BIG DIG ~ ThunderHill ~ Blowing Rock ~ Watauga Task Force

Our second Big Dig was held October 3, 4 on ThunderHill and Don Hayes Road in Watauga County.
It was a blustery morning up here in these mountains. John, our Watauga Task Force Coordinator, was out early to greet all volunteers as they arrived.

John is always enthusiastic and welcoming to those who share an interest in the MST in Watauga. John has devoted countless hours, selfless leadership, and amazing organization skills behind the scenes to make this event come together.

Soon the Man of the Day, weekend, perhaps the century (well, 80 some years of it ;-) arrives. Allen deHart had tirelessly led us all in the building of this trail. His knowledge of the trail, his history with the Watauga section going back to 1998, and his charismatic leadership has gotten us to this point. We could not do what we do without him doing what he does for all of us. Much of this weekend Big Dig happened because of his good planning, experience, and dedication (shall we say devotion) to the MST.

Socializing, catching up with old friends, waiting for the day to begin.

Quite a crowd arrived and we had approximately 30 workers off an on during the Big Dig. And many other volunteers behind the scenes.

These fine students are Georgia Tech Trailblazers. They came up to these mountains on their fall break to do volunteer work on our trail. Can we get a hip hip hooray!

Planning the teams and inspiring the kids, Allen steps right in and seeks out the leaders in this group. Within hours he will have trained and motivated them with his skills as a teacher and leader. Thanks Allen!

Building a Bridge Before Lunch ~ a long post

Bruce gives an orientation ~ "OK here is the bridge, now, put it together"....
And then take it out of the trailer and haul it over there in the woods by that creek. ;-)

And we did just that, one piece at a time.

The longest boards are the 2X12 beams that will be bolted together to span the creek.

Here they are being bolted by the team.

The assembled beams must now be bolted to the rail posts.

Learning new tools and the way to work with them became important.

Each side is becoming quite heavy, consisting of double two by twelves and five four by fours.

I really like this photo!

Just some perfect form fitting positive/negative shape spooning going on here!

Once these are assembled, it will be time to work on the footers. A trench was dug and the footer, a six by six was set in the ground.

A vigorous workout ensued in driving re bar into anchor the footers.

Teresa and Martha held the first competition on opposite sides of the creek.

Now the guys go at it, Bruce is coaching Will as he squares off with Andrew.

And the winner does a little victory dance!

Once the beams are set on the footer the end cap is placed between them. Then an anchor post is attached to the end cap and footer.

Cross braces are attached at intervals across the span and between the beams.

Bruce was an excellent teacher and guided the project with enthusiasm. (Methinks he has done this before ;-)

Everyone uses

every tool....

Working together to hammer and bolt this bridge together.

Sometimes when are building a bridge you just have to get your feet wet.

I love this image of focused attention and cooperation.

In this image you can see the corner anchor post in the ground.

Now concrete is poured into the hole to anchor the anchor. Our bridge will not float away.

Time to place the treads on the beams. Each board is inspected and placed so that if it warps it will warp down not upward.

The treads are distributed.....

Spacing is checked by Bruce

And then it is "Hammer Time".... everyone finds a way to drive in their nails!

Side rails are attached 1/2 the height of the posts.

Then 2X6 hand rails are pulled into place and nailed on the top of the second rail.

The crew and their mighty might power tools.

And to test the strength and measure the effort all eight of us stand proud on our bridge.

To conclude, there can not be enough kind words to say about the planning, the organization, the material purchases, the pre-cutting of the pieces, or the leadership shown by Bruce in process of designing and constructing this bridge. Thanks from all of us in Watauga and the Friends of MST Bruce,

Good Job!

Lunch Break ~ Much Appreciated Food and Fellowship

Then only thing better than working in the shade of the forest all morning is coming out for a great lunch and basking in the sun on Thunder Hill.
Our volunteers put together fantastic meals for our student volunteers. Margaret and Dolly Rose fussed over everyone of them and made sure everyone was satisfied.

From her makeshift kitchen there flowed the horn of plenty for all of us.

We all enjoyed sitting on the edge of forever, "like birds on a wire" as Allen said. Basking in the sun and enjoying conversation and soaking in the view. What more could you want?

Perhaps a little banjo music? OH YEAH!

