George Washington Jefferson National Forest - Mt. Rogers 2010

Rock Check Dams 3
Rock Water Bars 4
Rock Crush Created for Filling Tread 70cubic feet
Drainage Ditches 30ft

4th of July weekend marked the halfway point of our work season, and provided the crew and myself some time away from the trail. A personal highlight for me was watching fireworks alongside what seemed like the entire town of Marion in a Taco Bell parking lot.

Our first few days were noticeably sunny and warm in stark contrast to the constant heavy gray haze that perched itself on our worksite for what seemed like the entire summer. It was a welcome change that boosted moral as we labored to finish filling our second section of cribbing with crush. After the final touches were put on our second and final section of turnpike we moved up the trail and started building some new structures. Above our last section of turnpike the trail gets narrower and steeper, so we built an extensive fortification of heavy duty check dams and water bars.

Our last two days we were made exciting by a Forest Service blasting project which took place about a half mile up the trail from us. We stayed well clear of the hazard area but got to learn a little bit about what went into the round of blasting that was done before we came in to facilitate our work. On our pack out day we spent the morning clearing a path through about a ¼ mile of debris left on the trail. Although we were all tired and wanted to get out of the field, the change of pace was welcome, and we swiftly got the job done and headed home with a sense of accomplishment.

Rock Cribbing 25ft
Rock Water Bars 2
Rock Crush Created for Filling Tread 100cubic feet
Drainage ditches 50ft

Hitch 2 brought our crew back into the swing of things after a much needed break. We spent the entirety of the first two days making crush for the section of cribbing we completed on hitch 1. We had discovered that while we were gone the combination of rain and horses necessitated another layer of crush on the tread. We had originally built the tread with a layer of crush, then a layer of mineral soil, another layer of finer crush, and then a top layer of mineral soil, as per our forest service contacts recommendation. With the additional crush added to the surface we found it to be a much more durable surface that should be able to handle years of abuse from equestrian usage with little maintenance.

After we were through making the majority of the crush, we refocused our efforts on our second set of cribbing. Our most experienced rock setter was unfortunately on light duty for the entire hitch due to a back injury, but this created an opportunity for the rest of the crew to alternate through taking the lead on setting rocks. It was a bit slower going, but everyone on the crew has increased their rock setting skills. Teamwork improvements also showed in our ability to move unwieldy boulders for the wall that in our earlier days in the field would have been exceedingly difficult with all six of us.

On the last day of our hitch we got hit with an unusually strong afternoon thunderstorm and got to really see our work function. Within 20 minutes a formidable stream of water was flowing down the trail and off of it where we had installed drainage structures. The tread we hardened with crush stayed solid and easy to walk on and the areas protected by our drainage features became muddy from the shear volume of water coming straight down, but it drained the way we wanted it to and stayed perfectly usable, while the rest of the trail quickly turned into a swamp that entirely swallowed boots and, at best, left its victims with soaking wet muddy feet. Experiencing this down pour was a great moral boost for the crew, as we saw firsthand that our work was functional.

Rock Cribbing 55ft
Rock Water Bars 2
Rock Crush Created for Filling Tread 60 cubic feet
Drainage ditches 70ft

The first morning of our 10 day excursion into the land of rock work began with a 3 hour meeting with our Forest Service partners. The crew received a formal introduction to the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, and had the opportunity to meet the Area Ranger Beth Merz, as well as a few of the Forest Service volunteers working near us this season.

Around lunchtime we arrived at our trailhead and started packing in our gear to set up our camp. Our camp site was a beautiful spot located off the Appalachian Trail about 1/8th of a mile from the start of our project area, and about 2miles from the parking lot. It took 3 trips to pack in all of our tools, food, personal gear, and a 6.5ft long steel box. The box was lovingly nicknamed the box of pain, as it weighed at least 100lbs and only had two small handles. Luckily the box will remain at the campsite for the duration of the season. Camp was fully set up around 10pm, and we promptly went to sleep.

The next morning we hiked our tools down to our project site, had a stretch session, a safety meeting and then met up with Evan Blevins, one of our Forest Service contacts, and got started on the day. Evan showed us what needed to be done in the first section. The first section was about 50ft long, starting at where the blasting team had created the beginnings of a lead-out ditch in the high berm, and ending at an old check dam that was not functioning. We needed to first shovel out the 4 inch layer of muck and then raise the tread to get it out of the water course, and build a drainage to get the water clear of our trail.

We proceeded throughout the hitch to set 55ft of large rocks into the trail, and made lots of crush to backfill between the crib wall and the uphill slope of the trail, effectively elevating the trail 6 to 8 inches. We spent most mornings with 1 to 2 people setting rocks, while the other 4 located new ones and used the magic of rock bars to roll them over to the wall. In the afternoon the groups switched to making crush, re-vegetating the spots where we quarried rock from, and the other group charging away at setting rocks.

As the crib wall was completed the drainage structure was built. We first cleaned up the lead-out ditch, then worked up hill, digging an out sloped drain parallel to the tread to channel water down to the lead-out ditch without tearing up our new tread surface, or depositing muck on it. We finished these off with a rock water bar at both the top and bottom of our wall, to ensure the water flowed where we wanted it to. We still have to make more crush to finish raising the tread, but overall we got a lot done and worked together really well.

It is my continued education and recreation in the outdoors that has led me to an internship with the SCA. I hope that this opportunity to work and live outside for the summer will strengthen me physically and mentally. My environmental education began when I was a child and my family would take me on trips away from my hometown, Roanoke, VA; to nearby national forests and parks. These trips peaked my curiosity about my natural surroundings. After high school I chose to major in Forestry and moved to Clifton Forge,VA where I completed a two year Forestry Technology degree at Dabney S. Lancaster. In the fall I will transfer to Virginia Tech where I will complete my bachelors in Forestry. Some hobbies that I enjoy outdoors that the national forest has facilitated include mountain biking, backpacking, kayaking and swimming. I am fortunate to live near the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest and am glad to serve the forest that has served me so well.

As a psychology major and Environmental Science minor, the SCA seems to be a perfect fit for me. The combination of environmental stewardship, acquired trail knowledge and camaraderie create the perfect setting for summer’s worth of volunteer work. As a student of the State University of New York at Geneseo, I hope to make changes this summer not only for the greater good, but also for myself both physically and mentally. Previously, I have been very involved in dance, sailing, hiking and acting, and am very excited to add trail work to my list of favorite hobbies. I am also very excited to be able to see the end product of a summer’s worth of hard labor, that will hopefully benefit many to come!