Our project for the summer is rehabing a majorly eroded section of the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail in the Lewis Fork Wilderniss in the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area. The Virginia Highlands Horse Trail is a 68-mile trail between Elk Garden and VA Rt. 94. It features mountainous terrain, valley views and valley crossings, and is a popular summer destination for equestrians and hikers.
The section of trail we are repairing was built on an old road bed, and has a tread width that is difficult to maintain as only hand tools can be used in a Wilderness Area.
A blasting crew did some preliminary work to aid us in our objectives: get water off the trail, and harden the tread surface with rock crush to withstand the high impact of equestrian use.
