Monday, August 10, 2009

Chestnut Oak ~ 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 chestnut oak 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 chestnut oak 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 chestnut oak bench from a winter fallen oak tree near by.

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

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