Final Project Poster [1]
Here is a poster the crew made that highlights two of the projects they completed on the last few hitches. It gives a visually pleasing and informative look at what these crews do on a day-to-day basis.
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Work Totals [5]
Rock Steps- 28
Wood Steps- 48
Water Bars- 33
Rolling Dips Repaired- 99
Rolling Dips Built- 67
Tread Maintained- 468 feet
Turnpike Built- 85 feet
Corridor Cleared- 14 miles
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Hitch 9 [7]
Our second hitch on the Chattooga brought an exciting and productive close to the season. Having finished clearing the trail and repairing the drainage on our last hitch, we spent our last hitch tackling some more interesting projects. Our first was a set of timber steps in a short but steep section of trail near a popular swimming hole. We built the steps out of a black locust tree that had fallen about ¾ of a mile down the trail, and salvaged some leftover 10x10 sections of pressure treated lumber. The whole crew worked as a team shaping the logs, setting the steps and securing them in place with re-bar. After the steps were complete we re-benched a 15ft section of trail that was slipping down the hill and had been overrun with rhododendron roots.
Our major project for the hitch was replacing the decking boards on a 50ft steel bridge that spanned a tributary creek about 2miles in from the trail head. Hiking in the freshly pressure treated timbers proved to be somewhat challenging, but the crews experience from the vertically daunting flanks of Mt Mitchell left them well prepared. Additional help from Richie, our new member and Rob, who volunteered with us for three days, allowed us to tackle the hike with relative ease. After the boards and hardware were all brought to the bridge, we started removing the old boards, re-drilling the angle irons to accept the new bolts we were given, laying down new boards, spacing the boards, drilling new bolt holes in the boards, and finally bolting everything all back together. Replacing the deck was a fun change of pace from our normal work, and we were proud to have a good looking finished product. Our last few days were spent removing a downed tree that needed a combination of Griphoist and chainsaw work, and finally cleaning and sharpening our equipment and packing up camp for the last time. Now it’s time to get ready for the next adventure, whatever it may be.
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Marion Wing [15]
Hi everybody! My name is Marion and I’m a member of the Pisgah Trail Crew. I graduated from UNC-Asheville this past December with a degree in environmental studies, and have been looking for an opportunity to put my knowledge to use. My decision to join the SCA Trail Corps came from a number of reasons. Ever since graduating, my goal has been to work in a position that would allow me to develop my knowledge and skills and contribute to environmental sustainability. I felt that I could find all of this with the SCA, and was excited when I was offered the Trail Corps position. I also love the outdoors – I do lots of hiking around Western North Carolina and really enjoy backpacking. I can’t wait to get to know the surrounding community, work with my trail team, and help make this beautiful region accessible for future generations. I have spent a lot of time in Pisgah National Forest, so I’m really excited to be in a place that I know and love.
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Justin Ramsey [19]
Hi, my names J. Im 22 years old and live outside Asheville NC. I finished one year of school and have plans to go back when im ready. I love to travel as much as possible and hike to places untouched. I like doing hobbies like mountain biking, snowboarding and soccer.
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Project Leader Bio [22]
Originally from Los Angeles California I have had a lifelong love for the outdoors and throughout college developed my skills as an outdoor leader. I graduated in 2009 from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a degree in Recreation, Parks and Tourism Administration with a concentration in Outdoor Recreation. During my time there I spent four years working as a trip leader for the universities outdoor program where I lead numerous trips including backpacking, rock climbing, ice climbing, mountaineering and canyoneering. Also, I worked as a ropes course facilitator and maintenance tech for the Cal Poly ropes course. Over the past year and a half I worked for a nascent event company as the volunteer coordinator and, among other tasks, recruited, organized, and directed volunteers. In my free time I enjoy road biking, mountain biking, wrenching on bicycles, rock climbing, and slacklining,. I just recently finished leading the 12 week Mt. Rogers Crew, and am excited to finish up my season with the Pisgah Crew.
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Ashley Resh [25]
My name is Ashley, I just finished school and was looking for and opportunity where I could combine my desire to backpack all summer with a need to find a job, so what could be better than here? I am originally from Jamestown, NC and Pisgah Forest is one of my favorite places in the world. I am both extremely excited and lucky to be working here and serving an outstanding community of outdoorsy folks and interesting locals.
