's the crew at work in pictures and another small tread rehab we did on the way out. Of course, any beautiful wildflowers had to have their pictures taken as well.

There is a beautiful patch of wild sunflowers just a few minutes north of Bear Spring and they were in full bloom .... a cheerful sight on our way to work.

 

The two water bar rocks: the one in the foreground and the one above it to the right. Both were a little small, but had a decent span, enough depth that they should hold up under foot traffic and they were heavy ..... not two-person rocks, but still a challenge for one person to move. Both rocks also had a nice 'tread edge' for hikers to step on.

 

Bob checking the rock placement of the two 'runout' rocks. The two larger, heavy rocks across the tread are already in place and partially set. The dirt was soft from all the rain and except for roots and a few small rocks that got in the way, it was fairly easy digging.

 

 A downhill (going north) view of the temporary log water bar from July (which we left in place for now) and the new rock water bar, maybe 10 yards down the trail.

 

Bob is trenching for the new water bar and David is about to move one of the rocks up to the site. This is a good view of the eroded tread .... loose rocks and a big root exposed as water washed the soil away.

 

An "after" picture .... water bar in place, loose rock raked off (to the left), the big root removed and some soil replaced with what could be spared from the water bar.

 

Our second project at Bear Spring was to re-site the spring sign. It originally was just to the left of the large tree. Northbound hikers could see it, but southbound hikers could not. Here is the new location on the other side of the spring and the view northbound.

 

 Here is the southbound view of the spring sign, now visible in its new location. Bob did the digging for the post in the new location.

 

Hiking back down the mountain, there were these purple flowers with bumble bees on them. This is the one picture that turned out where the bee was something other than a fuzzy spot.

 

Big Tree Jr. hasn't gone anywhere since last month ....

a good thing since hikers can still easily walk under it.

 

A patch of tiny, very delicate flowers along the trail.

 

Wildflower blooming at Rattlesnake Corner.

 

A big rock (farthest right, partially visible) had become exposed in the tread and hikers were taking the path of least resistance and 'going around' on the right. David and Bob pried the rock out of the trail, removed some other smaller rocks, and the tread was smoothed back out in its original location. Some small rocks (that won't block water runoff) were left in the former 'go around' spot to keep hikers on the tread.

 

Patches of 'Mouse Ears' were along Howardsville Turnpike as we hiked back out to the Humpback Rocks parking lot. This is the Asiatic Dayflower (Commelina communis) and the blossoms last for only one day.

The Bear Spring crew had a really good day and to top it off, when we came out of the woods at the Humpback Rocks parking lot, the shelter crew was there .... with Dave G.'s pickup truck. This meant that all our gear and tools (especially those two heavy rock bars) got a ride back to the tool shed and we didn't have to tote them down the road! 

David A. and Bob J. worked really hard on this trip and did all the heavy lifting and digging .... and there was plenty of both! The teamwork was terrific and that is one reason why this water bar went in so quickly and with very few problems.  

Many thanks to both David and Bob for a job very well done!

Note: Wildflower IDs will be added if/when I can get them!

(All Photos: Merlot)