Chapter members celebrated the 75th anniversary of SNP in different ways. Lindsay Brown and Marian Styles staffed a PATC booth at the rededication ceremony for a couple of hours. Meanwhile others were trying to preserve SNP as we have known it.
Andy Willgruber and Don Davis revisited Little Calf Mountain to maintain the historic bald. They cleared the access road (the major clearing was done with the help of numerous chapter members starting in 2003), including removing a fallen tree, where Don used his new chain saw certification. They then mowed the open area at the summit, and noted stakes which may be for the new route for the Appalachian Trail, whose new route has been approved. Either clearing the road or mowing the summit can be nearly a day’s work, so this was a lot to do. Then they fulfilled a request to mow the first part of AT from Beagle Gap towards Bear Den Mountain (the tractor seat hill).
Michael Seth and I continued cutting back summer growth on the Chapter’s section of AT. My first work trip on this section was about 24 years ago so I thought that showing up was historic. We started at Rockfish Gap so we could clear growth we left the previous month. My newly sharpened swing blades cut through the ground level growth. After a short section, there was little grass growth, so I pulled out loppers to cut the usual small branches and bushes that would become obstacles, especially if wet. We stopped to remove some bittersweet, mostly in patches I had seen before. It keeps growing, but when I thought of what I had seen the previous weekend, I knew we have reduced the amount but not eradicated it. As usual, the many rocks along the trail hinder clearing with a swingblade or weedeater. Perhaps tungsten carbide blades would help. It was a long day but not strenuous.
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