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TRAIL MAINTENANCE 2009 by John Quinlan _____________________________________________________________________________________________
"Thursday, 17 Dec 09: Wow what a day! This trail day was a special one; in many ways. It began as a special project on High Shoals Trail in conjunction with the Blue Ridge Ranger District (Personified by David Kuykendall who joined us with his temporary Ranger Al)). We met at the Bread of Life restaurant in Young Harris (old Maryann's) and the turnout for this day was simply phenomenal; thirteen MHHer's came with a ready spirit. With more than a "few good men" and one hardworking woman plus two Rangers we totaled 15. David began with a second safety orientation (after mine) and then explained what he hoped to accomplish that day. Worked we did-down and dirty as we felled trees, installed new steps/water bars, removed more roots than I can count that rippled throughout the treadway, dug shallow swales in the treadway to facilitate water runoff, cleaned bridges from accumulate wet leaf buildup thus preserving the wood structure, lifted a very heavy bridge to place stabilizing rocks beneath (Dave Richardson the clear hero here (in conjunction with Ranger David), re-leveled portions of the treadway, created more runoffs to reduce erosion, I think it is fair to say that it was a very satisfying work day accomplished with much hard work-all due to our fine MHH Volunteers who always achieve more than the humble leader expects.
Each of our volunteers is special to me:
Dave Richardson: not only works his tail off but drive two extra hours each way just to join us. Dedicated of the year/decade goes to Dave!
Steve Sutherlin: my friend of many years who came back a couple of years ago to help me resurrect our trail program and offered much (needed) counsel along the way!
Tom Shope: Could not do this job without my right arm; I mean it. This guy is so loyal and hardworking and his day is not over when the rest of us finish as he goes home only to work more on the maintenance and accountability of our joint (Forest Service and MHH) equipment!
Larry Zarefoss: one of our senior workers (we do not discuss age!) who has many gifts; including a great hand saw and is so talented in creating magnificent sign posts!
Jim Morgan: this a man who really enjoys helping out. Does any job asked and does it well. I met him in this work and now treasure him as a special friend!
Bob Stone: another veteran, in many ways, and a super guy who always has such a cheerful willing attitude; one of our special "few good men"!
Gary Thompson: an early riser, having hit our trails as early as 0630. A self-starter who often works on his own to help out. Came when there was only 3 of us!
Steve Jersey: he and I have many connections thru other volunteer work, church, and can be counted on to work hard and fast doing just anything he is asked!
Phyllis Lohman: our lone female rep on this trip. This lady can work (and be productive) she more than held her own and had a spectacular attitude of "can do"!
Ben Kennedy (and his nephew-Jim Layman)): What a trooper Ben is. He came on this, my last trip as Trail Chief, and as always worked hard and even re-volunteered to take over as shepherd of the High Shoals Trail-a coordination role he earlier performed so well for our club!
Richard: should be called the "lionhearted" for sure considering his can do spirit and commitment of doing so well- a super supporter of mine and one helleva chain saw carrier! A very special thanks to him personally for the leadership he has shown and even better yet his willingness to take over as the Trail Chief from me!!
At the end of the work day we all met back in Young Harris where I was treated to a very SPECIAL treat. One very special lady, Pam Sullivan, planned a surprise get-together of so many folks! Pam is our social chairperson who just simply outdid herself. She pulled off this surprise and I didn't have a clue! She had contacted all of these folks to be there and no one "spilled the beans". And beans there were as we all enjoyed a very special meal in my honor. Then she presented me with a memory book that was a real mind blower! It was filled with pictures and notes from our good MHH folks, creatively decorated, replete with trail mementos and on and on-as I said just mind blowing! So many thanks to Pam!!! Of course knowing Pam there was a special decorated cake made of, yes-you guessed it, chocolate! My thanks are just inadequate to express my appreciation to her and to all.
Finally, I would be remiss if I did not mention the appreciation I have for so many others too; those who were unable to make this last trip of mine.
At the top of that list must be Bob Lehoullier and his wonderful wife, Bobbi. Bob has always given me 100% support as President for these past two years and has shown his commitment by plenty of "sweat equity" and for that I am most appreciative. He watched my back, literally, on the trail and he knows what I mean!
There are truly so many to thank and I hope I do not inadvertently omit someone:
Roland Hardee, Jack Dugger, Don Chesbro, Rod Whitefield, Suzanne and Bill Carter, Bert Kuntz, Darlene Rothenay, Bill and Johanne Kittle, George Owen, Janet Faist, Sandra Key, George Jurand, Gene and Arty Hodgson, Gene/Joan Ford, Jim and Doris Pigneri, Bobbi Tower and Joyce Woodward, Guy burger, Bill Kenyon, Jean Caputa, Ralph Aanensen, John and Millie Bayne, Tom Bussolari, Wes Clonts, Ted Gustafson, Wayne Mack, Jim Reynolds, and Kathy Stallings.
Thanks to one and all; you all made the trip(s) so worthwhile"
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________"Thursday, 10 Dec 09: On a cold and windy day, five very hardy and dedicated volunteers met at the old Maryann's restaurant (now called "The Bread of Life") and even though there were five of us we split into two teams.
Richard Sullivan and Dave Richardson, both chain saw qualified, went to Miller Trek to eliminate several reportedly down trees that were blocking the trail. They covered the entire federal loop and part of the state trail, and took out 2 large trees across the trail and > 12 smaller trees, as well as a moderate about of lopping and removing dropped limbs from the trail. This trail was in excellent shape by the end of the trip. For having just two people they accomplished a tremendous amount of work
The second team (Tom Shope, Bob Stone, and John Quinlan) went to the Raven Cliff Falls for the purpose of assessing the condition of the trail (MHH recently assumed maintenance responsibility for this trail) and while they were there did some hand sawing (note: this is a Wildness designated area-meaning no powered equipment) several low handing tree limbs and one or two small fallen trees as well doing a fair mount of lopping. There is one deteriorated bridge that needs some creative lumber replacement and there are a few place where large stepping stones need to be placed to allow for dry (vice muddy and wet) passage. Dave and Bob saw this trail for thr first time; and they were not disappointed!
It was a beautiful day to be out in the woods and the tremendous noisy water flow at Raven Cliffs was just great. For a day that started out so cold these two teams accomplished a great deal; once again a tribute to their dedication and hard work. These folks work so great together and the friendships that have developed are to be treasured.
If you are reading this please note that next Thursday, the 17th, there is going to be a special project on the High Shoals Falls Trail at which time Dave Kuykendall of the Blue Ridge Ranger District will join us. Please do plan on joining us at 0845 in Young Harris"
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ "Thursday, 3 Dec 09 saw 7 hardy MHH volunteers take on two trails in the Fires Creek area. The day was clear and quite cool; which other than being slippery underfoot, nearly perfect weather conditions in which to work. One team of three (Richard Sullivan, Jim Morgan, and Dave Richardson) suing one chain saw and handtools tackled the Huskins Branch Trail. As it turned out this section was in pretty good shape with only one tree to clear. Thus this team was finished early. On the way down back to the picnic area Dave got out to work back up the Rim Trail to meet and help the second team.
The
second
team
(Steve
Sutherlin,
Jack
Dugger,
Tom
Shope,
and
John
Quinlan)
worked
on
the
stretch
from
upper
FS
6176
down
to
Leatherwood
Falls.
Per
usual,
despite
having
been
worked
only
a
month
ago
had
a
good
number
of
tree
blowdowns
to
eliminate.
With
the
remaining
two
chain
saw
these
were
readily
handled
and
with
two
others
to
assist
in
removal
of
cut
material
we
arrived
back
top
the
picnic
area
in
good
time.
And
guess
what?
There
was
no
one
freezing
their
derriere
off
watching
the
waterfall
which
has
never
looked
better.
I
should
point
out
that
the
cold
drinks
provided
were
not
in
great
demand!
Must
also
point
out
that
as
both
teams
drove
their
way
up
to
the
starting
point
several
large
trees
were
blocking
the
road.
Soooo,
before
we
actually
began
walking
we
already
were
warmed
up
in
the
clearing
of
this
FS
road.
