Removing Invasive Plants at Wildrock Nature Play and Discovery Center- July 18, 2021

 

Nine folks gathered at Wildrock Nature Play and Discovery Center on Blackwells Hollow Road in Crozet, VA to remove invasive plants along the trails and main hillside on Sunday, July 18 from 9am - 2pm. Marit Anderson was the PATC leader for the event and Kyle Crawford, land steward for Wildrock and Ladybird Farm/CSA, managed the specific work activities.  Volunteers included Joan & David Gilrain, Anna Castle, Dianne Anderson, Tony Alimenti, Cheri Acker, and Jeanne Siler.

The morning began with a tour of the Barn Center education building and then a walk along the Discovery Loop Trail.  At this point the group broke up into two teams. Marit, Jeanne, Tony, Cheri, Dianne, and Anna used loppers and pruners to cut down honeysuckle, greenbrier, and bittersweet vines along the Discovery Loop Trail.  Kyle, David, and Joan used handsaws to cut down invasive paulownia and mimosa trees on the hillside overlooking the Barn Center. The tree cutters even had a copperhead visitor, but fortunately it slithered off!

At 12:15 all stopped for lunch at the pavilion, with double chocolate chip cookies for a tasty dessert.  Some folks left after lunch and others resumed cutting invasives until 2 pm. All seemed to enjoy the exercise, beautiful outdoor setting, and a chance to help out Kyle and make the grounds and trails more inviting for the children, students, and families that enjoy Wildrock.

As stated on the website, "Wildrock is a nonprofit dedicated to promoting Nature Play for Health and Happiness. Founded through the dedicated work of hundreds of volunteers on donated land, Wildrock is a special place in nature for family bonding, creative play, and quiet reflection. Wildrock creates joyful experiences that counteract the stresses of daily life and inspire a healing relationship with the natural world.  Our primary partners are local schools, nonprofits, and universities.  Our primary goal in all our work is to promote play equity for community mental health."

submitted by Marit Anderson                                                                                                               

 

PATC's Virginia Appalachian Trail Series: Cove Mountain near Peaks of Otter

 A group of 5 human and 1 canine hikers braved the July heat to work on additional Virginia AT miles on Saturday, July 10, 2021.  This hike required a shuttle, and was planned to hike northbound so that a majority of the miles were oriented downhill - starting on the Blue Ridge Parkway and ending at Jennings Creek, near Buchanan, Virginia.  

The hikers included Angela Daniel, Nancy Handley, Anna Castle, and Susanna Williams, along with hike leader Jeff Monroe and his hiking companion Gracie.  Each of the women hikers expressed a desire to complete all Virginia AT miles, which is the point of this series of hikes.  Future hikes in this series will be planned, with priority going to those folks seeking to complete the 550+ miles of the AT in Virginia.

One of the highlights of this hike was the wild blueberries that were ripe along the way.  The only two other hikers we encountered were on the trail to pick blueberries.  We only sampled, to leave more for the wildlife!

Hike Details:

Distance: 9.7 miles

Time Required: 5 hours, including 4 hours moving

Ascent: 1451 feet  Descent: 2582 feet

AT Hike to Bald Knob and Cole Mountain, May 1, 2021

 A group of six PATC members hiked from the Long Mountain Wayside on U.S. 60 north on the Appalachian Trail over Bald Knob to the summit of Cole Mountain.  Although five of the hikers had experienced the Cole Mountain summit before, one hiker, newcomer Aileen had never before experienced the incredible views.  The group's veteran hikers included Karen and John Ballen, Nancy Hanley, Margaret Helber, Gracie the Canine Hiking Machine (over 3200 lifetime trail miles), and hike leader Jeff Monroe.

The group hiked uphill with a troop from Richmond, training for Philmont, along with a couple of speedy thru-hikers.  Although the summit of Cole Mountain provided for a breezy and somewhat chilly lunch spot, the rest of the hike featured perfect weather.

After summiting Cole Mountain, the group retraced their steps on the Appalachian Trail to Cow Camp Gap, where they headed west on a blue blazed trail not found on many maps.  They took this trail to an intersection with an old woods road, which they followed south to Forest Road 520, which took the group back to the Long Mountain Wayside.

Total distance: 10.5 miles

Total Ascent: 3069 feet

Total hike time: 6:07 (moving time: 4:44)

A great time was had by all!  Photos below courtesy of Margaret.  

Water Bar Restoration at Browns Gap - SNP - Sunday, April 18, 2021

 

Seven volunteers came out to do water bar restoration on the Appalachian Trail at Browns Gap in Shenandoah National Park on Sunday, April 18.  Marit Anderson and Mark Perschel headed up the project in coordination with trail overseer, Jill Byrd, although she was not able to attend the work day due to other commitments.  Ranger Leah Cawthorn from the Appalachian Conservation Corps joined the group for the day and other volunteers included Joe Simard, Anna Castle, Margaret Helber, and Jeanne Siler. The team met up 9 am, discussed tool safety, divided into pairs, and collected McLeods, pick mattocks, and loppers. All participants had received their Covid vaccinations, so that was a plus. Mark guided the group up the trail to review water bar reconstruction.  Then the teams got to work!  Twenty water bars were restored throughout the day, as well as rocks realigned on the old CCC walls along the trail. Lunch was enjoyed at noon near the Browns Gap Fire Road with chocolate chip cookies and Dove chocolates for dessert. The volunteers continued the trail maintenance until 2 pm, then cleaned tools and helmets. It was labor intensive work, but all were pleased with the results as we accomplished the goal of restoring 20 water bars, as well as mitigating some other drainage areas.  Ranger Leah handed out stainless steel Shenandoah National Park Volunteer cups and we all exchanged good-byes.  We had been out on a beautiful day, giving back to the trails we love.  Many day hikers and thru hikers walked by and thanked us and that made our efforts even sweeter. 

submitted by Marit Anderson

Women's Trail Maintenance Day- AT from Loft Mt - SNP -April 17, 2021

 

Charlottesville PATC and Wild East Women (affinity group for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy) held a women's trail maintenance work day on Saturday, April 17 on the Appalachian Trail from Loft Mountain in Shenandoah National Park. The focus of the day was to help Lisa and Molly Swales, mother/daughter trail overseers, on the southern section of their trail.  Marit Anderson was the leader for the project and Ranger Leah Cawthorn from the Appalachian Conservancy Corps assisted the group for the day. Participants included Jeanne Ralston, Dianne Anderson, Meghan Cloud, Nancy Handley, Linda Beights, and Lisa & Molly.  We met at 9 am on this cool Saturday morning at Loft Mountain Wayside, had a safety talk, discussed Covid protocol, geared up with loppers and a few McLeods, and hiked up to the AT and then another mile to the section needing vegetation cut-back and some water bar maintenance.  The group broke up into two teams when we got to the waterfall area and proceeded to work two hours until lunch. Everyone got a chance to clear a water bar, learning the correct way to bring the washed out material back onto the trail on the backside of the waterbar.  We had a lovely lunch along Ivy Creek and the waterfall.  After lunch we continued cutting back vegetation and then leisurely hiked back to the parking lot, stopping to admire the many wildflowers including corydalis, cutleaf toothwort, bellflower, star chickweed, bloodroot and more. Back at the parking lot we cleaned and returned tools, helmets, and other borrowed gear. Ranger Leah gave everyone a token stainless steel SNP Volunteer cup for their service. Quite nice!😊 Thank you to all the ladies for volunteering in the Shenandoah National Park....it was a great day to spend on the first day of National Parks Week!

Cloud with a McLeod!

submitted by Marit Anderson