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Richie Moore [29]
I'm Richard Moore every one calls me Richie. Im from Rockingham North Carolina, I'm 20 years old and I leave for the Air Force in October. I joined the SCA to do a short term job until I leave.
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Hitch 8 [32]
Brushing 4miles
Rolling Dips repaired 99
Rolling Dips built 10
Our first hitch on the Chattooga river was fantastic. After spending most of the summer on the rugged slopes of Mt. Mitchell, the mellow grade and opportunities for after work swims were a welcome change.
We spent the first 6 days of our 9 day hitch doing corridor work and drainage repair. We split into two teams; Three of us cruised the trail with loppers and hand saws opening up the corridor, while the other two would leapfrog between filled in rolling dips repairing them, and adding a few new ones as needed. The brushing crew stayed mostly ahead of the drainage crew until the end of the week when they hit long tunnels of rhododendron. The final 3 days we spent with our power tools, the chainsaw and the brusher, and made a final pass through the trail clearing everything the hand tools missed. We cleared several areas where trees had fallen across the trail, and even found a tangle of locust and pine trees that had fallen since our hitch started (The pile was on top of a freshly maintained rolling dip that we had worked on two days prior).
Next hitch we are looking forward to tackling some projects including a set of wood steps, some grip hoist work to remove some hazard trees, and possibly replacing the wood decking on two iron bridges. Even more exciting is our new addition, Richie Moore, who will be joining us for our next and final hitch of the season.
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Hitch 7c [40]
Brushing and corridor work 2 miles
Though scenically breathtaking the vertical nature of the Black Mountain Crest Trail makes trail work difficult and highly demanding. The daily hike to work from camp takes nearly 2 hours, and goes up a formidable incline. In spite of the terrain and frequently rainy weather the crew showed they were no strangers to a stout hike and by the end of the week we finished the remainder of the brushing work from the Bowlens Creek trail head to Winter Star peak. The Crest trail could use months of work to repair the severely neglected tread, but we left satisfied knowing we had at least rescued the trail from the nearly impassable blockade of blackberry, rhododendron and other thriving, trail devouring, flora. Hopefully the trail will see a rise in use that will create the impetus for further repairs in the future.
Next hitch we head south to the Chattooga river trail, where new projects and adventures await.
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Hitch 7a: And now for Something Completely Different... [45]
Trail Brushed: Approx 2.5 miles
Program Manager Alex Olsen filled in as Project Leader for this hitch, and due to some various circumstances, was joined by a reduced crew of Ashley Resh, “J” Ramsey, and Josh Franklin. Next week Program Coordinator Shane Sheldon will fill in, and member Marion Wing will return, and the next week after that things will go back to a more regular pace with replacement leader Toji Sakamoto (formally of the Mt. Rogers Crew) will fill in for the rest of the season.
We started this week on Tuesday, August 3. Waking at dawn, we had a quick breakfast and drove to the Black Mountain Crest trailhead. The crew pointed a potential camp out to me on the map, and, after a 2.5 mile, 2000 vertical-foot gain hike in (phew!) we did indeed find a pleasant camp site on an old narrow-gauge grade: near water , with space for several tents, and off the trail enough to satisfy LNT requirements.
We then gathered up the tools we needed and began our push to brush out the section of trail from the base of the Black Crest trail up to Winter Star Mountain (about 6.5 miles). Though the original plan was to brush up to the tool cache left up on Winter Star peak (about 4 miles from the camp), it soon became obvious the severity of the brushing required would take at least the 4 10-hour days we had, if not more. Sure enough, we ended up just completing about 2.5-3 miles of brushing, from just below our camp up to about a mile short of the point brushed by Winter Star. We shouldn’t (and didn’t ) hang our heads about this- the brush on the top of the ridge was often shoulder to head high, and completely obliterating the trail. I estimate about 3 more days will be needed to clear out the remaining section.
We encountered just about every sort of weather- from scorching hot sun to torrential downpours, though we did get some absolutely superb views from the top of the Black Crest Trail, and the camp we lived in, seated as it was next to a babbling brook and nestled among some beautiful big trees, was rated by the members as “the best one yet.”
Many thanks to J, Ashley, and Josh for hanging in there and introducing me to this gorgeous section of North Carolina.
