CMC Bi-Weekly Trail Maintenance News

06/22/05

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Looking Back....

 

Leader: John Soldati
Date: Wed, June 22
Purpose: Various
Location: AT-J. Meadows
People: 7

Summary:  We had an original small crew today but beefed up with very honorable visitors and trail greats: Carol and Ken Deal and Mr. Sherman Stambaugh (an original).  We had with us Bill Carr, Charlie, Jorge and the driver.
We asked too much of a small crew but got the work done pretty well.  Cleaned 101 water bars from Jones Meadow down to Log Cabin Road...string trimmed and steel bladed the top of the A.T. from J. Meadow around for three quarters of a mile; removed one dangerous fallen snag close to the junction of J. Meadow feeder trail (left all the fallen trees on the feeder trail to discourage pilgrims and ATV people).  Steel bladed up from L. Cabin Rd. about three quarters of a mile, taking out small trees, friars and weeds, especially up high and above the steps.  Little Laurel Shelter is in need of a new privy and privy sign.  There is no log book or pencil in the shelter as well.  The spring is doing OK...not the best...could use some work to make a "bowl" or something.  Trail needs some sidehilling just before and after Little Laurel Shelter...southbound.  A good day, met a Marine on the trail hiking to Maine with his son...so a very good day...We will miss our Wednesday Crew resident biker, Bill Carr as he makes his way and an adventure to Alaska for the next five to six weeks.  We wish him well, God's speed and care, and hope that he keeps the two wheels with the rubber side down!  Take care Bill.  We also miss Mr. Bair and hope that Bob and Don can return for next weeks adventure in the woods of North Carolina.  Good day guys and thanks.  JS
PS:  If anyone on the Wed. Crew wants to sweat a little, the Buccaneers are going out to Street Gap to do some "pride" work and prepare for a Wednesday's session with long logs "pre-cut" to put in on the first slope northbound.  There will be some string trimming as well...fun city.  Just REPLY...we are meeting at 8:30 AM Friday morning in WEAVERVILLE (NC).  J

 

Leader: Skip Shelton  
Date: Friday, June 17
Purpose: Bridge
Location: MST-Hwy 25
People: 7
Summary: Completed construction of the bridge and it looks great. This site needs blazing of the new trail and blocking off of the temporary trail relocation to complete this project. Perhaps a Monday crew could get this on a day when they have a small crew.Jack Fitzgerald led another part of the crew that finished up the repair of the MTS trail North of Balsam Gap. This trail is now completely open and in good shape except for needing some weed trimming.

 

Leader: John Soldati   
Date: Wednesday, June 15
Purpose: Side Hilling
Location: AT-Max Patch
People: 9
Summary:A big crew today with nine (9) real players.  We tackled the difficult section of A.T. between the two bridges of the Max Patch to Lemon Gap section, heading in at the orange blazes on M. Patch Rd.  We completed a lot of the work and could have use another hour or so to completely finished up but this stretch looks pretty good having a need of so much work.  In some places it is impossible to remove or cover the hemlock roots, short of a small relo.  We got a lot taken care of by covering with sidehilling and some good cribbing in more difficult places.  Beyond the second bridge is more of the same and we were only on this section for a few minutes hitting two small areas.  A good day with 126 yards of tread work completed and improved...plus some heavy lopping.  Good day guys and our thanks to Chris Poe and Jason Perkins for a good days work.  JS

 

Leader: Barth Brooker   
Date: Monday, June 13
Purpose: Downed Trees
Location: AT-Big Bald & Sam's Gap
People: 5
Summary:  We concentrated on downed trees. Item # 251 is complete plus Annalies did an excellent job of weed eating for about a mile of trail Item #393 is complete Item #248 should be removed from list. I called Howard yesterday to discuss access to Jerry's cabin and found out the trees mentioned in the item have been removed. Start of the trail from Sams Gap to Street Gap requires pride weed eating work

 

Leader: Neal Andrea   
Date: Friday, June 10
Purpose: Section Maintaining
Location: AT-Sams Gap to Rice Gap
People: 1
Summary: Since Bill had a very full house...I went to Sams Gap, the glass was picked up, and reset the AT sign at the base of Cemetery Hill.

