George Washington Jefferson National Forest - Laurel Fork 2010

Pictures of our crew

It's been an amazing summer. I have been surprised to find an accepting and loving community of people who have appreciated our work in a remote part of their area and welcomed us into their homes and lives. Living out of a tent has become second nature and camp had begun to feel like home. It will be difficult to re-acclimate to the absence of most of the night-time skyscape and the presence of mechanical sounds, electricity, and all the things I would have previously deemed comforts of modern life. I will miss Laurel Fork and the good times that it has hosted.

Making trails accessible which were largely inaccessible previously, we have opened the Laurel Fork to a lot of visitors who may have otherwise had difficulty navigating the trails. All the people we have encountered throughout the summer have been appreciative and praising of the work we set out to do and have done. I am extremely proud of the work our crew has accomplished in the short summer months.

While at first I may have worried that committing to living with 4 other people in the woods for 4.5 months could be more than I could take, I found myself surrounded by, in some ways, like-minded people, while at the same time being introduced to a variety of backgrounds and life experiences which have broadened my views on parts of the country that I had little knowledge of. Since arriving in Staunton, VA in May and spending the following months all around Virginia I've met a lot of people that I will not forget and who I hope to stay in touch with and it is going to be sad to see it end.

What a successful summer! I've gained a deeper appreciation for the hiking trails I once sauntered down without a thought. I will never take them for granted again. I know that all the blood, sweat and more sweat we poured into the Laurel Fork area will result in improved recreational experiences for the lucky hikers, bikers and fishermen who stumble on this remote mountain. I want to thank SCA for this opportunity for my live is truly improved. I've gained four friends, a lifetime of memories and a deeper respect for the land.
As we repair tents, clean tools and package our cooking utensils, I dread the end to a magical season in the woods. I do not know exactly where life's journies will take me, but I will never forget this area, and never look at trails the same way.

We all had another productive couple of weeks on the trail, having completed 2 miles of corridor which required essentially tunneling through a mile or more of 10 year old rhododendron in addition to a 50' rock wall (with the help of alex olson) that now serves as a beautiful reroute to an entirely blownout section of trail. To watch marlene take down the only tree that stood in the way of our wall visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMVBvl9q38s&feature=youtube_gdata.

Following a string of raids on our mashed potatoes, beef jerkey, and Neosporin we were introduced to an excellent alternative to inhumane mouse removal methods. "The Chief" revealed "The Wheel of Misfortune," which is easy to build and incredibly effective. To construct you will need a can, 2-3' of fishing line, and one of those useless orange buckets with which we were all supplied. You simply poke a hole in your empty can through the middle of the top and bottom, lace through a piece of fishing line, tie both ends to opposite sides of the bucket's handle, and voila! you have the wheel hanging atop the bucket. Now you simply coat the wheel in the sticky food stuff of your choice and wait. If you're lucky enough you may catch a surely hilarious encounter between mouse and "Wheel of Misfortune" and watch the mouse slide awkwardly off of the unstable but enticing wheel of goodness and into the bottom of the bucket. For humane mouse disposal, simply carry bucket across stream and release into a new home away from your food and dishes.

Thanks to a lucky encounter with Tom Brody on the trails and a little help from our local, Todd "Maggard" Frye, we were invited to stay in 2 cabins at "Bear Mountain" free of charge for a weekend of R&R. We had a great time listening to Mr. Brody on guitar, J "Jenkins" B on Mandolin, Todd playing slide guitar, "The Chief" on coin and bottle(?), and a few others jamming late into the evening attop the Mountain. While we were socked in with fog all weekend, just as we were leaving it began to clear and we could see the beautiful view from the top that we had been told so much about.

A late, but important, Take-5 for Safety note: When starting a campfire with unleaded gasoline (and probably leaded gasoline as well) use a long stick to light, as a little gasoline goes a long way. Cletus will tell you that this is especially important while trying to maintain steady beard growth, as hair is also incredibly flammable. He may well have burnt a week off his beard which is now in an impressive fifth month of growth.

7/13/10 thru 7/16/10
Due to a rainy forecast, we postponed our move to the backcountry and concentrated our efforts on the nearby Buck run spur trail. We cleared 5280' of corridor, constructed 13 rolling dips, and installed one locust water bar. The mile long Buck run spur is now complete and allows visitors of Locust Springs Picnic area to enjoy a 2 mile loop trail.
During the week we also installed two Recovery Act Signs. One was placed at Locust Springs campground and the other at the beginning of Middle Mountain forest road. On the way to Middle Mountain, we drove into the Laurel Fork area from the East and saw some of the Blue Grass Valley. Three of the crew had not seen this area and thought that it was gorgeous.
Unfortunately we are back to a 5 member crew,...again. However this has not kept us from continuing to take care of business. The original group is still intact.