October 3 ~ Saturday Morning Effort

Look at the trail we are making! Cutting a foot tread up the hill and around this big oak tree!
For some of the volunteers this was the first time they had used the tools and made the effort to build a trail!

In the two pictures above you can see the running start they made this morning.

Following the ground flags the tread is being developed.

To create a curve like this precision and focused effort were required. Georgia Tech Trailblazers rose to the challenge!

Working together in small groups they moved along one section at a time.

Clipping roots with the loppers ~

Cutting and raking with the mattock ~

Volunteers and students working side by side.

Enjoying the light in the forest dappling upon the ground.

Making decisions and choices as they leveled the tread.

This tool is a McCloud rake and has a cutting side and a raking side. The flat side is being used to level here.

A chop and a root is removed from the trail tread.

Groups of four worked together as one team.

Or pairs of two would find a section to improve.

Sometimes solitaire efforts contributed to the whole.

Allen and Dolly were always present with a smile and encouragement.

Allen deftly points out the way with his double handled loppers! :-)

Our Second Bridge ~ 24 Foot Span

The second bridge we built was a 24 foot span across a creek on the north side of Don Hayes Road.
Having gained experience on the first bridge the second one went up in less than 4 hours!

An experienced crew jumped right in and put the pieces together.

In fact jumping right into the creek was necessary at this point!

Check out the t-shirt the Georgia Tech students wore while working on the MST. Georgia Trailblazers ~ Alternative Fall Break ~ Mountains to Sea Trail ~ Blowing Rock North Carolina~

Bridge designer and builder Bruce is the focus of concentration with his crew.

As they assist in the building of his design. Here they are cutting cross diagonal truss supports.

Andrew does the moon walk across a bridge without any planks!

As the planks are nailed in the completion nears.

Side rails are installed and all work to complete the second bridge in one day!

Seen from the north side approaching the bridge it is easy to see how if fits perfectly in place.

This close up shows the precision of the work and the placement in the trail.

The side view reveals the span of the creek and the length of the bridge.

Allen and Bruce critique the successes of the bridge construction! Wisdom and experience, skill and hard labor pay off for the future of the trail.

Yadkin Valley View Time

Sunday Break at Yadkin Valley Overlook, how big can a view be?

After working hard the second morning it was time for a break!

Lunch was perfect and time for snoozing was much appreciated by all.

You take you nap where ever the ground lays flat :-)

and the parking lot at Yadkin View was just perfect!

Sitting on the edge of forever looking out into the vast beyond

friends, memories, and good times to last a life time were experienced.

With an incredible view like this can inspiration be any more pronounced?

Then again, maybe there were other views that were necessary too!

Lunchtime on Sunday

Our hostess with the mostest Margaret was ready with lunch for the crew and volunteers.
Her kitchen was her hatchback and the cafeteria was open!

All of the kids said they ate better on the trail than they did at school or at home! Thanks to Margaret and all the volunteers who pulled together the meals.

Time out for happy shiney faces!

And one huge group photo of all of the workers still standing on Sunday.

After a yummy lunch it was back into the forest for the afternoon work.

Day Two, October 4 Afternoon Workers

Even as tired as the Georgia Tech students were by the second day
They continued to push forward to the goal of finishing out the section we were developing.

Pulaskis, McClouds, mattox and rakes kept busy all afternoon.

Decisions, evaluations, choices all have to be made to determine what is enough and when to move forward.

Volunteers Jim and Gloria guided the students and pushed forward along beside them.

The energy and effort was inspiring to the finish!

Rock Formation ~ Ultimate Roof

One of the unique features of this section is this massive rock formation.
In the photo above Sandy stands beneath the overhang to give you a sense of scale in relative size.

Thanks also to Sandy for the many photos she took of the Big Dig weekend.

Including these two of your friendly blog poster perched atop this feature.

Howdy all!

Ribbons and Flags

And what about those flags? How do they get there in such straight line?
Allen worked with different students as his flagging partner.

Here Lindsay and Allen move forward to the next flagging point.

Much discussion was held over where the flags should go (on the high side of the trail) and when they should indicate the need to cut the trail.

A good example of choosing a path between yet around trees is evident here.

In this curious shot you will notice one student on the ground "eyeing" Allen!

Actually, she is watching Allen place a flag in relationship to the previous one.

From this angle you can see she was helping him sight the line based on the close up flag in her face with a distant flag down the trail.

And when it is right it is all THUMBS UP!