There
are
so
many
dead
trees
along
the
road
(and
trail
for
that
matter)
that
we
can
easily
state
that
we
got
continuing
job
security!
As
always
I am
very
grateful
to
these
hardworking
volunteers
that
continue
to
participate
in
this
worthwhile
endeavor.
As a
point
of
information
we
plan
to
work
on
both
10th
and
17th
of
Dec.
The
17th
is a
special
project
day
which
will
be
led
by
David
Kuykendall
of
the
FS;
hope
to
see
many
of
you
there!"
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________"Thursday, 19 Nov 09, dawned a beautiful clearing day for a great trip by seven hardy MHH volunteers for what promised to be a heavy day of chain saw cutting. We met in Hiawassee and then drove to Coleman River (A beautiful easy hike with roaring water-good for children though watch for the slippery bridge crossings! East of Hiawassee). We (seven of us) were well equipped for what we anticipated encountering. We encountered many trees ( estimate 12-15) blown across the path rendering it near impassable. We used three chainsaws and made relatively short work of the task. There were a goodly number of trees requiring multiple cuts. All were removed from the trail. There was also some minor brush clearing, primarily using loppers. Dave Richardson led off with three helpers (Bob Stone, Don Chesebro, and Jake Ehrhart) and went to the far end and worked back toward the second group (Tom Shope, Jim Morgan, and John Quinlan). We had a great time with superlative views and enjoyed lunch watch the roaring river. As has become our norm, all worked hard and I am always so pleased by what a great attitude each person displayed. As a result this trail is opened back up but regrettably not really safe for novices due to the slippery partially broken bridges.
In my
opinion,
shared
by the
others
on the
team,
there
were
problems
with the
safety
of the
three
bridges.
The
first
and
third
were
both
missing
hand
rails
and the
supporting
4X4s
were
rotted.
The
middle
one was
canted,
or
sloped
downward
toward
the
river
and VERY
slick
with
dampness
and
mildew.
Note:
None of
us fell
fortunately).
The is a
very
real
safety
issue
compounded
by the
very
weak
hand
rail
that is
loose
and not
likely
to
support
someone
falling
against
it.
We can
solve
many of
these
the
problems
. The
second
bridge
is
probably
beyond
our
capability
to
rectify
alone.
We need
FS assistance
for
which I
have
communicated
with
them. In
the
interim
I
suggested
to the
FS
that signs
be
erected
just
before
each
bridge
warning
of the
slipperiness,
and,
especially
for the
second
one, if
there
were
some
sort of
gritty
surface
material
that could
be
applied
to the
surface
of the
bridge
decking.
This
then
likely
would
require
a
thorough
cleaning
first.
Since
the
materials
are
especially
large
it'd be
helpful
if we
could
establish
a
rendezvous
date/time
with the
FS
for them
to
deliver
said
materials.
That
would
greatly
assist
us in
handling
the
transportation
aspects
of the
long
lumber.
The
names
for
yesterday's
trail
work
were:
Dave
Richardson
Don
Chesebro
Bob
Stone
Jake
Ehrhart
Jim
Morgan
Tom
Shope
John
Quinlan
Again my
personal
thanks
to each
team
person.
You guys
(excuse
me, "A
few good
men")
are the
real
heroes
of this
club
with all
the
cheerful
good
work for
such
"high
pay"
too!"
"Wow; what a glorious day. The weather for our trail maintenance outing was just superb! The only thing to better it was the splendid attitude of nine volunteer members of our MHH team. Expecting a relatively easy day, I asked Dave Richardson and Don Chesbro to take the "easy" section at Fires Creek fully expecting that only 2-4 trees needed to be cleared from the Rim access trail where it intersects with the upper road (FS 6176) back down to Leatherwood Falls picnic area. I'll quote Dave's report so you can see how "easy" it turned out to be. 'We had a productive day on the Rim trail. Don C did a LOT of work, including with a hand saw [to conserve fuel] while I did the easy stuff like use the chain saw. The recent storms had put a LOT more trees down. We had to cut out 13 [yep, thirteen] trees on the road just to get in and even more on the trail; I lost count of the total # of trees we cut. . Several of the trees were large, up to nearly 2 feet in diameter and required multiple cuts. Ran low on fuel and oil at the end but got all but one of the blowdowns cut out. The one we did not cut out, we cut a partial step in so it is passable and safe.. The step is similar to the one that you and Steve cut into the tree a mile or so south of Tusquittee Gap earlier this year. The "step" tree is roughly half way between the upper and lower road crossings. I can get GPS coordinates to you later. This tree IS PASSABLE. Wanted to conserve our limited fuel and especially oil. ALSO, this tree is on a slope with a lot of air or open space under it so could be unsafe to cut out a section, i..e more steps may be the best answer. This tree does NOT warrant a special trip. Enjoyed (he really means it!) the day a lot. Leatherwood Falls was beautiful and a LOT of waterfalls not normally seen were visible from road on way up. Saw a couple of pig/ boar hunters walking in on road' they were nice guys and fun to talk with.' Well so much for "easy" Fully expecting this team to finish early, I was quite surprised to hear Dave call me from the trail at almost 3 pm still up on the trail.
The other seven went
to Chunky Gal; we
actually split up
into two sub teams
with Richard and
Phyllis coming South
from Perry Gap to
rendezvous with the
other group (Pam
Sullivan, Jim
Morgan, Bob Stone,
Larry Zarefoss and
John Quinlan).
Enroute Richard had
his hands full
removing fallen
trees with his chain
saw ably assisted by
Phyllis who helped
clear and lopped
overhanging branches
too. Jim Morgan was
one of our heroes of
the day by driving
his 4-wheel drive
truck loaded with
five of us plus a
lot of gear up a
rutted, grassy, wet
and slick FS road.
Part of the gear was
as a result of Larry
Zarefoss's
magnificent effort
to create four
large, heavy-duty
(made of 4x4s) trail
signs which we
carried (no small
feat by itself) to
place at the
junction of the side
trail to Boetler
Peak (reading
Boetler Peak
Vistas), and two
more at the top to
mark the path to a
"Mountain View" and
the other reading
"Lake View". From
the junction to the
top Pam
Sullivan cleaned and
repainted the worn
blazes with new
bright orange
paint. At the top
while Bob and Larry
dug in the signs Jim
and John worked to
improve the lake
view by cutting
several trees
blocking the view
(don't ask Jim about
what it took to cut
mine down!!)
Phyllis and Richard
joined us and she
took some cool
pictures some of
which are on our web
site. Richard went
down into the
"boonies" to assist
Jim and John
finishing up the
needed cutting while
Pam and what sounded
like a group shouted
directions down to
us. Later that
afternoon Richard,
Larry, and Bob
continued down the
trail to the upper
stairs to meet the
other folks. Once
again there was a
large brushy tree
that had fallen to
remove from the
trail. After all the
work we enjoyed some
cold refreshments
along with cookies
provided by Kathy
Zarefoss. Thanks
Kathy!
All in all both
groups had a
wonderful day with
much productivity to
show for our
collective efforts.
These volunteers
work so well
together and team
spirit is most
evident. All pitch
in and all work hard
with a sense of
accomplishment our
reward. I did offer
to "double their
pay" though! My
thanks to all."
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________"Thursday, 5 Nov, saw 8 highly motivated MHH volunteers head to Fires Creek for what would be a long day of trail maintenance. We did our final link up with all of our folks at the Leatherwood Falls picnic area in Fires Creek. We then drove 45-50 minutes to the trailhead at Far Bald Springs Trail. This process was made possible by the Tusquittee Ranger District having just cleared a portion of the FS road approx 1.6 miles past the concrete bridge. There had been two mud/tree slides in this area blocking the road. Enroute to the trailhead we met Manny an FS equipment operator who was heading to the same area to clear game plots. Being a newer employee we were happy to help him confirm some his directions. We headed up the long steep trail (1.8 miles) with our heavy equipment load; including three brushcutters and two chain saws. We reached the Rim and then proceeded East to the intersection of the Chunky Gal trail. There we ate lunch, primarily to avoid the high winds Thursday and afterward headed up to Tusquittee Bald-one of the highest points on the Rim Trail at 5240 feet. There, due to the previous year's hard work of now retired Ranger Terry B. Dickey last October 08 we primarily could use our heavy duty brushcutters, instead of chain saws, to cut back the vegetation that had grown, in some cases, to four feet in one year. Last year Terry strenuously worked to reopen the view looking toward Nantahala Lake that had become totally obscured over time. Four of us, Richard Sullivan, Rod Whitefield, Bob Stone (one of "Few Good Men"-for those with a military background), and John Quinlan continued down to Bob Allison Campground using the Chunky Gal trail to clear vegetation and blowdowns that had occurred over the past year. Once we past the Big Buckeye Tree on the way down we realized that we had completed all of the Chunky Gal trail for 2009.
