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)

Stone Wall History

 

Sign at the Greenstone Overlook

(BRP mp 8.8)

While at the Greenstone Overlook Saturday, I took a picture of this sign because as Appalachian Trail maintainers, the most frequently asked non-trail question is about the stone walls that are all over the Humpback Rocks area and in many cases alongside or visible from the AT itself. Sure enough, while working on Section 8B, between the Humpback Picnic blue blaze and Battery Cliffs on Saturday, we had a trail runner (recently moved from Hawaii!!) ask about the stone walls. Lucky for him, I had this picture in the camera and could pull it up and read it off to answer his question.

Everyone, especially those maintainers who revel in rock projects (cribbing walls, stone steps, etc.), marvels at the construction and the scope of the walls ..... height, distance and the dry laid work itself. These extensive walls are truly beautiful and the sheer manual labor to gather the rocks plus the artistry of the men who laid the rocks is just amazing.

Section 8B (photos taken Nov. 16, 2013):

 

 

 

Section 8A (photos taken June 2012):

 

 

 ♦ ♦ ♦

Another view of that Greenstone Overlook sign, which has some pretty interesting, large rocks as a backdrop:

 

 ♦ ♦ ♦

(All photos: Merlot)

The Fog Comes On .... And Stays!

 

 Looking southwest from Greenstone Overlook, BRP mp 8.8 with the fog 'blanket' over the Shenandoah Valley showing in the distance.

The fog views off of the BRP overlooks and the AT were just spectacular yesterday (Nov. 16). Our crew was putting in at Humpback Rocks Picnic Area, but we traveled on a little ways to check out the views from Greenstone Overlook before doubling back. During the day, we had views from the AT as well: Battery Cliffs and Humpback Mountain View (a good distance up the mountain from 'The Rocks'). Here is a collection of photos (and 1 video) of the fog views. You really had to be there .... the pictures just don't show the distance perspectives and the every-changing nature of the fog.

From Greenstone Overlook on the BRP (9:30 - 10:00 a.m.):

 

 View southwest.

 

 

 

 

 View west across the Shenandoah Valley.

From "Battery Cliffs" on the AT which overlooks Wintergreen (12:00 p.m):

 

 

Southwest view .... that would be the Shenandoah Valley if you could see it!

 

From the Cliffs, panning east to west (closeup) and back (more distant view).

From Humpback Mountain View, overlook immediately off of the AT (2:00 p.m):

 

Looking mostly north.

 

West across the Shenandoah Valley - there was a "roll" of fog and unfortunately, it doesn't show up that way in this picture.

 ♦ ♦ ♦

I believe the Robert Frost poem says the "the fog comes on little cat cat feet ..... and then moves on."  To put Saturday's fog in AT terms, it came on big bear paws and stayed!

(Photos: Merlot)

A Downhill Day (Sec 6/7 Crew)

 

The 'Fern Fields' along the AT on Sec 7 

Funny how a somewhat 'easy' looking day on a project planning spreadsheet isn't quite the same as the reality on the trail! The plan for this two-person crew was to start at the end of Sec. 8A near the top of Humpback mountain and hike Section 7, then 6. Along the way, the water bars on 8A at the top of a steep hill would be cleaned out and the hill, which gets very weedy, would be weed-whipped. The brand new waterbars on Sec. 7 (put in on the April work Trip) would be checked to see if/how they were functioning and tweaked if necessary. In addition, Sec. 7 would be weed-whipped for the first time this season. On Sec. 6, which had been previously weed-whipped, Bear Spring needed attention and there was a big blowdown reported that needed another look-see. The water bars on Howardsville Turnpike also needed checking since there has been rain in large amounts over the last month. A day of downhill hiking .... checking a few waterbars, decimating a few weeds, enjoying the woods and the wildflowers ...... sounded like a GREAT day on the trail to me! The other person on the crew was David A., who has also taken on section maintaining duties earlier this year.