BIG DIG 2009 ~ Georgia Tech Trailblazers~ You ROCK!

A Big Shout Out to the Trailblazers of Georgia Tech. You guys ROCK! Thanks for coming up to Watauga and helping us build the Mountains to Sea Trail.
We were all mightily impressed with your work, your work ethic, your attitude, your friendliness, and your volunteer service for the sake of others. THANKS!

More photos to come soon, building bridges, digging trail, best ever lunches and dinners, morning wake up, and scenic beauty from the Watauga Big Dig 2009.

Behind the scenes thanks! sent out to all the volunteers who stepped up: John, Allen, Bruce, Jim, Gerry, Margaret, Jim, Sue, Gloria, Dave, Marietta, Chris, Dolly, Sandy, and everyone else I have missed in this list. I was amazed at your organization and your support given to these fine youngsters.

Candid and action photos coming up soon! If you have pics to share please send them to Shelton at this address: esheltonwilder@yahoo.com

BIG DIG ~ OCTOBER 2, 3, 4 ~ BRP 290-290.2

The annual BIG DIG in Watauga County is this coming weekend, October 2, 3, and 4. Many volunteers from across the state and 15 students from Georgia Tech will convene at Thunder Hill Overlook. click here for more information

This is the overlook at BRP mile post 290.3. All volunteers will coordinate out of this parking lot to the work site on Thunder Hill.
Most people believe Thunder Hill is adjacent to and South of the overlook. But the peak at the convergence of the parkway in this photo is Thunder Hill, Nort West from the overlook.

From the parking lot we will walk about .1 of a mile to the private road on the left. At that point, our section to begin working is accessed. It is a busy section and the parking lot may be full. Bikers, hikers, joggers, motorcycles, and cars are often in this vicinity.

It is a small drive and could accommodate a couple of service vehicles, please do not park in the drive.

Yes, it is starting to morph into Autumn in these mountains.

Our trail entrance is cleverly hidden beneath this scrub. But we will have no trouble accessing the trail.

Most of the work area is sloped, somewhat steep, but not requiring of switchbacks. Mostly we will grub out hardwood saplings and level the foot tread in this stretch.

The ground is eye candy and the treats are increasing by the day.

Approximately .1 mile into our work section there is a beautiful set of boulders that would be perfect to set as the "lunch break point"!

Beyond that south is a rhododendron stretch we will work through.

Thanks to John and Chris for going through this week and chainsawing our clearing.

The Rhododendron pass opens into a birch, maple, and oak forest stretch.

Near the end of this stretch there is a habitat of closed gentian. This beautiful blossom never opens up. As shown in this photo it is in full bloom. Hence, "closed gentian". Only pollinated by specific bees that can crawl into the blossom with out it opening, this plant is an anomaly to the open petaled flower and has its own inter species habitat needs.

Stepping out .2 of a mile from the parking area this wonderful rock with huge trees growing on it is a landmark along the parkway and at a trail head for our section.

Walking South those .2 miles back to the overlook is a treat (seen at the distant point). On the west side is the cut rock of thunder hill, and on the left is the deep gorge below that feeds thunderous winds up through this pass.

On the day this photo was taken the mountain air temperature was around 60 degrees. The steady winds uplifting out of the piedmont valley below were much warmer. It was possible to stand and feel warm air flowing into your face and walking through this pass was like stepping into a heated space in an otherwise cool atmosphere.

The coloration on the rock face is a pleasant iron and gray symphony.

An arrangement of tones of warm and cool values, shapes and lines is easy to find on the cliff face.

Walking back the view west is remarkable. This section is not the highest point on our Watauga Section, but it is one of the biggest views anywhere on the parkway.

And this is the view looking East and South at Thunder Hill overlook. On a clear day you can see to Hickory, Morganton, and some say, to Charlotte. Hope to see you here soon!

Check the weather ahead by clicking on Rays Weather in the top right corner of this page. It can be warm and cold and windy and wet and hot and freezing all in the same day! :-)

A Walk Along the Wildflower Fence

This section of the Watauga MST is often missed. The entrance is precisely at the end post in this photo.
The next photo shows the same access point from the meadow side.

Yep, there I am pointing out the obvious ??? ;-)

When you look south along the fence line it is obvious what a beautiful wildflower fence this has become. I counted about a two dozen different varieties of plants in bloom on the day I was walking.