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Hitch 6 "Don't Stop 'Till You Get Enough" [49]
Progress Report:
Program Name: Pisgah Corps Black Crest Trail Hitch 6
MDA Code: 10_NCAROL1_UFS
Max ID: 10116
Project Leader: Jonathan Kravitz
Dates: 7/26-7/29/10
Corridor Brushing 750 feet
Crushed Rock 20 feet
Hitch 6 was a tough one for the Pisgah Crew. Monday afternoon we all met up at 2 pm to prepare for our approach of the Black Mountain Crest Trail from Bolen’s Creek. The first challenge we met was trying to drive up a steeply graded dirt/rocky road in route to our campsite. The off road excursion proved to be a bigger challenge than we had expected- we had to move boulders and crush rock to prepare the road for proper drivability, which took approximately three hours. We were all very happy when Justin finally made the push to get the truck over what had been a deeply gullied rock outcropping that we filled in with lots of rock and crush. Once the truck made it over this we thought we were in the clear. Next challenge was getting the vehicle up another steeply graded and wet gravel section. We had the unfortunate experience of crunching our tailpipe in the process which meant we needed to stop our forward progress in the vehicle. We huffed it on foot and made camp at a beautiful location between two streams about 20 minutes from where we parked the truck. On Tuesday morning we awoke and headed to our tool cache approximately 5 miles away. The hike took us about 4 hours over steep grade with a 3,000 ft rise in elevation. Once at the tool cache (close to Winter Star Mountain) we immediately began brushing the trail as we had only a few hours to work before needing to turn around and go back to our distant base camp. Jon continued brushing after the members began their journey back and upon his return was notified that two members, Justin and Marion, had left the Pisgah Crew. This unfortunate event left us as a crew of 4 and on Wednesday morning we became a crew of 3 as we lost Patrick too… This experience had left us feeling uneasy at first but we have decided to push on and continue working as planned. On Wednesday Jon got the tailpipe of the truck saw-zawed while Ashley and Josh hiked up to the tool cache to clean and sharpen tools. We met up on the trail and, exhausted from another five mile hike home from work, decided to relocate the next day to a closer camp site. The Black Mountain Crest Trail is beastly and working on it has been a humbling experience. The remaining members are Josh and Ashley. They continue to show perseverance and will power in spite of these unfortunate circumstances. We will continue on the Trail next week and are anticipating less hiking as we have moved our base camp closer to our tool cache.
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About the site [58]
Welcome To The Pisgah National Forest SCA Trail Corps!
The Pisgah National Forest SCA members will begin the trailwork season in the Appalachian Ranger District, rehabilitating 5.5 miles along the Mount Mitchell Trail in Burnsville, North Carolina. We will continue working on the Black Mountain Crest trail and eventually travel south to the NC/SC border area for a few miles of restoration along the the Chatooga River. We are very excited to be part of a monumental effort to restore our open spaces. It is an honor to be working in such a beautiful place. If you get a chance come on out and pay us a visit- we will most likely be the very dirty people with tools in our hands and smiles on our faces, if you can't make it out anytime soon check the website often for updates!Biggest Mountain
in the East... [60]
The Black Mountain Range, with 18 peaks rising 6300' above sea level, is the highest east of the Rockies! Mt. Mitchell, the tallest peak, was named after Dr. Elisha Mitchel a UNC-Chapel Hill professor who died exploring a waterfall on the western slope of the mountain.Most Rugged Trail
in the East... [61]
"The Black Mountains of North Carolina are enormous. They are the highest mountain range in the eastern United States of America. They're so high that exploring the peaks is, ecologically speaking, like walking through a boreal forest in southern Canada. One is in a completely different world on the tops of these mountains, and it's an amazing experience."-James Smith [62]
Site Location
View Larger Map [63]
National Forests in North Carolina
Contact Info [64]
3-D
View Larger Map [65]
Calendar
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Hitch 5- "Keep on keepin on" [70]
Progress Report:
Program Name: Pisgah Corps Mt. Mitchell Hitch 5
MDA Code: 10_NCAROL1_UFS
Max ID: 10116
Project Leader: Jonathan Kravitz
Dates: 7/11-7/18/10
Blow Downs Annihilated 5
Rock Steps Installed 1
Rock Water Bars 1
Water bars with Drainage Dips 16
Rolling Dips 7
Corridor restoration 6145’
Our fifth hitch was commemorated by our fearless leader’s fearless leader’s return. The hitch was also marked with frequent thunderstorms, an exciting trip to 12 Bones (Asheville's best BBQ joint), where we also participated in President Obama's America’s Great Outdoor Initiative, a joyful re-unification with the Nantahala crew, and a few tearful heart to hearts. We started the week off working from Deep Gap towards Winter Star brushing through fields of blackberry bushes and sawing down any tree with even the potential to impede the corridor. Thursday we hiked down at 6 am to drive to Asheville to participate in the Outdoors Initiative and picked up Alex who would be working with us the next few days. We set him up in the nicest alcove of sheltered grass available and fed him heartily with pop-tarts and instant breakfasts. The last few days of the hitch were marked by frequent thunderstorms and everyone was very excited to head home at the end of the hitch to recreate and enjoy our week long break.