7/20/10 thru 7/23/10
We finally have a home in the backcountry. Though we moved in nearly continuous heavy rain, we were still very happy to be setting up camp by the river. Our campsite is right on Laurel Fork with our Kitchen and family area overlooking our swimming/fishing hole (which has a rock water slide,...in higher water) We are enjoying easy access to water, whether that be water to drink or taking an evening dip after work. Life is good. We put in a lovely latrine in the Rhodo juggle. Thanks to Ben for hiking in the toilet seat!
Original plans to go North to Cold Springs Run were scrapped due to rising waters preventing us from fording the stream. So we headed South and cut our way to Christians run. The Rhododendron had grown completely shut in some sections of trail making it difficult to crawl through. Now it is opened up so much that someone could drive a truck down it. Cutting this section of Laurel Fork trail is an engineering feat topped only by the contruction of the Panama Canal and Hoover dam. Next week we will probably press on in the same direction and start on Christian Run trail.
We saw two Rattlesnakes near the mouth of Christian Run. So that is 3 Rattlers to date and many other small non-threatening snakes.

Here at Laurel Fork we have continued to push throught he heat of the summer and continue to turn out quality work. We have now completed work on 3 trails in our area. We are preparing to head into the back country next week.

On Buck Run we have cleared 16,896' of corridor, restored 1,320' of tread, dug 24 rolling dips, and put in 3 rock steps and 4 log steps.

Locust Spring Run Trail is now complete having cleared 18,480' of corridor, restoring 2,200' of tread, putting in 7 rock steps, 7 rolling dips, a 50' cobble stone walkway, a 30' rock retaining wall, and a 3'x4' rock retaining wall which provided an interesting opportunity for teamwork... Having moved a rock into place 8-10' above a culvert, next to which we were constructing a wall to prevent blowouts, Jenkins "let the rock be a rock," and rolled it down hoping for the best... Well, far from the best, the rock rolled down the hill took a left turn directly down the culvert, or tunnel, and lodged 1/2 way down. It ended up taking 3 of us to move the rock out of this seriously sub-optimal position. As Willy crawled in head first, Sweetness pushed on Willy's feet while Maggard got his shovel underneath the rock and helped to drag and push the rock out. The finished project is beautiful and the rock will serve a far better purpose in it's final resting place at the bottom of our wall.

On Locust Spring Spur trail we have completed 6,336' of corridor clearing and a 600' trail reroute through what had become a jungle of small trees and shrubs, you can see some pictures of that work in space below.

Our new member Christina wanted to put in a few words, reflecting on her experiences so far:

Hello everyone. I just wanted to talk about some of the cool things that have happened so far. I am the only member that was called in late so this will be my thrid week of work starting tuesday. My leader and crewmates are awesome. The weekend before starting work a couple of us went to Seneca Caverns which were beautiful. After that we took a trip to Spruce Knob which, at 4863', is the highest point in West Virginia. I have been surprised how friendly the people we have met are, we even had dinner with a father and son that we met at the Spruce Knob observation deck. I can't wait to see what else Virginia and West Virginia has to offer. -Christina

The GWF 3 Laurel Fork trail crew was eager to hit the ground running after the 10 day training and cleared 1.25 miles of corridor on the first day! We kept spirits high and cleared about one mile of corridor on the Buck Run trail the second day and made 23 water drainages to round out the first week. We completed the 2.92 miles of Buck Run and are nearing the end of our work on the 3 mile Locust Springs Trail. Our overall goals include clearing, brushing and enlarging the corridor for 23 miles of trails in the Laurel Fork trail system, which will also include building rock retaining walls, stairs at stream crossings and appropriate signage at predermined locations.

Justin "Jenkins" Brimer
from Birmingham, Ala.
Favorite Tool is the Rock Bar

-"Impressed at the pace the we're moving"
-"Amazed at how great I feel after an 8-hour work day and hauling the chainsaw three miles"
-Enjoying the evening jam sessions around the campfire

Todd "Maggard" Frye
from Monterey, Va.
Favorite tool is the Pole Saw "even though it keeps breaking on me"

-Expert on rocks
-Only member from the area, and lives about 45 minutes from project site (huge asset!)
-"The work is hard but rewarding'
-Looks forward to work on rock retainging walls, even though there is a lack of raw material