 

Leader: Skip Shelton   
Date: Friday, June 10
Purpose: Bridge
Location: MST-Near Hwy25
People: 11
Summary: WeContinued work on new bridges on the MTS trail where it has been relocated because of construction at Biltmore Farms development. Completed small bridge and made good progress on the big bridge. Got the side stringers installed, set handrail posts, put on the 8 foot decking boards around these posts, installed the end stair stringers, and installed some of the decking boards. Another part of the crew completed the trail relocation by doing heavy lopping, and tread building on a ¼ mile section.

 

Leader: Bill Newton   
Date: Friday, June 10
Purpose: Blowdowns/Signs/Weedeating
Location: AMST-Buckhorn Gap tp Yellow Gap Road
People: 15
Summary:We ran 5 weedeaters, two chain saws, several loppers and tread tools. We removed annual growth and 5 blow downs, and cleared several water bars. We installed a sign at the intersection of Barnett Creek and Black Mountain to replace a broken one. We refreshed the blazes on the trail as far as we worked. We were caught by an earlier than anticipated shower and forced to curtail our efforts about noon, causing us to leave some work for next time. A section about a mile and a half was left undone. We will plan a return trip to clear this, but it is in acceptable condition as it is. All blow downs were cleared.

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Maintenance News....

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The CMC Asheville Friday Crew completes relocating trail and building a Bridge near Hwy 25

Those of you who hike the MST between Hwy 25 and I-26 have noticed a lot of damage to the trail. The Biltmore Farm Corp. is exercising their right to put a road on the Right of Way and it happened to be exactly on the same place as the MST. Therefore the BRP requested that the CMC Trail Crews assist them in re locating the MST on to the Parkway property. One quarter of a mile of new trail has been build and new 30 ft. bridge spanning 31 ft was constructed. All new blazing will now lead you through the woods. This kind of work is not unusual for the Carolina Mountain Club Trail Crews but what is unusual is that this bridge will be visible to thousands Asheville Blue Ridge Parkway drivers and tourists. This section of the MST is also the most traveled by foot traffic. This area of the MST is also expected to be used as an amenity by the new residents in the development being constructed by Biltmore Farms.  

 

 

South Wings offers to fly CMC Trail Workers for a Bird's Eye View!

Taylor Barnhill, Executive Director of South Wings, a nonprofit conservation organization, is offering to fly a CMC crew of 6 over the trails that the CMC maintains in appreciation for all of our work.

"Hi trail folks, In appreciation for the remarkable work that the trail crews do, SouthWings would like to offer a couple of flights to carry at least 6 people (two flights) up for a bird's eye view of the lands that you steward. If this is of interest to you, let me know. See our web site for info: www.southwings.org "

Please contact Don Walton, donwalton@bellsouth.net  if you are interested in going. The date and time is to be determined.

 

Forest Service guidelines for creating the new "Rolling grade Dips"

 

Check out these sites. They show in detail the construction of a "rolling grade dip" which is the way we propose to drain out trails where possible in the future. Done properly it will drain the water, hardly be noticeable, and be self cleaning, preventing the annual cleaning of water bars. Bill Newton

Diverting surface water off the trail should be near the top of your list of priorities. Running water erodes tread and support structures and can even lead to loss of the trail itself. Standing water often results in soft boggy tread or tread and support structure failure. Water is wonderful stuff--just keep it off the trail.

The very best drainage structures are those designed and installed during the original construction. These include outsloping the tread and grade dips. We've already discussed outsloping. Let's move on to the next best drainage choice, grade or drain dips. The classic mark of good drainage is that it is self maintaining, requiring minimal care.