The remaining four Tom
Shope, Jim Morgan, Ralph
Aanensen, and, of
course, another "good
woman" Bobbi
Lehoullier (our only
lady on the trail with
us this day!) stayed on
top to finish clearing
the area AND, for the
very first time, cutting
open yet another lake
view-this time facing
the other direction back
to Lake Chatuge.
So trail users now have
one peak with two lake
views of two separate
lakes. Tusquittee Bald
is the only peak in our
area where I know that
this is possible.
When the four got down
to Bob Allison we were
met by a true trail
angel in the form of Pam
Sullivan who had agreed
to pick us up at the end
of our long, tiring day.
Not only did we get our
transportation but she
brought food!! She
brought grapes, nuts,
and really scrumptious
cookies. Guess which we
all chose? You could say
the nutritious grapes
but you'd be wrong. WE
ALL devoured those
cookies! Thank you from
all of us, Pam.
Back in Hayesville we
rejoined Tom and the
equipment vehicle and
sorted the gear out for
next weeks' trek on both
the Chunky Gal and Fires
Creek trails. We plan to
hit both areas, staffing
permitting, to clean up
some areas that need
special attention. We
extend to all an
invitation to join us on
the 12th of Nov for what
will be an easier day!
See the web site for
details.
Once again I owe great
thanks to each one of
these dedicated trail
volunteers. As Steve
Lohr has so correctly
said, and I echo, 'We
could not do it (have
these trail open,
blazed, and safe for
trail users) without
you.'
Thanks to all, John
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________"Thursday, 22 Oct 09 saw nine hardworking volunteers show up for some very much needed yet dirty work. Work it was as we working on the Rock House Creek Trail to create seven new water bars some 12-24 inches wide, reinforced by much hand labor with rocks, timber and rebar. To get there is always exciting as we traveling to Big Stamp in two 4-wheel drive vehicles. As in GA two weeks prior the real heroes were the drivers and their vehicles. Coming thru in spectacular fashion were Steve Sutherlin in the Big White Ford Diesel and Don Chesebro's Jeep Grand Cherokee. These two vehicles hauled the nine of us and Lots of equipment ranging from Pulaski's, fire rake, Mccloud, chain saw axe, drill, rebar etc to dig out and rock line a channel for water to drain clear of the trail. To really do the job right required much sweat, use of hands, and in the process no one escaped "clean". The really gritty award goes to Dave Richardson who was certainly not afraid to get his hands dirty. He was into those ditches as the water literally gushed forth-and continued gushing the whole time. Hours later with the sun shining the trail had actually begun to dry out a bit. The amount and volume of water that continued to pour forth amazed all of us. Jack Dugger was in his element as he worked very hard to keep all of us on track. He continually offered useful feedback (along with Dave) on how we were doing. Having a professional surveyor and Civil Engineer "on staff" materially assisted us in the accomplishment of our mission. One can truly say that we made great progress to help ensure that this section of some 100 yards of slick muddy trail was made a whole lot safer for passage. Kudos to all those folks who made the trip. Will not leave out Tom Shope who as our newest Chain saw qualified did us all proud by cutting a number of trees including a tricky one that was under considerable spring back tension. Good job Tom. Richard Sullivan, Gary Thompson, Steve Jersey, and John Quinlan slugged it out in the trenches to earn for themselves the "coveted "sore back" award as a souvenir. After returning back to Big Stamp we enjoyed cold drinks provided by your club. These were greatly appreciated. Later four of us (Tom, Richard, John were driven by Don-our Jeep chauffer) to investigate the FS road (340) reportedly blocked past the concrete bridge that leads to Far Bald Springs/Shinbone trails to determine if there were any clearing done and whether or not we might use this access for the 5 Nov work trip to Tusquittee Bald. The really good new is that we will be able to get thru there with some work on either our part of the FS. I have asked Bill Champion of the FS for some heavy equip to finish the clearing of that road. For now it is marginally passable in a narrow vehicle. We sincerely hope it will be widened to near full road width by the time it can be so gratefully be put to good use.
Once again I am very
grateful for the hard work
put forth and must say
thanks too for the personal
equip and supplies brought
along by Jack and Dave to
allow a better finished
result. Kudos gentlemen!!!"
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________"Thursday 15th, October 09: Despite threatening skies and an ominous forecast, 6 volunteers members of MHH braved the elements. We met at Maryanns in Young Harris. A surprise guest in the person of Sandra Key appeared with two of the new club shirts that had been ordered by, as luck would have it, two MHH'ers who were not able to attend. Team #1 (Ben Kennedy and Steve Jersey) took to the "hills" by starting their work from Brasstown Bald and began their trek some two miles down the Wagon Train Trail. One of their main objectives was to evaluate the trail as requested by David Kuykendall of the FS for conditions that could necessitate special assistance relief. Before they were rained out they identified 7 areas with substantial water. Way points identified below:
23 N 34 52.332 W 083
48.503
24 N 34 52.509 W 083
48.495
25 N 34 52.532 W 083
48.555
26 N 34 52.931 W 083
48.604
27 N 34 52.934 W 083
48.602
28 N 34 52.969 W 083
48.606
29 N 34 53.048 W 083
48.592
Wet areas in last half
mile, some of which they were
able to divert.
More is still needed. By
having only two folks and
thus limited by a few pieces
of equipment the fire rake
helped but they could have
used a Pulaski to do an even
more effective job. They cut
3 or 4 blow downs. There was
a lot of standing water and
running water, and
while able to divert a lot
of it, a return trip is
needed to finish the job.
The rain was coming down for
most of their return trip.
and thus were a little wet
by the time they reached the
truck.
Team #2 (Steve Sutherlin, Jim
Reynolds, Tom Shope, and John
Quinlan) approached Wagon Train
from the bottom. Using the FS
key we drove in Steve
Sutherlin's Big White Ford
Diesel using 4-wheel drive (low
range the whole way) approx a
mile to the next gate marking
the Wilderness boundary. Enroute
to this gate this team made
several stops; encountered
several blowdowns that blocked
the trail/road. One of these was
massive with many huge limbs
scattered about. No possible way
to drive around it. This last
stop took much chain saw work to
reopen the road way.
Upon reaching the gate we
gathered tools and made our way
approx 1.8 miles further uphill.
Much work involved evaluating
the condition of the many water
diversion runoffs that we have
created on recent work trips.
Many of these locations that we
previously established were in
excellent condition. Much of
this credit goes to David
Kuykendall who provided detailed
guidance as to their initial
construction. His vast
experience proved its mettle.
Our work today was limited to
placing a few rocks and minor
raking to remove small amounts
of sediment and leaves. We were
greatly relieved that, despite
our heavy recent rains, they
have served the trail well and
held up and remain remarkably
solid. Before today's deluge hit
we beat a hasty retreat back
down to Steve's truck and had
ourselves a slippery ride down
the muddy trail/road. Thus the
real hero of the day was not a
person but Steve's truck.
Special thanks to Steve!!! This
truck has more than seen its
share of trail work and has, at
least, earned a jacket! Overall
I'd have to say the lower end of
this trail is in very good
shape.
Thanks again to those who came
today. I am always so gratified
by MHH'ers- a truly dedicated
group of volunteers."