So how did the day go? I was absolutely exhausted when I got off the trail ...... and very, very happy! We had a terrific day, got a huge amount of work done, more than I thought we would be doing. The weather was great (the gnats were not, but that is what Deep Woods Off is for), the hikers we saw were friendly and appreciative, and we managed our time so well that we were back at the tool shed on time. Plus ..... it was downhill hiking (almost) the whole way!  Here is what we did:

 

Waterbar #2 on Sec. 8A after a good cleanout. Both waterbars are well-sited and effective and the steep hill below is showing no signs of erosion. We gave the hill a good weed whipping on the way to Sec. 7

At the end of 8A and the beginning of 7 is the blue-blaze down to Humpback Rocks. I checked the trail and gave it a weed-whipping where it needed it - mostly where the trail narrowed between rocks and trees or where 'heavy' weeds like Black Cohosh would eventually droop over the trail. Any stinging nettle was definitely swacked.

 

On both section 7 & 6, all the steps were cleaned off. These are the steps just above Belle's Rock on Sec. 7

 

Section 7 needed the weeds whipped back with particular attention paid to stinging nettle. I've never seen so much nettle on this section. On the left is Jewel Weed which is frequently found with nettle - notice the more rounded leaf edges. A nettle plant is on the right, with sharper, more serrated looking leaf edges.

The new waterbars are high on Section 7, in the 'Fern Field' area and just below the first switchback from the top of the section. They looked good and the runout ditches showed evidence that a lot of water had been going through them. The waterbars still looked a bit too shallow and especially on the lower one, the water appeared to have possibly breached the rock on the outside edge, so I wanted to dig them deeper.

 

David starts digging out the upper water bar and immediately hit rock, just below the surface.

Ruh roh .... that rock is getting larger by the minute! All we had was one small pick - no rock/pry bar. The rock turned out to be quite large and required a little ingenuity to get it out, but with good planning and David-power, plus a little help from me, out it came! Removing the rock saved a lot of extra digging - we actually had to backfill the hole (too deep).

 

Here's how the waterbars turned out. This was the first video I've ever made - obviously, I forgot to announce "lights, camera, ACTION!"

While we were working on the waterbars, two thru-hikers came by. You can read all about it on a separate post: Predator and Red Velvet

 

As we continued on Section 7, there was a pretty little waterfall that only appears when there have been lots of heavy rains. It is right next to the trail ........

 

....... and this is where all the waterfall water goes - that big puddle is smack dab

 in the middle of the AT.

Just above Bear Spring is a beautiful mountain laurel patch in an area the section maintainer calls "The Alpines". The laurels were in full bloom and you can see the pictures here: Mountain Laurel on the AT (Sec 7)

 

Bear Spring ...... running hard from all the rain.

Just above the switchback at Bear Spring, the trail is washing terribly, to the point that a small gully is forming. Below that switchback, the trail is also washing badly. Two waterbars will be added to the project list - needed ASAP. Somebody had pulled up the spring sign and put it down next to the trail, probably because the sign isn't visible south bound and the spring is easy to miss. Unfortunately, they put the sign in an area where water had been running and causing erosion - the hikers were using the eroded area as a trail, making the situation considerably worse. We put the sign back its hole and brushed up the 'outlaw' trail. When we go in to do the waterbars, we'll take a look at the sign location and see if we can find a better one.

Below Bear Spring, but before we got to Fan Rock, we ran into that blowdown. Here is the scoop on what we discovered/saw:  Big Tree Jr. - Still A Problem (Sec. 6)

Other than the erosion issues at Bear Spring and BT Jr., Section 6 looked great! We soon arrived at the Howardsville Turnpike portion of the section and even the huge water diversion bars/ditches were in good shape.

Pictures of the impressive stonework that supports the Howardsville Turnpike, once the primary, busy route between the Shenandoah Valley and the James River.

On the hike from the Humpback Rocks Parking lot down the BRP, there were some gorgeous flowers blooming .... a beautiful way to end a busy, tiring, but super productive day. The work would not have gotten done without David A. ..... he worked hard and the improvements to the Sec. 7 waterbars wouldn't not have "happened" without his efforts. Thanks, David!

~ Merlot

 

 

(Photos & video: Merlot)