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Hitch 4- "Out of the Blue and Into the Blacks" [87]
Progress Report:
Program Name: Pisgah Corps Mt. Mitchell Hitch 4
MDA Code: 10_NCAROL1_UFS
Max ID: 10116
Project Leader: Jonathan Kravitz
Dates: 7/05-7/09/10
Turnpikes Installed 1
Rock Steps Installed 1
Check Steps Installed 6
Water bars with Drainage Dips 11
Rolling Dips 12
Revegetation and corridor restoration 4200’
Log Retaining Wall 14’
Trail Debermed 168’
Corduroy Installed 14.5’
Another backcountry hitch has gone by for the Pisgah crew. We got a new member who proved his worth on the first day during our excruciating climb to Deep Gap and subsequently through his insatiable taste for shooting wild animals, cutting down trees, and doing perfect headstands. In our three actual working days we covered an astonishing amount of ground that after intense brushing proved to be the trail. On our second night of the hitch we were met with group after group of hikers making Deep Gap their home for the night; the collection consisted of a dozen 12 year olds all of whom trekked up from the Mt Mitchell trail we called home on the first two hitches, 3 awesome older ladies who were more bad*ss than Jon (Jon says this is not completely true), 9 high school kids on a group trip from Montreat College (who proved that bedtimes get earlier with older age), and a couple with a dog who liked to eat camp towels. Our other new edition to the group this week is a lovely gas powered weed wacker which the forest service suggested we purchase, it cuts through blackberries like a Tasmanian devil and the hum of its motors echoed in our brains throughout the night much like the lullaby of falling rain. All in all we had a great hitch and proved to ourselves once again that we actually can do this.
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Most Rugged Trail In the East [99]
"The Black Mountains of North Carolina are enormous. They are the highest mountain range in the eastern United States of America. They're so high that exploring the peaks is, ecologically speaking, like walking through a boreal forest in southern Canada. One is in a completely different world on the tops of these mountains, and it's an amazing experience."
-James Smith [62]
The Pisgah Crew is working ferociously on maintaining a trail that may not have seen a pick, shovel, or mattock since its creation. We are pleased to be on top of one of the most rugged trails in the east, at least that's how this 12 mile trail has been described. Below is a link detailing the Black Mountain Crest Trail along with natural history regarding the South Toe River, too. The only update is that this 1995 description includes Deep Gap Shelter which is no longer around! Come out for a workday and see for this for yourself.
Black Mountain Crest!! [100] This is a link to the Black Mountain Crest Trail.
Read this review on Backpacker.com [101] This is a link to what one man has to say about the trail..
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Member Training [109]
Member training was a week all about learning the hard and soft skills necessary to hit the trail this summer. We participated in lots of "modules" and enjoyed the Augusta Hot Shot Base in Virginia. We participated in several workshops inlcuding tread and drainage, sustainable trail design, and got experience working with wood and rock in a few different projects. We became acquainted with eachother, the expectations of the USFS, as well as what SCA is all about. Lots of fun and games were intermixed with learning. A memory that will last forever: the Pisgah crew watched "Alone in the Wilderness", a must see for any outdoor enthusiast, projected against a trailer outside during a movie night-perhaps one of the best drive-in-like movie scenes ever witnessed. Members received Wilderness First Aid Certification and made a bunch of new friends. All 8 teams representing the WESTERN! trail corps (all though we are working in the east) slept outside in approximately 40 blue tents, it was awesome. More importantly we were able to bond with everyone who will be working trails this summer. We built a huge energy ball this week which has since dispersed as every crew made their way to their project sites and new communities...