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________"Thursday 8th, October 09: The advent of somewhat cooler weather allowed the opportunity to "hit the trails and get more work accomplished". In consideration the fact Tusquitte Ranger District now has the services of an archaeologist, Michael Oberndorf, we have coordinate a trip with him for Oct 22nd to recommend a course of action to alleviate the natural springs that have caused the trail to become a muddy mess. At this point the trail has deteriorated sufficiently to create intolerable erosion and safety issues on this downhill just trying to navigate through this action. With the goal of determining the best course of action to recommend (draining via water bars, re-routing etc.) seven MHH Volunteers went to Rock house Creek Trail to clear our way through the summer growth (more brushcutting and chainsawing) and then to reach the problem section to evaluate and generate our list of prioritized options. The job became twice as difficult as we did not have the requisite 4-wheel drive vehicles to drive up the muddy road to Big Stamp. As a result we had to walk the Trail up and then all the way back down. I think by the time the trip, and work, was completed we all felt we had a full day. FYI: The FS does have a plan to gate this road (FS 427) to help in the preservation of the road for future limited use. Unfortunately it now is tough to travel and is not something all who may even have a 4-wheel drive are comfortable using their private vehicle.
Mission
Accomplished as the saying goes for
we have a developed a plan with a
series of recommendation to present
to Michael.
(Michael
I will call to discuss these with
you in advance).
The
following MHH'ers listed below are
the volunteers who pitched in
yesterday to "get 'er done".
Jim
Pigneri-Brush cutter extraordinaire
Steve
Jersey-ditto along with his GPS and
the skills to go with it to permit
trail coord marking
Dave
Richardson-Professional (and
Unpaid!) engineer and also a GPS
whiz
Gary
Thompson-recent 100 hour volunteer
award winner and great team player
Jack
Dugger-Professional Unpaid surveyor
and trail scout
Tom
Shope-The Man without whom we'd not
have the tools'/fuel to get the job
dome
John
Quinlan-humble planner/leader
Thanks
to each one. I am truly blessed to
be in the company of such fine
folks!"
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________"Thursday 1 October 09: We saw 13 MHH volunteers come to conduct trail maintenance on various segments of the Fires Creek area trails.. A great turnout for which I am very appreciative. The weather was simply spectacular. And, of course it is very gratifying to see so many well motivated folks. After the safety briefing and courtesy of the Tusquittee Range District we had more than enough PPE to properly outfit everyone. Having this good folks allows me to form multiple groups; in this case three separate teams.
Team #1 headed by Richard Sullivan
along with 5 additional members
(Ginny Smith (a brand new helper),
Dave Richardson, Steve Jersey, Bob
Stone, and Rod Whitefield). Richard
had the most members with the right
mix of skills to take on the longest
section of the day. They started
working from the Bristol Horse Camp
up Bristol Cabin Trail to Carver Gap
(Rim Trail). On this section they
encountered the greatest water
challenges of the day as some of our
prior work needed repair after the
recent heavy rains to fix water bars
and realign water drain points. At
Carver Gap they emplaced two of the
needed trail markers; once again
courtesy of Bill Champion of the
Forest Service. The they proceeded
West and along the way were
gratified to see the section of
trail that MHH rerouted last year
was holding very well despite some
horse traffic that is not
authorized on this section of the
Rim. At the point where the trail
turns Northerly down to the FS road
they noted a new concern; evidence
of ATV traffic apparently coming in
from the Fires Creek Cove
subdivision. Here they placed a
heavy tree barrier that required
considerable effort. Amazing enough
they encountered problems with
overgrowth or deterioration since
our last visit earlier this year.
This team covered the miles
in a rapid time reaching the
Leatherwood picnic area not long
after the other two teams arrived.
Seems like all it took was "a few
good men" (and one new woman) to get
through the longest stretch so fast.
Team #2 headed by Bob Lehoullier and
two other volunteers (Don Chesbro
and Jake Erhardt). This team worked
their way from the Rim Trail at the
northernmost crossing of FS 6176
down to the Leatherwood picnic area
also. Actually all routes were
planned so that each of the three
teams would rendezvous back at the
Leatherwood picnic area. This team
was short a chain saw (currently
under repair at the Tusquittee Range
Station from which it was borrowed.
I had hoped there would not be too
much heavy work on this section as
this part had been worked recently
and thus has the fewest team
members. As luck would have this
almost happened though Bob reports
that he did encountered two trees to
deal with that will have to be
deferred until a later trip. Once
again with so many great helpers the
equipment requirement goes up.
Nonetheless the team accomplished
the job in a splendid fashion and
other than the bypassed trees had
nothing they could not handle with
the hand tools and on brush.
Team #3 (Composed of Jean
Caputa-what a trooper at 81 years
young!!! (Better yet she has been
actively doing so for many years),
Tom Shope, Gary Thompson, and John
Quinlan) rode up FS 6176 to the
intersection of the end of the
Huskins Branch Trails. We had had a
report of a large tree blocking the
trail and 'armed" with a chain
saw, brushcutter, Swedish axe,
and lopper we began to clear debris
and fallen trees and branches
across the trail. This began with
the obscured trail sign covered with
vines and overgrown vegetation.
While expecting one large tree we
actually encountered 10!! Half of
these were significant; some so
large as to require multiple cuts to
allow safe removal from the
treadway. Fortunately we have
learned to be prepared so extra
fuel, bar chain oil, and tools (yes
we had to retighten the bar chain
once) had been carried with us. This
then later met the other two
groups at
the picnic area.
Once the teams arrived we had
multiple and, I must say,
spectacular treats awaiting us.
Along with the now expected cold
drinks, Pam Sullivan brought TWO
delicious cakes she and Francine
Quinlan had baked!! How cool is
that! I am worried we are setting
too high a bar for refreshments as
all of us would encourage them to
continue to do so. Well that cannot
always happen but it sure was
enjoyed by each one of us-some
indulged in two pieces and
fortunately with two cakes all who
so desired could be accommodated.
Thank you ladies!
All in all a lot of ground covered
(8.6 miles of trails) and made
"Open, Blazed, and Safe" thanks to
these three teams. Way to go!
Lesson learned this day was we all
needed to due our best to educate,
inform the public as to the proper
use of these trails. We and the
Forest Service go to a lot of effort
to do our best to keep these trails
open for the enjoyment of all. There
is a place for each type user but it
is incumbent on these same users to
be respectful of each other. Signage
for example can help but some
individual responsibility is in
order."
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Thursday, Sept 17th: " Despite a foreboding forecast we nonetheless had a total of six "brave" and well motivated MHH volunteers turn out this date to help improve the trails in Cooper's Creek, GA. At the meeting point in Young Harris it was raining but I had seen a forecast that promised a break for a few hours and so off we went. We met other volunteers in Blairsville, proceeded to Copper's Creek, checked in with the campground host, divided into two 3 person teams, coordinated with the Army Rangers in the area, equipped each team, gave a saftey brief especially noting the possibility of falling trees and limbs due to the soft ground, and then headed out. We worked a portion of the Yellow Mountain Trail , and all of the Shope Gap, Connector and Mill Shoals trails. A good bit of vegetation clearing using a powered brushcutter and manual sling blade. The rest was mainly lopper and axe work. The two teams met each other on the Connector Trail and continued through their assigned sections and later met up to enjoy some well deserved cold drinks. Work accomplished included removing a lot of fallen branches and debris as well as much of the new summer growth of vegetation that had encroached into the trails. Overall the trails were in pretty good shape with no evident water damage from the recent rains. Amazing enough, despite up to a 70% chance of rain, we covered all of the area without getting wet; except for moisture falling from the trees. Somehow we managed to "thread that rain needle"; not to mention that we very lucky too. The only section not covered was a portion of the Yellow Mountain trail from Addis Gap to the Shope Gap intersection.
Again I am so
pleased and humbled with the continuing
dedication of these fine folks. Everyone in MHH
should be proud of this hardworking maintenance
team that accomplishes so much for so little
reward.
