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! :-)