Trail Maintenance on the Appalachian Trail from Rip Rap Parking Lot - SNP - 9/4/22

 

Thank you to the twelve volunteers who came out to do trail work on their Labor Day holiday weekend. The task for the day was vegetation cutback on the Appalachian Trail from the Rip Rap parking lot in southern Shenandoah National Park.  The section was recently adopted by Linda Beights and Lisa Swales, so trail maintenance leader, Marit Anderson, had set up the event to help them out. The group met at 8:30 am for the briefing, tool and helmet hand-out, and walked 1.5 miles to begin the work.  Snack break with cookies was midway through the morning.  At noon we finished up and hiked back to the parking lot finishing up around 1 pm.  Much gratitude to the eager volunteers including Tad Hardee, Noelle Daly, Josh Heath, Kathy Thornton, Michael Seth, Brenda Stephens, Mike Hammer, Barbara Martin, and Erwina Maria Winiger (who found us on Meet Up and stopped by to assist us while on her South America/North America travel van tour😊).  Labor Day, which to many means the end of summer, is a holiday that really celebrates the social and economic achievements of American workers. This group did some good work on the AT today!

submitted by Marit Anderson

Torrey Ridge- Sherando Lake Loop Hike - Sunday, August 28, 2022

We made the most of summer winding down at the end of August by taking a 9+mile hike from Slacks Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway down to Sherando Lake for a swim and then back up. Leaders for the day were Barbara Martin and Marit Anderson with participants including Bill Westen, Rebecca Smith, Brenda Stephens, Karen Wilson, Mike Hammer, Mike Smith, and Mark Perschel.

Our route descended on the Slacks and Torrey Ridge Trails, around the body of water on the Lakeside Trail, then ascended back up the White Rock Gap Trail and back to the parking lot via the Slacks Trail.  We started early at 8 am which helped avoid the crowds at the state park and also took advantage of cooler temps. Lunch was enjoyed lakeside in the shade with chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Some folks swam, some waded in the water, and others just rested under the trees.  Three of the hikers had never been to Sherando Lake, so the walk up through the park gave them a chance to see the main lake,  campground, upper lake, and surroundings. We stopped to identify wildflowers, mushrooms, and fungus.  We saw other hikers, mountain bikers, but most interesting of all....a CAT hiking on a leash! The group made it back to their vehicles by 1:40 pm, satisfactorily tired by the miles and 1700 feet of elevation gain. 😎😍

Submitted by Marit Anderson, photos by Marit Anderson and Barbara Martin

 
 

Trail Love for Camp Holiday Trails - May 22, 2022

Charlottesville PATC members helped Camp Holiday Trails renovate some much used trails and also prepare the rest of the trail system for the upcoming camper season on Sunday, May 22. CHT is a year-round non-profit camp for children with medical needs aged 7-17 years old at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains just outside of Charlottesville.  PATC trail maintenance leaders Bill Holman, Mark Perschel, and Marit Anderson had been contacted by the camp director, Tina LaRoche, for assistance in trail maintenance and advice for future upgrade of the most traveled sections. Mark and Marit inspected the camp trails in early May and with Bill's help set a plan in place.  Bill scheduled the Meet Up and on May 22 the leaders were joined by the following volunteers: Angela Daniel, Loran Zumbrunn, Jodi Frederiksen, Dave Abdallah, Anna Castle, Marie Moss, Karen Wilson, John Shannon, and a CHT Property Committee member (Jody).

Two groups were created to tackle the tasks.  Marit led Karen, Marie, and Angela doing vegetation cutback, sawing, and blowdown removal on the entire trail system, except Lucy's Landing.  Mark and Bill coordinated the team that did grading and mulching on the much-traveled waterfront trail. Temperatures had soared into the 90's over the weekend, so the event schedule had been revised to meet from 9am-noon.  Fortunately all of the work was completed in the three hours.  By then all were hot and sweaty!

Cold beverages and chocolate chip cookies were the rewards for the hard work.  After refreshments Marit offered a camp tour for those that had been working on the waterfront.  Anna and Loren took her up on the offer and got to see all of the features of this amazing place. Tina, Bill, Mark, and Marit plan to organize a fall event to do more projects on the CHT trails. Hope many can join us!

submitted by Marit Anderson

Mutton Hollow Spring Cleaning – April 30, 2022

 Anyone who thinks that working on trails is no fun should have joined sixteen humans and Remi the hiking dog on the last day of April at Mutton Hollow. Charlottesville Chapter President Bill Holman arranged for the effort to keep the trails in this lovely area in good shape.

We divided into two groups, one led by Mark and the other by Jodi and Dave. The two groups met up for lunch later in the day. Trees blocking trails were not a problem today, so we focused on removing a couple of invasive plants: wineberries and garlic mustard.  Mark also demonstrated how to improve trail drainage by using a McLeod, a two-sided tool.

In addition to enjoying the company of other outdoor enthusiasts today, we were treated to spring wildflowers, including trillium, Jack-in-the-pulpit, Mayapple, and showy orchids. Dogwood trees were in bloom as well.

Afterwards, half the group extended the fun by stopping by Maybelle’s Market in Dyke for ice cream—a fine end to a fine day.

submitted by Marian Styles

 

Shenandoah National Park Service Day - April 23, 2022

April 23, 2022 was the "Show Your Love for Shenandoah" event and Charlottesville PATC had a group of nine volunteers to lend a hand on this service day for Shenandoah National Park. This was the inaugural year for the event and the hope is that it will become an annual celebration for SNP during National Park Week and National Volunteer Week. Over 130 volunteers were present from a wide variety of groups including Girl Scouts, JMU Give students, Southern Shenandoah Valley Chapter/PATC, Appalachian Conservation Corps, and Shenandoah National Park Trust board, just to name a few. The Charlottesville PATC team included Brenda and Paul Stephens, Megan Thomas, Doug Stiles, Anne Colgate, Jocelyn Prostko, Lisa Swales, and leaders Mark Perschel and Marit Anderson.

The event began at 9 am in the Skyland Conference Center with continental breakfast provided and t-shirts given to all, followed by welcome speeches by park personnel. The volunteers were directed to the leaders of their team where paper work was signed, safety precautions given, PPE and tools handed out. Each group had different assignments throughout the park with a variety of tasks including trash clean-up, invasive plant pull, ditch clean-up, trail maintenance, dismantling picnic tables, washing decks and weed pulling at Rapidan Camp, clearing Tanner's Ridge land, and maintenance at overlooks. The Charlottesville PATC group was assigned to clear water bars, as well as create new water bars and drainages along the Appalachian Trail from Byrd's Nest #3 to Leading Ridge Trail.  With McLeods and pick mattocks in hand, the nine volunteers hiked the two miles to Byrd's Nest #3 Shelter. Mark gave everyone a tutorial on how to correctly make water bars and drainages. The members were paired up and then got to work! From the shelter we backtracked on the AT putting in the water mitigation devices, which was much needed on this section. We stopped at 1 pm to eat our boxed lunches provided by the SNP event and then wrapped up our work at 2:30 pm, so we could hike the 2 miles back to Jewel Hollow Overlook where our cars were parked. Everyone was sufficiently tired from the manual labor (25 drainages completed) and the hiking, but pleased with the work we had accomplished. We all had showed our love for Shenandoah today for sure!

submitted by Marit Anderson  and photos by Mark Perschel and Marit Anderson