Participants were:
Tom Shope
Jim Morgan
Ralph Aanensen
Bob Stone
Dave Richardson
John Quinlan"
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________Thursday, Sept 10th: "Today a few good volunteers decided to finish some unfinished business. After last Thursdays maintenance work on Chunky Gal, there was a short section (1.3 miles) that was not brush cut and, having run short of fuel, not fully cleared by a chain saw. It is truly remarkable, and again I am humbled by these folks, who so eagerly want to get back and "finish the job". Finish the job we did! Special thanks to Jim Morgan for being the chauffer of the day. The four of us rode in his truck to Glade Gap and he took us up on the rough, grass FS road to the lower stairs, dropped us off and drove back to Glade then grabbed a brushcutter and came up hill toward us, working all the way! The three of us (Richard "Chainsaw" Sullivan, Steve Jersey and John Quinlan) worked our way down the trail to Glade. This fast crew finished early enough to allow me to suggest yet another short job-this time in GA on the High Shoals Trail. I had received a report that a large tree was down on High Shoals and blocking passage as it lay across the trail. It was located approx 1/2 mile down the trail. We investigated this and found the info to be totally correct. In short order we cleaned up that mess and returned (via Jim's truck again) back to Hayesville. Amazingly enough we managed to get all this accomplished in time to be back in Hayesville for lunch; and lunch we did at the Cottage Deli. Good comardarerie prevailed and we enthusiastically talked about future "chores" to tackle.
When I began the challenge
of coordinating trail maintenance it was with some
specific goals in mind and, with the great help of so
many wonderfull MHH volunteers, have been able not only
to accomplish these goals but to realize that in the
process I have been so personally warmed and blessed by
their friendship. Thanks to all."
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ "Thursday, 3 Sep 09 saw 14 MHH volunteers come to conduct trail maintenance on the Chunky Gal Trail. A fabulous turnout for which I am very appreciative and thankful. It was another really great day. Started with very supportive weather and well motivated folks. Given the number of workers we formed into three separate teams.
Team #1 headed by Richard Sullivan along
with 5 members (Virgina Lane, Greg Lane, Don Chesbro, Jake, Erhart,
and Jacob Dorn) started working South from Perry Gap. Thanks to Bill
Champion of the Forest Service they had two trail identifying signs to
place which then marked the trail number and designated uses. They
carried a chainsaw, brushcutter and a variety of hand tools as they
worked their way to Boetler Peak (Shooting Creek Bald). It was slower
going than expected due to the almost continous brushcutting
required. They reached the Bald in sub teams and then enjoyed the
view. Afterward they worked down to the upper stairs where Steve drove
them back down to Glade to rendezvous with the other teams.
Team #2 headed by David Richardson and
three other volunteers (Bob Stone, Steve Jersey, and Ralph
Aanensen) started by placing a vehicle at Tusquittee Gap and then
drove around to begin the actual work from Perry Gap. They then worked
their way North to Tusquittee Gap. David carried the chain saw and
divided up the others to share in the use of the new brush cutter and
alternate with the other hand tools. Once again the amount of growth
since our last time (early March) through this stretch was a bit
more than one might expect. After reaching they too drove back to
Glade Gap.
Team #3 (Composed of Jim Morgan, Tom
Shope, Steve Sutherlin, and John Quinlan) rode with Steve Sutherlin in
his "big white diesel truck" on the FS road close within 1/3 mile to
Boetler Peak. Steve repositioned his truck back at the upper stairs
South of the Bald and then walked in to rejoin us. This team used a
chain saw, two Swedish axes, and a lopper to clear debris and fallen
tree braches from the access path to the top of the Bald. At the top
we cleared much more of an opening than we had last year at the
original opening and additionally cut down a whole lot of heavy growth
and debris to open a second area looking back North. Now visitors can
see all the way to Nantahala Lake and enjoy an outstanding view. This
team, minus Steve, then completed the remainder of the trek down to
Glade with some chainsawing and other hand tools.
At Glade all enjoyed the cold refreshments
provide courtesy of MHH.
All in all a tremendous amount of work
accomplished, and mileage covered, by your club. If the total
mileage were added it would come to 9.2! As a result this may have
been one of the greatest distances (tied with one day in Fires Creek)
worked in a single day. A phenomenal amount of ground covered thanks
to your volunteers! We are blessed to have such a dedicated group of
trail workers and I, personally, am extremely grateful."
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Thursday, 20 August:
"We saw six hardy MHH volunteers
conduct trail maintenance in GA. The trails worked were Helton
Creek Falls and DeSoto Falls. We began with Helton Creek and
soon encountered a number of water drainage problems. We cleaned
out, and in some cases created, drains to alleviate some of the
flooded sections of trail and did minor lopping on overhanging
vegetation. As some of the steps (wooden boxed rectangles) were
also flooded we found some gravel and improvised a carrying
method to transport this gravel down to the lower steps and
filled these boxes thus forcing the water out and thereby
eliminating some muddy stepping inside the rectangles. We also
scraped off slimy mud that had been borne by water to the middle
of the trail. By this action we eliminated much muddy walking
that was formerly on the trail. What we thought would be a very
short stop turned out to be a more substantial effort.
We then headed to DeSoto Falls.
Shortly after arriving, we met three campers who advised of
fallen limbs blocking the trail and another tree leaning
perilously over the trail. Fortunately Tom Shope, the equipment
maintenance and caretaker guru, brought a chain saw and together
with a hand saw and loppers we made short work of these
problems. Once again we ran into more water problems; much of
which David Kuykendall of the FS had asked us to address. This
became really hard work as we used Pulaskis and fire rakes to
dig out and shovel mud from the trail. What we noted was that
water borne mud that had oozed down hill and filled water
runoffs thus allowing water to run right over the bars and
continue down the trail creating very wet and sometimes muddy
conditions. This then became the major effort of the day and due
to high humidity we soon were soaked. As wet as we were we
almost did not mind the rain which then blew in. After a short
respite and a cold drink, we then finished up by going to the
lower falls lopping at the lower end along the creek and then
more mud removal in water bars further up the trail as we moved
toward the falls.
As expected all that "pick and
Shovel" work was fatiguing especially in that humidity. The good
news was that each person really pitched in and worked hard and
by rotating equipment around the entire crew we kept our work
productivity at high level. O special note is that despite the
hard often muddy work this crew was in high spirits the whole
day. Once again I am humbled by these wonderful volunteers,
their work ethic, and superior attitude! Amazing what "a few
good men" can accomplish.
Special mention too should be made
of the excellent hospitality afforded to us by the two
campground hosts at DeSoto Falls.
Your MHH volunteers this day were:
Tom Shope
Rod Whitefield
Don Chesbro
Bob Stone
Brian Blue
John Quinlan
If you should see any of them please
thank them for the hard and continuing work that they do so
willingly; and do come join us!"
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
AUGUST 6th: "Wow, what a day we MHHer's had in the
Fires Creek area this day. Another WOW is that we had a huge turnout
of 18 fantastic folks coming together for a common goal. This 18
person team garnered a new record setting total of hours volunteered
in a single day!! Record breaking is getting to be the order of the
day. To be fair while MHH had a great showing of 14 folks tying most
of our records, we had the pleasure of being augmented by four
additional folks. Three came from the Southern Appalachian Forest
Coalition, and drove over from Chattanooga, and one (Brent Walker) from the North Carolina Wilderness Society,
and he drove from Asheville.
All 4 of these visitors were very impressed with the Mountain High
Hikers Trail Maintenance program. These organizations and MHH work together to achieve common goals.
Indeed our President, Bob, is now on the board of SEFTC (SouthEastern
Foot Trails coalition). You may recall
that it is these organizations who wrote the grant that ultimately
allowed for a grant of $5000 for the maintenance of Fires Cree trail
system.
______________________________________________________________________________________
JULY TRAIL MAINTENANCE:
The Trail Maintenance Plan for
July 2009 will begin on Thursday 2 July. This
date will see us working in NC on the Chunky
Gal Trail; with likely two related groups (as
always depending on the number of volunteers
available). Group one would be going from Bob
Allison campground to the "big buckeye tree"
and return to eliminate some tree blow downs
and some shrubbery growth. The second group
would be going from Tusquittee Gap to Bob
Allison campground for a distance of 4 miles.
16 July will see us working in GA on the
Miller Trek and possibly the High Shoals
trails. Hope you can join us!