                                   Click here for more information:  http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/fspubs/00232839/page07.htm                                             

Click here for more information:  http://www.imba.com/resources/trail_building/gradedips_2.html

 

 

 

Help celebrate Benton MacKaye Trail Grand Opening!


The Benton MacKaye Trail Association www.BMTA.org   hopes the Carolina Mountain Club will join them in celebrating the Trail Grand Opening on the weekend of July 16-17. Free camping will be provided, compliments of the Cheoah District, USFS, at Rattler Ford Group Campground near the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. The ribbon (vine) cutting will take place Saturday at 11:00 AM at Mud Gap on the Cherohala Skyway near the state line between Robbinsville, NC and Tellico Plains, TN. This will be followed by your choice of two Fun Hikes - to Whigg Meadow or Beech Gap. Saturday evening activities include a group Chili Supper (hiker-friendly donation) followed by a bonfire and entertainment. Additional hikes are planned for Sunday in the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest, Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness, to Hooper Bald, and Maple Springs Observation Point.This event is open to everyone! Come spend the day or the entire weekend. Reservations are not required, but an RSVP would be appreciated at BMT-GOCelebration@hotmail.com . Be a part of Benton MacKaye Trail History! Put this weekend on your calendar now.http://www.bmta.org/BMTGrandOpeningCelebrationWeekend.htm 

 

MST Coordinator wanted!

The  CMC position of Coordinator of the Section Maintainer System for the Mountains to the Sea Trail is open. This prestigious duty for the CMC includes supervising the 5 big sections of the MST (160 miles) which includes 100 volunteer section maintainers. The job is about 1/3rd recruiting of maintainers, 1/3rd communicating with all of the various federal and state agencies and 1/3rd management including recording and reporting all of the hours worked to various places. If interested, please contact Don Walton

 

 

Mountains-to-Sea Trails News

The Blue Ridge Parkway sections of the MST are now officially recognized as a National Recreation Trail (NRT). After a lengthy application process on behalf of the FMST Board we are glad to reach NRT status. We look forward to more sections of the MST reaching this status as well in the future. You can read the full press release at our website - www.ncmst.org . Jeff Brewer

 

 

Remote Appalachian Trail Sections Overwhelmed by Brush!

ASHEVILLE, N.C.—The Appalachian Trail Conference (ATC), which normally coordinates local club’s volunteer work on A.T. management and protection, has temporarily assumed maintenance for some of the most isolated areas of the A.T. because a shortage of volunteers is allowing brush to obscure remote sections of the trail.

As a result, the ATC is seeking new volunteers from the general public to fill out its newest crew, the Brush Buster Trail Crew. This ATC crew is an opportunity for volunteer hikers and outdoor enthusiasts to get out into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and clear the way for fellow hikers to safely enjoy the Appalachian Trail.

Starting June 20, a trail crew leader will guide volunteers through some of the most remote sections of the Appalachian Trail, cutting back brush and trees that have grown onto the trail. There will be five five-day sessions for four volunteers each. The crew will travel light and spend the nights along the A.T. in the Smokies. “This is a great chance to camp with new friends, give back to the trails, and look out on the world from higher ground,” said ATC Regional Director Morgan Sommerville.

The conference will provide all the necessary tools and equipment—and training in their use—as well as three meals a day, snacks, off-day housing for multiweek volunteers, and transportation to and from the case camp.

Volunteers can choose from the following Brush Buster Trail Crew dates: Week 1: June 20 – June 24 Week 2: June 27 – July 1st Week 3: July 4 – July 8 Week 4: July 11 – July 15 Week 5: July 18 – July 22nd

An application for admission to the crew is available on the conference’s Web site at http://www.appalachiantrial.org/volunteer/crews.html 

The Southern Regional Appalachian Trail Conference in Asheville has further information and can be contacted by telephone at (828) 254-3708 or via electronic mail at atc-gntro@appalachiantrail.org .