One of my favorites is Goldenrod, Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks’. We have about 6 different varieties in these mountains.

Many people scorn it as a plant that has pollen which sets off allergies. But, it is not one of the strongest allergens that bloom this time of year, so blame may be inappropriately placed upon this beautiful golden cascading blossom.

The fence line provides a butterfly habitat that is amazingly perfect. The variety of tall and late blooming flora attract hundreds of flutterbys every day. Here goldenrod and ironweed are hosting a swallowtail.

The ironweed (Vernonia altissima) is the prettiest of the purple hued blossoms. It is richly blue-violet with accents of red.

I caught this fellow hovering above the ironweed. Isn't this a phun photo? :-)

Joe Pye Bloom (Eupatorium maculatum), stands tallest of all the summer bloomers. I have seen 16 foot tall plants with blossoms the size of basketballs. It's common name is Joe Pye Weed. But I think any plant this glorious should not be called a weed. So I call it Joe Pye Bloom.

The butterflies love it and seem to work it constantly. I seldom see any blossom without a butterfly attached.

Or sometimes several!

This vine is one of our native clematis and has white blossoms early in summer. It is known as Virgin's-bower (Clematis virginiana). It fills in at ground level and up the fence posts.

You will notice the fascinating swirl of the blossom which creates a puff of complexity.

Even the thistle is a joy along this fence line. Attracting butterflies and blooming the prettiest of pinks.

Like the goldenrod, thistle is often disparaged for its thorns. But the blossom is a treasure and a contrast in beauty, like a rose with thorns, it only makes the blossom more desirable. And along this fence line is a perfect habitat and location for enjoying the beauty.

And of course there is the added gift of the thistle seeds as they take wing on the wind and delight us with a sense of flight. I have seen a breeze stir across this meadow and a trail of thistle blossoms weave across the trail.

Another vine that is a beauty and found along this fence line is morning glory. This pretty and simple pink and white blossom blooms but for the day. The vine refreshes itself every morning in glory.

From the south end looking north this length of trail is a beautiful sight. When groomed by the leasers and in full summer bloom this meadow is a wildflower delight.

I hope it is never weed-whacked or groomed all along the fence line. It is truly a wildflower and butterfly habitat.

I am reminded of my favorite notion about wildflowers as I ponder this stretch of noxious weeds, rambling vines, and thickets of flora.

Always remember,

"one man's weeds are another man's wildflowers!" :-)

~ ~WARNING ~ ~ SNAKE ~ ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~ Don't Look!

We were working on Section 5. There was a dirt mound adjacent to a very old tree fall. As we began to cut into the dirt mound (you can see our cut) we disturbed someone from their resting habitat beneath the mossy log.

What is Callie Looking At??
This serpentine beauty moved up to the highest point on the stump

to see what all of the chopping and raking was about on the ground.

He took up a perch and settled in to watch us work.

For all of our time spent digging and even chainsaw cutting the stump.

Notice the red dirt on his head, we rustled him out of the ground with our digging.He just set there watching.

What a beauty, blue or black? This shot shows where the real name for this black snake comes from. "Eastern Blue Racer" or

Coluber constrictor constrictor.

I was intrigued by the way she had looped into a coil and stepped up to photograph. You can see my boot in the top right corner of the photo.

I think this is an archetypal image. The masculine and feminine forms.

Adam and Eve in one.

Some thing to ponder in the beauty of NATURE.

~~Enjoy!~~

08-08-09 On the trail, sweet rest, and volunteer efforts

I was happy to have my favorite trail companion with me for this walk about. Callie is my daughters dog and is the best trail dog ever! A reminder, dogs on the parkway trails are permitted only if leashed and under command at all times. This photo was taken at the top of Section 2 on the north end, east side of the parkway. At the top is the perfect resting place, try to make it to there on the walk through, as Callie shows, its the place to rest your dogs.... (see below for where to rest your tired dogs (feet) ;-)
So me and my shadow, my doggie and me, began the ascent from the north to the south on Section two. Light and shadow will always catch my eye and on this day it was a real treat to watch.

No, my head is not really that big, it is the shadow of my brimmed trail hat while I was taking a photo!

I thought this was a precise and clean cut edge. It looks so simple, but there were many stones to be dug out of this stretch.

