Hitch #3 -- Along the Banks of the Jackson River

Hitch 3: 6/28/10 - 7/7/10

Work Stats

Summary

After spending a relaxing off-hitch in Roanoke the crew was welcomed to hitch number three. The off-time came at a great time because the entire crew has been working very hard to complete each project. Most of the time was spent re-charging their energy either at the pool or in the hotel room. We also went on a short venture into downtown to see a car show. The highlight of the break came on the drive back to Hidden Valley when we had the opportunity to see iron furnaces dating back to the pre-Civil War era.

The new hitch began with several long term projects up for completion. The crew started with the continuation of the water diversion drainage trench on Muddy Run. The trench was approximately 2’ deep by 2’ wide and ran 30’ in length and took almost the entirety of the hitch to complete. Three rows of rocks were placed on the trail-side slope of the trench to keep it from eroding. The final stage of the trench project consisted of filling in dirt to the trail that had previously been trickling with water drainage. Although the construction of the trench was especially hard on the worker’s back, its completion came with great satisfaction for the crew.

Muddy Run required a variety of work separate from the drainage trench. Several different tread restoration sections were completed in places where the trail was uneven and overgrown. Plants that have been taking over the complete length of the trail were removed with a motorized brusher. Another task was removing dead tree limbs and muck that had blocked a section of a stream. This removal allowed for the water to flow in the direction it was supposed to rather than get backed up into areas that should be kept dry for erosion purposes.

On the sixth day of the hitch we finally checked Bogun Run (East) off of the list. It came to completion by finishing the final switch-back rock retaining wall. Much effort was also put into finishing the last restoration section at the top of the hill and cutting hinge for the rest of the trail that was not already finished. The following day we enjoyed a day off to celebrate Independence Day at the Homestead Resort. In the afternoon we watched the movie Avatar in the resort’s movie theatre and later viewed the resort’s great fireworks display preceded by a live Beatles impersonation band. The end of the hitch brought with it the exciting beginning of a new trail called Jackson River Gorge. A massive trail relocation project is already underway for the trail. We have begun by brushing out trees in the line of the new trail and digging out new tread, and additionally, have started a rock retaining wall that will provide adequate tread width at the beginning of the relocated section.