The trails we walk on

July 2^nd. White Oak Canyon-Cedar Run.

The hike on the White Oak Canyon-Cedar Run loop was for enjoyment, but without trails, or good trails, it would be impossible or unpleasant. It was interesting noting some changes on the trails. White Oak Canyon is the second most heavily used trail in the park, which means major erosion in spots. Reversing or controlling it will be a major project.

On White Oak Canyon, near the lower falls, a small colony of ailanthus, an invasive junk tree, seems established. Possibly controllable now by someone authorized to apply herbicide, but those people have many projects to tend to. On the fire road, there were a number of water run offs, about 4 feet wide. I wondered if a trail dozer had made them but perhaps it was a Bobcat or similar, with wheels instead of tracks. My fantasy is a trail dozer which would make some trail work much faster, but only a full time business could think of buying one. Cedar Run trail has recent, major treadwork to reverse past erosion and slow future erosion, namely a number of log steps, and some major drain digging. Further down, a scary sight of bittersweet growing in random spots. It might be possible to slow the spread of this tree killer, although the steep slopes make any trail work difficult in this spot.

July 16. Appalachian Trail, McCormick Gap

After tread work on the AT north of Turk Gap with the Flying McLeods, on the way out I stopped at McCormick Gap to tidy up a couple of things. A few weeks earlier, water diversions seemed to need cleaning, but on this day, with the tool and time to clean them, they did not seem to need much cleaning, which I did anyway. The good news is that this steep section of trail does not have an erosion problem. Then on to a patch of bittersweet a little further on where last year I thought I had almost eradicated this invasive plant. The spring growth showed I was still some way from that goal, so I continued to cut and pull bittersweet. The good news is that there is much less than there was a few years ago, and no trees are in imminent danger, and the area has not been taken over by other invasive plants yet.

John Shannon