Some of which had been left in this switchback. Finally they were removed

and this nice tight step less turnaround was accomplished in the second switchback.

The trail progress through a really huge fern forest.

Making a gentle climbing curve through ferns that are knee deep.

And above and below trail for the entire hillside.

This is an example of one of the stones that had to be dug out of the trail. Only the top portion, just above the white strike mark in the center was sticking up out of the dirt. At first it had been left as a step up. But we decided it needed to come out and first tried to break it with a sledge hammer (making the strike marks). That did not work and eventually after digging clear, a long enough lever was found and used to move this massive boulder to the trail side.

Maneuvered into position below trail with a little effort (a fulcrum and lots of leverage) I was able to create a sitting stone!

To give you scale, here Callie sits upon the sitting stone on the edge of the fern forest.

Upon reaching the top you will step out into a pine forest. The open flat top is a relief to the hiker and an invitation to enjoy the quiet of the mountain top.

I think a pine forest is one of the most peaceful places. The straw on the ground seems to damper all sound so that the quiet is noticeable different. Here Callie sniffs out an animal scent. There are obvious deer trails and night beddings on this flat top. I have often watched their white tails bounding as I stepped into their domain up there.

This locust log bench seemed to fit in this space perfectly. I chose this spot based on first photo in this posting. Perhaps I should say Callie dog chose this spot! There were several possibilities. From the bench I wanted to be able to see out in all directions, to be close to the fern patch, and to be at trail side.

Callie walked with me around the top and settled down in this spot to dog rest.

So that is how I decided where to build the bench. Hope you agree with our choice when you find this sanctuary.

Our volunteers came in on Saturday and begun to finish up the last 100 yards. This descent has a nice serpentine curve.

Helping to complete this section were Barry, Gloria, Marietta, and our newest volunteer, Steve. Thanks for coming out and helping us finish up a beautiful section of our Watauga MST. We appreciate all our volunteers!

Wildcat Road August 6 2009

At the end of section three there is an old farm road in the forest. We follow that out and cross over Wildcat Road.
As you step out, you will see on the right Bill Stewart's fabulous wood pile.

Now that is a wood pile to take pride in!

After crossing Wildcat Road you will descend onto a private drive that has an easement right of way within the Parkway boundary. It well landscaped with hosta, perennials, and shrubbery by the homeowners. This unusual arrangement IS on Parkway property, so you are ok to cross and utilize the driveway for accessing the MST.

About 30 feet down the drive you will spot the trail head on your right. Callie dog saw it right away!

The first descent is a gentle "S" curve through a forest fern patch.

The cut edge on this trail is sharp and true!

As you descend there is a beautiful washout (oxymoron?) that is covered on all sides and above in forest ferns.
On the South end the ascent is delightful. A steady but short climb opens right into the parkway!
Before stepping out onto the road, look left then right!
This truly is a nice experience to come from underneath the shade and cover of the forest and step out into the light of an agrarian view on the parkway. Across the pasture there is an orchard, a barn, and distant blue blue blue ridge mountains. Simply one of those "OH WOW" moments.
As was this shot, one of my favorite of all times. I did not mean for these few posts to be dog shows, but I was hiking with my favorite trail companion and she always stays ahead of me. This shot was too perfect to not include. Like I said above, it is a nice experience stepping out of the shade of the forest into the light.

I think she gets it too. ;-) woof

Black Gum ~ July 29, 30 Section 3 BRP MP 278.5-279

Working with a contract crew on the 29th and 30th we completed section 3 creating a nice .7 mile ridge trail on the west side of the parkway.
It was a rainy day and we did not make as much progress the first day as we hoped to accomplish.

But making the extra push allowed us to catch up on the full cut all the way to Wildcat Road. There remains a few detailing touches to take care of, but the foot tread is in place the full length.

Raul is one of the youngest crew members and takes pride and pleasure in working on the MST.

One of the nice features on this section is a huge triple trunked black gum tree.

Seen behind a large laurel, this trunk rises 6o feet in three equal divisions. It really is a striking tree form.

If you have never noticed the bark of a gum tree it is quite remarkable. Very much like an alligator back, it has peaks and valleys with rows of deep fissures.

Very sculptural in form, they remind me of a prehistoric life form. It is hard to distinguish the depth in a photo.

So I use this car key to scale to indicate the size of these textural scales.

