Find Your Spot

Little Raven's Roost Overlook on Sec. 10.
Years ago, I was the Section Maintainer for this section which was "my spot" on the RtoR AT.  I have a new 'my spot' to maintain, but Sec. 10 and this overlook remains one of my favorite places on any trail.   ~ Merlot

 "It's funny how when you spend time in a place... When you love a place... It starts feeling like it belongs to you. You feel responsible for it. You take ownership of it." 

Writer in the Wild: Find Your Spot

I posted a link to this blog 'Writer in the Wild' and his post on "Find Your Spot" on the Rockfish to Reeds Facebook Page earlier this week. Since many folks are not on FB, I felt compelled to post this to the R to R blog as well. The words quoted above and the thoughts he posted have stayed on my mind for days now because they sum up so beautifully what happens when you are an AT Section Maintainer. You learn your section, you know your section ... rocks, trees, wildlife, 'personality' (yes, each section has its own personality), and unless you have a heart of stone, you become very, very fond of it. Actually, I have fallen in love with the sections I've maintained and even though I don't maintain Section 10 any more, I really miss working on it and any time I can be on it is like 'coming home'.

Here's a question for you ....... would you like to "find your spot?"

We are currently looking for Section Maintainers for several sections on the R to R section of AT (including Sec. 10 & Little Raven's Roost).  Yes, there are specific responsibilities and work involved, but the rewards and satisfactions are many.  The 'open' sections are listed below and if you are interested in Section Maintaining, contact the Trail Maintenance Supervisor:

Sec. 06 - 1.4 miles (northern AT intersection with Howardsville Turnpike
                to Bear Spring) (needs maintainer(s))

Sec. 10 - 2.0 miles (from Dripping Rock on the BRP to Cripple Creek)

                 (needs maintainer(s))

Sec. 11 - 2.3 miles (from Three Ridges Overlook on the BRP to Cripple Creek)

                 (needs maintainer(s))

To see any pictures of these Sections, go to this link and click on the Section Number:

Trail Sections, Mileage, Features & Landmarks

To contact the Trail Maintenance Supervisor:

odatc.trailmaint@gmail.com

Another view from Little Raven's Roost.

If you have found your spot, either while maintaining or hiking, let us know ... either in the comments below or on the RtoR FB Page comments for the 'Find Your Spot' post (see tabs for 'RtoR on Facebook' link).

(Thanks to Dave W. for these beautiful photos of Little Raven's Roost)

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Walking The 'Bear Buffet' Trail

Photo Source

 

It was one of those days when there is just no place else you'd rather be than on the AT, doing trail maintenance. This day was going to be spent 'cruising' the 4.3 miles on the west side of the BRP and since it would be an "out-and-back" trip, total mileage was going to be 9.6 miles .... an ambitious day, especially if I ran into situations that needed a cleanup. These two sections do not have much in the way of elevation change, but they are probably the two rockiest sections we maintain so the footing can slow you down, especially if the rocks are the least little bit damp. The trip was before weed season, so the intent was primarily to check for blowdowns, do a little 'snipping and clipping' where necessary, and just make sure the trail was in overall good shape for hiking.

 

After making it fairly quickly to Cedar Cliffs (from Dripping Rock) and briefly enjoying the view, it was on into the woods, heading south.  Maybe ten minutes later, there was a nice large rock lying in the middle of the trail.  It was big enough that it took two hands and a bit of 'heave-ho' to pick it up and toss it off the trail. Sometimes, natural rocks work loose and roll into the trail and this section had a fairly steep slope above the trail; however, I didn't think this was a 'natural' rock. When you are constructing trail, loose rocks that are dug up should be discarded off the downhill side rather than put on the uphill side because all too often, over the years, they end up working their way down into the trail. This was probably one of those rocks inadvertently discarded on the uphill side so the problem was quickly remedied by tossing it downhill and on I went.

 

Rock number two .... and not too far down the trail from the first one ..... tossed it off the trail. Not that far again, rock number three, then four.  Hmmm, starting to get a funny feeling about this - too many rocks for the 'discarded uphill' problem. The rocks were not that small either and once I started paying attention to exactly where they might have originated, it became obvious that they were being deliberately pulled out of the bank, causing them to roll into the trail. More rocks in the trail ..... who in the heck was doing this? I was really starting to get a bit hot under the collar that some hiker(s) was so bored that they would go along pulling rocks out of the bank. The rock cleanup effort, especially when it appeared to be a deliberate 'trashing', was more than annoying!