AUGUST 6TH--We
plan to work as many as three different
sections in Fires Creek on 6 August-as always
depending on the number of volunteers coming
out that day. One crew will go from FS 6176
(upper road crossing) down to Leatherwood
Falls; a second , especially if you have a
crew, to work Far Bald Springs-the trail and
not just as an access and likely a third, to
eliminate some heavy new blow downs on the
South Rim East of Julie High Top.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All in
all a good productive day with as always
the highlight of accomplishing all of
this safely! With this section
completed your MHHers have now been thru
20 of the 22 miles of Chunky Gal during
2009; making this portion 'open, blazed,
and safe'."
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thursday
the 16th of July began very overcast,
indeed having rained just a few hours
earlier with the threat of more to come.
But as it turned out nine of the intrepid
MHH trail volunteers came to Mary Ann's
Restaurant ready to give it their best.
Once again I am very pleased and grateful
for their dedication to this effort that
we see as meaningful and really
accomplishing something worthwhile.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thursday, 2
July, once again saw an incredible number of
motivated trail maintenance volunteers.
Fourteen MHHers participated; the second
highest number ever-only exceed by the
turnout for celebration of National Trails
Day. I am likely known as a bit verbose but
I confess that I am running out of
superlatives to describe these fantastic
folks. The commitment, dedication, and
spirit is just superb! And I am not taking
about one or two but each one! Each
individual brings his or her talent along
with a spectacular attitude. Each is more
than willing to do what is asked and their
whole attitude is simply "over the top".
Thanks to one and all.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Today June 25th
was an amazing day. First it was MHH's
occasion to celebrate National Trails Day in
conjunction with the Blue Ridge Ranger
District and second, it was a truly impressive
MHH turnout of helpers. A new record for
attendance was achieved by our club. A
phenomenal number of 18 club members came to
help in today's effort on the Wagon Train
Trail. Simply terrific. Whatever the cause I
am very appreciative. In addition we had two
folks from the Ranger District, David
Kuykendall and his young helper Matt. I can
say, without any fear of equivocation, that
each person worked very hard. Frankly I am
pooped. With so many wonderful volunteers and
planning to work in a Wilderness area, we
split up into two teams using manual tools (no
power equipment permitted). Dave Richardson
and Bob LeHoullier, starting at the top, led a
team composed of Jack Dugger, Rod Whitefield,
Bob Stone, Jerry Carnes, Bobbi LeHoullier,
Darlene Rothenay, and Wayne Hamilton. This
crew worked with sling blades, loppers, a
pulaski, and fire rake. They cleared much
vegetation overgrowth and traveled the longest
distance covering the entire trail as they
worked down to meet the second team of Steve
Sutherlin, Wayne Mack, Brad Herala, Don
Chesebro, Jim Pigneri, Doris Pigneri, Tom
Shope, Richard Sullivan, and John Quinlan.
This team armed with four fire rakes, four
pulaskis, and handsaw and loppers took on a
somewhat different challenge. The goal of the
second team was to open new drainage
opportunities and concurrently create more
trail interest and variety by slightly
rerouting the trail. This was a hard digging
sort of task that was embraced heartily by
all; including our Ranger District team. In
the end we opened or improved up 18 of these
drains and trail modifications. In the
process, David Kuykendall was good enough to
teach several interesting concepts, which to
most of our team were new.
We were all
glad to reach our vehicles; each person having
worked very hard in warm weather and as
always, the best news was that all made it
safely. Once down we enjoyed cold drinks and a
special cake ordered for us by Pam Sullivan.
Richard brought the cake and kept it cold in a
cooler in his truck. Rod took a picture of the
decorated cake in honor of National Trails Day
and I hope it comes out in sufficient detail
so that all can see the hiker decorations and
colors. Good job Pam and Richard!. Special
thanks is in order for the drivers of three
personal trucks (Richard , Steve, and John)
who took on the very rough "road" from the
college to the beginning of the Wilderness
area. Once again my hat is off to each one of
these fine folks for coming to work and enjoy
this special event.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
Thursday 4 June
saw nine intrepid MHH volunteers conduct
trail maintenance in Fires Creek. These nine
dared to come in spite of dire weather
predictions for rain. Yes. I am impressed indeed
with their dedication to our endeavor. There
were a "few good men" (eight actually) and one
good woman. After positioning two vehicles at
our planned exit, we began by cleaning up
Bristol Cabin Trail (Richard Sullivan taking out
limbs in just a few feet after starting) in
route to the Rim and finishing that portion of
the Rim applicable to Jim Morgan's hike planned
for the 23rd of June. We climbed up a good
portion of the way making much use our loppers
(4 at a time; three named here are as Jack
Dugger, Steve Jersey, and Pam Sullivan) to clear
heavy brush crowding into the trail, two brush
cutters carried by hardy volunteers (Jim Morgan,
Bob Stone, Don Chesebro, and Tom Shope).
Continuing east four climbed the steep Julie
High Top while I sent five on an exploratory
mission of cleaning out what I assumed to be a
route that by-passes the steepest section of
Julie High Top. We also marked this separately
as a by-pass while ensuring that the main Rim
portion was also clearly identified-thanks to
Pam Sullivan for supporting this endeavor with
blazes not too mention carrying spare fuel/oil
too. The by-pass turned out great as it was
almost level and luckily for me did rejoin the
Rim as I really hate to have folks get lost on
my guesswork. (Not to worry as I did have a back
up plan to re-collect them but gratefully did
not need it). This scouting expedition actually
passed a sign humorously identifying Tennessee
and Tellico. Just about lunchtime the rain
caught up with us. Fortunately we were well over
halfway to our exit point. We finally left the
Rim at Cold Springs Gap and the "fun" really
began. On Memorial Day Monday four of us had
scouted a rough exit from this Gap. While we all
made safely out we encountered much growth and,
with it now raining, it was extremely slippery
heading down a steep route-but hardly a good
trail/path. This way could be used for
emergencies or maintenance but little else.
Richard "worked his butt off" on this stretch
displaying his usual skill with the chain saw
along with Jack Dugger and I attempting to clear
debris and, most challenging, just remaining
upright on the slippery terrain. I was very
happy and relieved to see the others join us
having followed this just opened "path" safely-
a real tribute to their
surefootedness. Afterward we were treated to
cold drinks and a delicious rum cake courtesy of
Pam. All in all quite a day. Once again I am
humbled by the spirit and dedication of these
hardy volunteers. As someone said "You couldn't
pay me enough to do this". The best part
is that despite the rain not a single person had
their spirits dampened! What an amazing
team!!!" Everyone in MHH should be justifiably
proud of the work all of these fellow club
members accomplish!
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Another add-on day trail
maintenance for an especially dedicated group of
trail maintenance volunteers from MHH. Today was
the last in a series of intensive work days in
the month of May. We've worked especially hard
(and often) this month to attempt to get a head
start on some overgrown trails before the
weather gets too warm. Another point is that
areas in which we have recently worked have been
allowed to deteriorate over a period of some 5-6
years. These areas are some of the most remote
sections of Fires Creek. Only recently have they
been scheduled for our members to hike and, as
such, we have worked exceptionally hard to get
them in shape before the scheduled hike to
ensure they are "open, blazed, and safe" for our
members. This are locales are some of the most
beautiful, wild, and scenic stretches within
range of our club hikes.
Memorial Day (25 May) saw a
small team of four MHHers embark on a trial
reconnaissance mission in preparation for a
planned work trip this Thursday, 28 May, weather
permitting. The goal was to investigate whether
there was another suitable access point to/from
the Rim Trail (South side) in Fires Creek that
would shorten the day's project and allow for an
easier day for our volunteers. In the process we
knew in advance that we needed to clear some blow
downs on the road (FS 340B) portion of Trail Route
(TR) 386 in the Fires Creek basin. The clearing of
this road would also facilitate work by an
Endangered Species person that we had earlier
encountered in this area. While we did accomplish
the mission of clearing the road and locating a
possible access, the steep terrain encountered
renders this as an rough exit only and not really
suitable for a two-way flow. I wish to personally
thank these fine folks for giving up a portion of
their Memorial Day holiday, indeed made more
poignant in that three of them were veterans.