So, naturally I had a few minutes to construct a black gum bench from a winter fallen gum tree near by.>

At mid point along this section I hope some day as you pass you might sit upon the swayback of the gum tree bench, rest your bones, and gaze up and ponder this magnificent black gum. ENJOY!

July 25th Ashe County Big Dig Crew

These photos were sent to me by Sandy Sisson. She is a MST volunteer and went out of her way to bring ice cold pops to the trail team working on the Ashe stretch.
Someone else had brought a watermelon and it was time for the lunch break.
You'll see a number of Watauga volunteers and friends from across the state in these pictures.

Jim Halsey and Allen deHart organized the Ashe Big Dig.

It is especially exciting to me since they were working on and near the beginning of the Watauga section. Their terminus is our beginningimus! ;-)

This is Jim's report of the day I received the next week.

We had a great turnout for the Big Dig with almost a mile of trail constructed! We are nearing the southern end of our section and look forward to reaching that milestone. There still remains a few stretches of unfinished trail in the middle of our section which we will concentrate on once we have reached the US 421 terminus.

The shoes, the melon, the tired feet, dirty shirts, and workers smiles about says it all.

As does the photo speak to the state, MST hiking and biking across the state!

Thanks Sandy for sharing your photos (if anyone else ever has any related photos they would like to share send them to me).

Thanks to all our volunteers

who work tirelessly

(well, exhaustively)

on the MST!

Meet Our New Volunteers!

Young Ryan joined his famous Grandfather on the trail Saturday. This was the first time he had joined us and he had great guidance and encouragement from his Grandpa.

John and Ryan were a delight to see together and I can tell already he is going to be a pretty particular about doing it right when he works on the trail.
Of course with Allen and John as his mentors, he will know trail building as well as the best of us.
Thanks for your good work Ryan, you fixed that area up perfectly!

Melissa and Jack joined us for the first time Saturday too. They got up at sunrise in order to drive up from Charlotte to do volunteer service on the MST.

Jack and Melissa were eager to learn about the trail and be a part of the excitement. During our lunch break, Allen pulled out his MST maps to share. It is always fascinating to see maps that have notations from as far back as 1998 handwritten on the doggeared pages.

We were educated about the "Civil War Trenches" that were in the area we were working. At one time the trail actually neared them, now it is on the other side of the parkway. A short walk down to see what remains of the trenches was taken before heading back up to the trail to work.

In the afternoon Melissa and Jack helped with setting posts for the safety fencing we were installing. And why do we need safety fencing??? That light area behind them is the Blue Ridge Parkway, less than 12 feet away and 40 feet down the cliff!!!

That was the hard work, but their day begun with a task no one else would take!

Look at the photos below and try to figure out what they did.

Melissa commented it was sorta like looking for Easter eggs! ;-)

You can tell by the bounty they did a good job!

Little did they know that they were doing a task that indicates our progress. Finally, they were removing all tags, flags, surveys, and tapes from the 1.5 mile stretch starting at the 421 Bridge all the way to Osbourne Mountain Overlook! Thanks!

It is the involvement of new volunteers and inspired youngsters that will carry our trail forward for generations to come.

I think its time we have a "bring someone new" with you to work next week!

Thanks to all our volunteers, new and old, you are as valuable to MST as solid gold!

July 11 BRP MP 279

Four volunteers: Chris, Barry, Ted, and Shelton begun working on a new section along the Blue Ridge Parkway Milepost 279. This section is mostly a pine forest with lots of rhododendron.
In the photo above you can see the difficulty we encounter trying to cut our trail through the rhodies. Here Chris cuts out a root ball so Ted and Barry can work the grade.

Shelton strikes a blow with the axe at a stubborn root to be removed from the foot tread.

In the heat of the day working requires frequent water breaks, times to chat, to catch up on the week, and plan the work ahead.

Moments of quiet to calm the spirit,

focus the mind, and rest for the attack again.

Work is done for now and Chris is shown hauling out the tools of the day. Above is the first of 5 switch backs in this section of trail. Our work on this switchback alone was a major accomplishment. Dirt was cut from above the trail and brought down below to set the grade and reduce the incline. Walking out on a newly created section of a trail is a reward unto itself.

But oh what a sweet experience it is to walk out on trail knowing it was not there before your efforts, but will be there,~~~~
forever more!

Thanks always to our volunteers who make the effort to make the way for the hikers of tomorrow.