Here are a few pics from our time together.
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Josh Franklin [121]
My name is Joshua Franklin. Everyone calls me Josh. I am 19 years old and I joined the SCA after I graduated high school in 2009. I spent 8 months in the Ocala National Forest in Florida as a OHV Trails Maintenance Intern. The pictures I have attached are of me at the Ocklawaha River in Florida.
I have learned a lot about conservation since joining the SCA. I enjoy using my time and talents to help preserve our National Forests for generations to come.
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HItch 3... As Rugged as it Gets! [126]
Progress Report:
Program Name: Pisgah Corps Mt. Mitchell Hitch 3
MDA Code: 10_NCAROL1_UFS
Max ID: 10116
Project Leader: Jonathan Kravitz
Dates: 6/28-7/02/10
Turnpikes Installed 1. 25’x3’
Rock Steps Installed 2
Water bars with Drainage Dips 3
Rolling Dips 26
Revegetation and corridor restoration 750 feet
The mental preparation for this hitch began at birth, like most sagas of epic proportions. The journey into the backcountry began on the right foot, albeit a tardy foot. As two tons of fury, the Pisgah crew reared its mighty head to charge into Deep Gap only to be met with super thunderstorms of x-men proportions forcing us to cache our bear vaults and set up camp halfway up the mountain. Come morning, our departure was harkened by singing bluebirds and prancing black bears. Some high points of this hitch were the views from the Black Mountain Crest trail, an encounter with the sweetest couple you will ever meet ( throw it up for Paula, Greg, and Baxter from Brevard), and completing serious brushing and maintenance on a whopping 750’ of trail. Our fears about the proximity of water to our camp site were quelled by our own brute strength as we collectively hauled 150 lbs of water up a ridiculous ½ mile section of trail. During the morning of our second day we were met by Fred Lashley who just so happens to be the “Mightiest Woman in the East!” She greeted us with delicious sweets and a full 5-gallon jug of water that she brought in kindly. She also worked closely with Jay on a beautiful section of turnpike sharing her wealth of knowledge with him as they worked. We pulaskied a plenty, hand sawed even more, and finished the hitch out with a toe blistering 15hr day so we could go home a wee bit early for the fourth of July.
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Hitch 2 [137]
Progress Report:
Program Name: Pisgah Corps Mt. Mitchell Hitch 2
MDA Code: 10_NCAROL1_UFS
Max ID: 10116
Project Leader: Jonathan Kravitz
Dates: 6/15-6/24/10
Turnpikes Installed
(Jacob’s Ladder)
16’x5’
Bog Bridge
14’x3’
Wood Retention
1. 11.5’
2. 6.5’
Rock Steps Installed 10
Wood steps installed 14
Trail Restored: 524’
Water bars with Drainage Dips 7
Rolling Dips 6
Revegetation and corridor restoration 3 miles
Hitch #2 for the Pisgah crew accomplished a lot but still not enough to satiate our appetite for perfection. We managed to do some serious trail restoration projects on about 600` of tread. The larger projects included building a Jacob’s ladder, a pretty sweet bog bridge, and an extremely cool rock bridge built with a lot of charisma and an excruciatingly long grip-hoist session. Smaller projects included sections of nifty check-steps throughout the mile of trail, lots of drainage dips, water bars, and absurd amounts of rock crush. Sadly we lost our strongest (and suavest) member this hitch due to unforeseen circumstances. Towards the end of the hitch a few overly dedicated team members committed themselves to brushing and extreme corridor clean up through heavy black bear country and severe thunderstorms. Other obstacles faced this hitch included an extreme 4WD trek in the truck over an equestrian trail to aid our tool hike out, three mangled fingers (J got his hand shut in the door, an event he only acknowledged with a solemn “ouch, please open the door…please”), ants in our food cache, and bouts of raging hormones from all members. Next hitch we move into the backcountry of Northern Pisgah to start work on the Black Mountain Crest Trail, and event anxiously awaited by all.
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