Special thanks to Pam Sullivan for the delicious
cookies that we all enjoyed afterward. Those
making this trip were:
On 19 May a small group of
three folks linked up to conduct a trail
reconnaissance in an effort to plan for future
maintenance work trips. We covered 12 miles of tough
terrain, doing some blazing and minor lopping.
Though that was done, the goal was to figure what
equipment was required where and how to best access
the Rim to accomplish those objectives. It appears
those objectives were met and we may have even
ascertained a new Rim access point that will break
up a very long section and help to keep our
maintenance trips more reasonable in length and
duration. This will require some further coord and
investigation. As part of this effort we had an
opportunity to pre-hike another section of the Rim
with and for the hike leader-Jim Morgan. This
section has not been hiked by the club as a schedued
hike before and should prove to be an interesting
"Rim Challenge" trip in June.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 21 May saw another fine day by the MHH Trail
Maintenance team. Actually I need to say teams. We
were blessed with nine good folks who split up into
a GA team working Wagon train trail from the top at
Brasstown Bald and a second team who went back to
Fires Creek to work the Leatherwood access trail.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
On Thursday, 14 May, eight
dedicated volunteers from our club worked at least 8.5
hours on the Chunky Gal trail from the AT to Glade
Gap. This was a postponed trip planned in March. The
Tusquittee Ranger District once again came through
with great logistical support. They met us in
Hayesville and with truck, trailer, and two Kubotas
loaded aboard we traveled to a closed FS road and used
their equipment to drive approx half-way and
"Kubota-ed" the rest of the trip up to the Chunky Gal
trailhead at the AT. We started (of course with the
low hanging clouds and some light rain). With our
intrepid group such inconveniences were overlooked and
we began our trek. Shortly the rain stopped and we
cleared the trail approx one mile; there we installed
a trail sign signifying a very sharp turn, (150
degree), back to the right that has been missed by
many hikers. On the way to Glade Gap Richard Sullivan
handled many tree sawing chores with only occasional
assistance from Steve Sutherlin and John Quinlan (the
three chain saw qualified folks on this trip). Pam
Sulivan was a excellent worker, always nearby to do
the necessay blazing and provide support to equipment
in the form of files and wrenches. No I did not call
her a wench!! She is such a great asset, a willing
helper, and possessed of a superb attitude. This
statement is bribery of course as her presence ensure
cookies or other treats; much enjoyed by all! Each of
the others, Don Chesebro, Steve Sutherlin, Bob Stone,
Tom Shope, and Steve Jersey were truely key as they
carried the brush cutters and did much/most of the
heavy continuing work. If any piece of equipment was
used the most, it was the hard working brush cutter.
We started with with full equipment tanks and four
extra containers of spare fuel and one bottle of bar
chain oil and you'd be correct in assuming we used it
all! These five guys were just spectacular!
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
MAY TRAIL MAINTENANCE DAYS--14 May
Thursday in North Carolina; meet at Ingles in Hayesville
at 0745 to go to the Chunky Gal trail in conjunction
with the FS
and be driven by FS to the trail head. Work from the AT
to Glade Gap (Hwy 64). Install sign made by Larry
Zarefoss and clear trail with loppers, handsaw,
brushcutters (two) and perhaps one chain saw. Approx 5.1
miles on foot, traversing our newly rebuilt stairs. If a
large number of folks attend we may work another section
of the "Gal" too.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Well, what do you know! We
MHHers came together on 23 April to once again take
advantage of the cooler temperatures before the summer
heat begins in earnest. Can you believe we had 12 !!!
wonderful hard working folks come to help out in the Fires
Creek area; specifically on the Rim Trail working from Big
Stamp both easterly and westerly. While we had gone east
before we needed to return to get those thorny briar weeds
off the trail and so 3 folks used one of our brush cutters
to great advantage. Rod Whitefield, Gary Thompson, and Don
Chesborough made up this east team. Of course even getting
to Big Stamp is a job in itself! The FS "road" is narrow
with nice drop-offs, rocky in places, and even worse,
complete with deep mud holes! Thanks to Don Chesborough,
Jack Dugger, and John Quinlan for handling the driving
chores and getting their vehicles VERY muddy! So although
we left Ingles at 0800 we did not get to really start
working until close to approx 0945. It was a good,
clear day, if a bit on the warm side (yes, I encountered a
snake right on the trail too!). In order for the west
bound team to have vehicles at the end (5.7 miles on FS
6176), Bob LeHoullier and Tom Shope each drove their
vehicles through the normally locked FS gate to FS 6176
and began their arduous steep climb NE to intersect the
west team made up of Richard Sullivan, Pam Sullivan, Bobbi
LeHoullier! (on her first maintenace work day since her
unfortunate accident), Jack Dugger, Steve Jersey, John
Quinlan, and special guest John Ray (the author of the
Fires Creek Rim Trail and Chunky Gal trail guide or
perhaps equally well known as the "Orange Book"). It was
a real treat to have John with this group. He also carried
a new trail sign for the Phillips Ridge Trail which was
installed. The west team also carried a chain saw (or
better said, Richard carried this saw and did ALL the
cutting; no mean feat as there were a large number of huge
trees blown across the trail. He gets the award for losing
the most weight on this day-admittedly a dubious
distinction as that meant he worked VERY hard!
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ April 16th was a great day for your
MHH trail maintenance team! First a new record turnout of
trail work volunteers, fourteen!!; truly remarkable. We were
blessed with great folks (some for the first time!),
glorious weather, roaring water falls, and this hard
charging group of well-motivated MHHers.
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Thursday 9 April was a special project
day for your trail maintenance team. While we may not
have traveled far, we can say we worked hard. The project
involved repairing a set of stairs on the Chunky Gal Trail,
south of Glade Gap in the direction of the AT. From
Glade Gap we made several trips up a steep climb bringing a
large variety of tools (McLeod, Pulaski, fire rake, chain saw,
hand saw, gas powered heavy drill [courtesy of the Forest
Service], battery powered drill, bolts, nails, screw, rebar,
wrenches, ratchets, and sockets, etc.). As if this
"stuff" weren't enough, we carried the materials the Forest
Service provided; lumber of various sizes including up to 14'
feet long as well as 6x6s, 4x4s,and 2x12s. Well you get the
idea. Suffice to say, it was a lot of hauling. Now the
interesting part, while of late I've been blessed with many
folks showing up to do trail work, this time we had only four
folks; four VERY hard working folks indeed! In addition to the
stairs work, we emplaced several more steps and created some
water bars to channel water off the trail and the stairs too.
We also cut a few fallen trees off the trail. Rod
Whitefield not only worked but had a camera and so we do have
some pictures to share (see 2009 Photos page).
April 2nd dawned with the prospect of one
more rainy day (the last trail work day was also cancelled due
to adverse weather). Notwithstanding this prospect, eight
of the wonderful MHH volunteers came together to work in the
Fires Creek area. We divided into two teams. Richard Sullivan,
Jack Dugger, and Rod Whitefield concentrated on the area below
FS 6176 enroute down to Leatherwood Falls. With the shortest
segment of trail, it turns out they had, by far, the biggest job
with the smaller number of helpers. They cut through some very
heavy blow downs and heavy associated brush using the chainsaw,
fire rake and loppers and worked their way down to the picnic
area. A very big job as it turned out. The irony is that this
section had been cleared only some 60 days ago. Clearly this is
one of our most "needy " areas requiring a series of maintenance
sessions throughout the year. This team had better luck with
the weather. The other team of five had great plans to cover
some 5.2 miles on the eastern end of the Rim Trail (Far Bald
Springs Trail, Shinbone Ridge Trail and also some actual Rim
Trail). Well, those plans were thwarted by a tough climb up Far
Bald Springs (cleaned up some minor level of debris and thorny
brush), a very small section of Rim, and then we encountered a
bit of a triple whammy in the form of rain, fast dropping
temperatures, and blustery winds on the top of the ridge. We
decided to call a halt and retracted our steps back off the Rim
and called it a day. Please join me in thanking these fine
stalwarts for working hard and taking a chance on the weather.
