On a cold January 17 hike, we had seen several trees down on the trail between Rockfish and McCormick Gaps, an observation confirmed by District Manager Mark Gatewood. We were hoping for a warmer day for today’s trail maintenance outing to remove said trees. The temperature was a little warmer than it had been in January, but wind howling through Rockfish Gap was very cold and cloudy skies blocked the sun’s warmth, plus water had refrozen on the trail to make this a sometimes slippery winter expedition.
I feared there wouldn’t be enough work to keep all of us busy, but by the end of the trip, I was glad we had the people. Joining the group on their first outing with us were Lillibet and Allan Coe—yes, they chose maintenance over before hiking for fun! We were joined at Rockfish Gap by Dave Borzich, a welcome addition to our now 10-strong workforce.
After I passed out tools for everyone to carry, I didn’t even have anything to tote except my pack. Following the climb at McCormick Gap, which is easier when not carrying tools, we cleared the first downed log before heading on to the Big One. Seeing the 16-inch log, a government worker made a dire prediction of darkness before this monster was dispatched. Undeterred, engineers Pete Fink and Dave Abdallah predicted that we could use levers to move the log after cutting it in one place, whereas I was less hopeful and started a second cut.
Jodi Frederikson wielded the saw with enthusiasm; she did so much sawing throughout the day that she anticipated paying for her effort tomorrow. After members of the A team completed their cut and found a couple of small tree trunks to use as levers, we did indeed roll the big log off the trail and declared lunch break.
Expecting fewer workers, I had brought only a small loaf of lemon poppyseed cake, but we managed to stretch it by sharing. Those who had brought hot drinks were glad to have them because the anticipated 50-degree temperature never arrived; no one wanted to linger very long over lunch.
The next two logs were not as large, but one did require two cuts to get a movable-sized section. When we arrived closer to Rockfish Gap, I pointed out some of the large trees that Don Davis and Andy Willgruber had cut a few years ago after a derecho had hit the area.
Besides one small and three large fallen trees, we also cut a few small trees that leaned into the trail. Three people carried loppers and pruners to remove the small branches that soon would have encroached on the trail.
We reached the end of the Chapter’s section of the trail about 2 p.m., just as the sun peeked out. Those of us waiting for the car shuttle enjoyed our first taste of warmth for the day while Dave B. took two drivers to get their vehicles from McCormick Gap so we could all head home after a productive day.
Others not mentioned who also helped today included Briana Taylor, Bev Maresca, and Marian Styles.
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| Briana Taylor takes a turn |
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| Alan Coe's first outing with us |
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| David Abdallah and Pete Fink |
I feared there wouldn’t be enough work to keep all of us busy, but by the end of the trip, I was glad we had the people. Joining the group on their first outing with us were Lillibet and Allan Coe—yes, they chose maintenance over before hiking for fun! We were joined at Rockfish Gap by Dave Borzich, a welcome addition to our now 10-strong workforce.After I passed out tools for everyone to carry, I didn’t even have anything to tote except my pack. Following the climb at McCormick Gap, which is easier when not carrying tools, we cleared the first downed log before heading on to the Big One. Seeing the 16-inch log, a government worker made a dire prediction of darkness before this monster was dispatched. Undeterred, engineers Pete Fink and Dave Abdallah predicted that we could use levers to move the log after cutting it in one place, whereas I was less hopeful and started a second cut. Jodi Frederikson wielded the saw with enthusiasm; she did so much sawing throughout the day that she anticipated paying for her effort tomorrow. After members of the A team completed their cut and found a couple of small tree trunks to use as levers, we did indeed roll the big log off the trail and declared lunch break. Expecting fewer workers, I had brought only a small loaf of lemon poppyseed cake, but we managed to stretch it by sharing. Those who had brought hot drinks were glad to have them because the anticipated 50-degree temperature never arrived; no one wanted to linger very long over lunch.
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| Marian Styles has a real pack |
Besides one small and three large fallen trees, we also cut a few small trees that leaned into the trail. Three people carried loppers and pruners to remove the small branches that soon would have encroached on the trail.
We reached the end of the Chapter’s section of the trail about 2 p.m., just as the sun peeked out. Those of us waiting for the car shuttle enjoyed our first taste of warmth for the day while Dave B. took two drivers to get their vehicles from McCormick Gap so we could all head home after a productive day.