 

Then I got to a spot where the largest rock yet had been dislodged and I could clearly see claw marks scratching where the rock had been and the pieces of the puzzle started falling into place.  Within five minutes, I knew exactly who the culprit was when I came across a pile of fresh bear scat.  A bear was walking down the AT and looking for insects, grubs, and small rodents under the rocks along the trail. Bears are incredibly strong and these rocks were no problem at all for him/her to pull out of the bank. I eventually got to a rock that was so large, that I could not move it. It was in a really bad spot as well ... an area where you had to pick your way through rocks and it had come to rest in exactly the only flat place to step. Other large rocks were around it so getting this 'bear rock' over those rocks and off the trail was not going to be easy. Despite several "heave-ho" efforts, including trying to use a nearby length of log (which broke) as a rock bar, the rock had to be left in the trail. It took an iron rock bar on a subsequent trip to get it moved and then, just barely.

 

This particular bear had made the west side AT his 'bear buffet' line as he strolled along, looking under any rock that struck his fancy (or maybe passed a 'smell test') for food.  In addition to insects, grubs, and rodents, bears will dig up and eat 'ground bee' nests which, considering some of the painful encounters we have had with angry bees, I think is a great idea ..... so eat more ground bees, bears! Since this experience years ago, I have come across other rocks in the trail that were obviously dislodged by bears, but I have never had a stretch of trail so thoroughly "rocked" by a bear as this one. The rocks in the trail finally stopped, but not before I had to expend a lot of extra effort to get the trail cleaned up. Once the 'buffet line' ended, I was able to make good time and did indeed get the whole 9.6 miles covered, but I have never forgotten all the 'rock work' that hungry bear left for me on the AT!

 

For more info on black bears, here are some good links:

 

This is a website with some fabulous pictures, information and a blog about the black bears in Shenandoah National Park, our trail neighbor to the north:

 

Shenandoah Views - Black Bears

 

 

Here are two Department of Game & Inland Fisheries links for some concise information about black bears in Virginia:

 

Black Bear (Ursus americanus) Facts

Interesting Information about Black Bears in Virginia (PDF)

 

 

Note:  Will you see bears while out doing maintaining work? Maybe, maybe not. While other maintainers have had bear sightings on R to R, in almost two decades of maintaining, I have personally seen only one bear on a work/maintaining trip and that was this past October.  All of my bear sightings, at least a half dozen or more (including a cute cub about the size of a cocker spaniel), have been in the SNP. 

 ~ Merlot

 

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SECTION 11

2.3 Miles

Cripple Creek (double creek with cribbed wall) to BRP at Three Ridges Overlook

 

Long cribbed wall - A Konnarock project when they were helping the club rehab this section. The wall cribbed up a section of trail that was steeply sloped and crushed rocks were used as fill to level out the tread. It was an impressive project when they were building it and it still is. One end of the fill section is problematic ..... there is a tree with roots, deeply embedded rocks, etc. which makes for tricky footing and engineering a fix is on the list of future projects.

Trail tread with cribbing off the left side. You can see the problematic tree at the top of the photo. (Photo: Dave W.)

Looking the other way down the tread and the height of the cribbing - quite a project!

(Photos: Dave W.)

Koolaid & K Steps - These are a fairly long stretch of steps up a steep slope. The primary builder was Kool-Aid,  a Vietnam Vet who was on a Konnarock crew (the 'K' part of the name)  rehabbing this section of AT.  He got his name in Vietnam because his wife would send him packages of Kool-Aid to make the water easier to drink after they treated it with iodine. The steps took a week to put in and were a lot of hard work and there were a lot of happy smiles when the project was finally completed.

Old jumbled steps (descriptive rather than a formal name) - The second set of steps on this section. At one time, they were nice steps, but they get a lot of water flow and it has caused the rocks to loosen up, fall out, and otherwise become unruly. Hikers tend to make their way up the big rocks that edge the 'steps' rather than walk through the jumble. The steps are slated for a major rehab (which will probably have to be 'replacement') in the future.

Rockslide Area - There are several rockslide areas similar to this one in this section. In this photo the AT is hard to spot without the blaze on the large rock in the middle. ~Paul G.

(Photo: Paul G.)

Turtle Rock - Almost 2 miles north from the Three Ridges Overlook, the AT squeezes through the tree on the left and this rock which I affectionately call Turtle Rock. ~Paul G.

(Photo: Paul G.)

 

Trailside cliff faces - This section has some nice cliff faces along the trail in at least two places. In the spring, when there is ice/snow melt and runoff or a lot of rain, the water shoots off these cliffs in small waterfalls and is quite a sight to see. Along the base of the cliffs is a good place to find Trilliums blooming in the spring.

Just past Turtle Rock the AT, seen here on the left, comes to within 15 feet of the base of an impressively large rock wall. (Photo & description: Paul G.)

 

 

Here is a fuller picture of the rock wall which parallels the AT for a bit. I estimate the wall is about 50 feet high. (Photo & description: Paul G.)

 

 

Cripple Creek - This section ends at Cripple Creek, 2.3 miles north of the Three Ridges Overlook. What is notable is that this creek usually has a very strong flow. This picture is a portion of Cripple Creek, the only portion that had even a sliver of water, taken after a very dry month. ~Paul G.

 

 

(Photo: Paul G.)