____________________________________________________________________________________
19 March 2009 was another spectacular day
for the MHH trail maintenance effort. A record tying number of
helpers showed up with an eager attitude to help our club meet its
charter of maintaining trails. Once again we had 12 folks
contribute to this day's success. We worked the Cooper's Creek
series of four different trails. We divided into four teams each
of which did much painting of the lime green blazes in accordance
with the guidance specified by the USFS. Each of our four teams
cleaned up some minor level of debris with the exception of some
moderate chain saw work (by Vice-President Richard Sullivan) on
the east end of the Yellow Mountain Trail. Special thanks to Arty
and Gene and Arty Hodgson's son for their timely input of advance
information to alert us of this chain saw requirement. Both of
them deserve our hearty thanks for their continuing work on this
series of trails and affording me of timely information regarding
additional resources required. Each team reported that they had a
good time, and the fact that we were able to complete the entire
network of trails in one day was due only to the fact that 12
folks came and worked so hard. The four trails are the
aforementioned Yellow Mountain Trail, the Shope Gap Trail, the
Cooper Creek Connector Trail, and the Mill Shoals Trail.
Thursday, 5 March, saw 11 wonderful trail
maintenance volunteers from our MHH club who worked on the Chunky
Gal trail. Blessed with that number of great folks, we divided
into two teams.
Thursday, 26 Feb 09, was a special
unscheduled maintenance work day. It was "special," alright!!
The day began at the Cottage Deli in Hayesville as 8!! super
congenial folks gathered for a fabulous breakfast. We gorged
ourselves at the buffet and then the baker came out with some
delicious hot cinnamon rolls; and most of us found some place to
further stuff them in; egad! What a kickoff to a work day. Then we
picked up another person at Ingles and then three!!! more at Fires
Creek picnic area! "Holy Moly"!!! Now we had a team of 12
wonderfully motivated MHH volunteers. As I said recently, "I am
truly blessed and honored to have such great folks who are so
altruistically committed to the goals of our club."
With our work gear distributed, we split up into
two teams of six each. One team began their strenuous effort at the end of FS
Road 340C (the most easterly portion of the Rim basin) and proceeded due north
to intersect the Rim Trail. This informal route had been previously marked as a
short, but steep, access to the Rim by other volunteers (Jim Morgan, Dave
Richardson, and John Quinlan). FYI; this is one of the shortest ways
(approx .5 mile) to the Rim using open easily driven and not gated roads and the
.5 mile steep foot travel. That team then proceeded west to Big Stamp and
used the two vehicles placed there by the other team. The second team drove to
Big Stamp (not recommended due to rocky and badly rutted, muddy sections)
and proceeded east 4.5 miles to the steep access used by the first team. Along
the way on the Rim we placed many blazes as there were long, unmarked sections
of pathway. We used all sorts of cutting tools to clear the trail ranging from
loppers, hand saws, axes, and one chain saw. Much was accomplished, and yet
another go at this area will be necessary to reduce the number of thorny vines
adjacent to the trail.
My hats off to such a dedicated hardworking
group! A personal thank you to each of them. Their names are listed
below:
On a cold and windy Thursday four dedicated MHH
volunteers ( Richard Sullivan, Rod Whitefield, Bob LeHoullier, and John Quinlan)
traveled to the Miller Trek trail in Young Harris and, although we did some
minor branch lopping and a little handsaw work, most of the work involved
performing the requested re-painting of blazes with lime green paint; they were
ready for it. Overall the trail is in pretty good shape, except for two large
trees at the top that lay across the trail. Sounds like another trip with
the chain saw.
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Thursday, February 12, was not a formally
scheduled trail maintenance work day. However due to recent adverse
weather that prevented us from accomplishing all that we planned to do
earlier, I put out a call for a "few" volunteers to come out on this
unscheduled day to help make up some lost opportunities. I had planned
on doing ONE stretch of trail that was scheduled for a coming hike.
Welllllllll, as the saying goes "my cup runneth over". Eight (8) great
folks showed up for this ONE stretch! So being the creative person I
am, your MHH volunteers "seized the day". We had a "triple-whammy" of
a day, accomplishing three of my objectives.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Even though Thursday, 29 Jan 09, was not a
regularly scheduled trail maintenance day, five wonderfully motivated
and hardworking individuals came together to accomplish 3 objectives.
First we conducted a "road reconnaisance" designed to advise the
Tusquittee Ranger District that the road (to Big Stamp on the Rim trail)
was open and safe to travel in anticipation of the USFS providing
transport for MHH trail maintenance volunteers to that point next week
on 5 Feb. This objective was admirably accomplished due to the capable
driving of David Richardson in 4 wheel drive low range thru a few, lets
just say a few "tough spots", enroute to Big Stamp. Way to go Dave!! At
that point we jumped out ("fled"?) the vehicle to scout the area. Our
erstwhile tour guide, Dave, showed us the shelter on the high point near
the fire tower that could have been used as a storm shelter for the
tower lookout (or hideout Eric Rudolph??). At that point Dave returned
to FS road 340A while Richard Sullivan, Pam Sullivan, Jim Morgan, and
John Quinlan began to do some trail work (thus began the second
objective to make Rockhouse Creek trail "open, blazed, and safe." After
all as long as we traveled that far (50 min. trip from the picnic area)
we might as well be productive trail workers and earn our "pay". H'mm, a
bill to Bob!?! After we worked our way down Rockhouse we met Dave coming
from the other direction and we had lunch with the creek roaring
underneath us. Very cool!! Not to mention very pretty scenery. At around
2 pm Dave, Jim, and John, ever the gluttons for punishment, drove to the
end of FS 340C; farthest point in the rim basin, and got ready to launch
into objective 3. This objective saw the three of us take off cross
country, heading north by compass, with the goal of reaching the Rim
Trail by the shortest path. Success was achieved here too after a
challenging bushwhack STEEP climb. Once there we marked the Rim Trail
very brightly so that point can be readily identified by workers
traveling from either direction on the Rim. On the way back down we
marked with bright tape that newly found path so the Rim can also be
accessed and easily followed from the end of 340C. Well folks it was, as
they say, a "helleva" day with all three objectives met in a superb
style by amazing well spirited MHH Volunteers.
John Quinlan
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thursday, 22 Jan 09, saw 8 great MHH volunteers take
to the trails. We met at MaryAnn's where most enjoyed some nourishment and
highly intelligent conversation (or BS if you prefer). As a Georgia
day was planned we had previously acquired the Young Harris College gate
key and began our drive up to the Wilderness area. From a previous report,
courtesy of Bobbi LeHoullier, I knew that we had to cut out at least one
large tree, so well equipped with three chain saws we began cutting our
way through some branches and a few heavy trunks that blocked our vehicle
path enroute to the wilderness gate. From there we continued further
(without power equipment as prescribed by the Forest Service). At this
time, since we still had the 3 saws, we decided on using a portion of
this splendid crew to return to a section of the Chunky Gal Trail that
needed a good bit of chain saw work. As a result Harold Dyer (a brave
vehicle driver), Guy Burger (previous MHH Trail Maintenance Director), and
Larry "Big Saw with Big Arm" Zarefoss continued on into the wilderness
area on the Wagon Train trail. They continued to clear water runoffs
and even more unexpected blow downs. After all, hate to see Larry
not get some use of his big hand saw! The remaining five of your MHH
teammates went to that portion of the "Gal" that leads north from Glade
Gap up to the first stairway. Richard and Pam Sullivan joined Tom
Bussolari in his truck up a VERY snowy FS road to the lower stairs and
began working down. Dave Richardson and John Quinlan walked in from Glade
Gap up through some 4-5 inches of snow. Each sub-team had a chain saw and
we sure made use of them. We met for lunch and Tom and Pam went back up
and drove down while Richard, Dave, and I walked back down doing even more
heavy duty cutting and HEAVY log moving. All went well and the best news
as always is that no injuries were encountered and the spirits were
exceptionally high! What a group! Everyone had an over-the-top attitude
and we all felt as though much was accomplished. Each of the 8 person team
logged 6.5 hours for the day.
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