A month earlier, I cleared grassy growth north of Rockfish Gap so it was time to clip the small branches that grow into the trail corridor. James McAdams joined me. As we started, I noticed that numerous water run offs that Tony Alimenti and I cleared and improved in spring looked good, with little debris buildup, so perhaps we are getting close to self cleaning drains. Along the trail, there was less growth than I expected. We found since the last trip that a rotted tree fell across the trail. With gloved hands, we pulled away most of the tree in the trail section. We reached the spot where last month's clearing ended, and a large tree had fallen over the trail. Much of it had rotted away but because it was a large tree, there was still considerable hard wood, in a shell small enough for our saws. We rolled the cut section of the tree to the side of the trail to make a seat, and discourage people from using a detour around the tree. We walked a little further north, and as expected the trail was not overgrown. On our way out, we decided to cut another blowdown which our saws were just large enough to cut. After we cut it through, James was able to move the tree off the trail. By now, the forecast hot conditions had arrived so we were glad we had completed a successful day. We saw fewer people than on earlier trips on this section.
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| The first of two cuts of the shell of this tree |
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| James McAdams with the large hollow tree we cut |
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