Appalachian Trail Maintainers News
March 2006 - Editor/Dianne Gruber
Remote for detachment; Narrow for chosen company; Winding for leisure; Lonely for contemplation; It beckons not merely north and south, but upward to the body, mind and soul of man ...Harold Allen
Published by the Appalachian Trail Maintainers Committee of the Smoky Mountains Hiking Club
Committee: Dick Ketelle, 865 483-9345; Phyllis Henry, 865 577-2604; Mac McNutt, 865 983-3237; Philip Royer, 865 694- 0160, Pete James,,865 977-0807; Dianne Gruber, 865 977-0807; Penny Lankford,865 774-1866; John Lankford, 865 774-1866.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Mark your calendar and join in on the following opportunities:
April 1-30 Chainsaw window in GSMNP
March 13-15, probably March 14: Helicopter drops at Cosby Knob, Tricorner Knob, and Pecks Corner shelters and along the A.T. from Newfound Gap to Clingmans Dome. If you can help out for at least a 2 day stretch please call Phyllis Henry 577-2604 or email: phyllishenry@yahoo.com
March 12-18 – Warren Wilson College Spring Break Crew working out of Nantahala Outdoor Center
May 6 - Basic Trail Maintenance Skills Workshop, Robbinsville, NC
May 20 – a repeat of the above workshop – Gatlinburg, TN. More details to follow on both.
June 3 - National Trails Day
March Work Trips
Our “first Saturday” worktrip will be March 4. This will be a sawing trip in the National Forest to remove the winter blowdowns. We hope to get enough people to “blitz” our entire 30 miles of forest. To do this we will need all the certified sawyers, plus non sawyers for brush throwing. Please contact Dick Ketelle at 865 483-9345 or rhketelle@comcast.net by March 1. We need to know which sawyers are able to participate so we can plan which crews will cover each area.
Our second work project for March will be to help with helicopter drops of materials at Tricorner Knob and Pecks Corner, as well as helicopter drops of logs along the section of trail near Clingmans Dome. The helicopter is scheduled to fly Tuesday March 14, but dates could shift depending on weather, and could involve Monday the 13th through Wednesday the 15th. There will be training by ATC reps on Monday March 13. We need to have crews stationed at various drop sites to receive the materials, so we really need volunteers who can commit for several days. Because of the training, we need to know who is available to help by March 1. Dick Ketelle 865 483-9345 rhketelle@comcast.net and Phyllis Henry 865 577-2604 phyllishenry@yahoo.com are coordinating this work.
Warren Wilson College Spring Break Crew
Approximately ten Warren Wilson College students plan to spend March 12-18 working between Nantahala Outdoor Center and Watia (Wright Gap), about 2 miles. They will finish some cribbing started two years ago by another college spring break crew, clean up and work on a real rocky area, lots of rock work to flatten the tread, move it some, sidehill digging, as well as other rehab, install and clean water bars, and restore the tread. Jim Lowe is coordinating the effort and the “trail boss” will be Randy Puckett. SMHC members are encouraged to join the college crew for a day or two. NOC is putting the students up in their tent platforms and tents, with full access to the community building, -the kitchen, dining hall, showers. We will be advertising to invite through hikers to stop and spend a day at work. If they work a full day, they’ll be accommodated just like the students, and we--SMHC & ATC--will feed them. Wednesday will be the break day.
The chainsaw window in GSMNP is the month of April.
Through Hiker Season Is Upon Us (Blizzards Notwithstanding)
Smokies Ridge Runner Jim Mowbray met the first two north bound thru-hikers of the year. They were on Mt. Sequoia, Saturday, January 28. Bear and Papa Bear are their names, though not related.
Current trail conditions:
Jim reports there is two to three feet of accumulated snow on the north flank of Mt. Guyot and a couple of miles of solid ice covering the trail both sides of Icewater Spring. The ice is difficult to get around, forcing hikers to the edge of the steep slope. Jim reports many down trees on the trail in the 25 miles from Newfound Gap north but he has trimmed them and none are too tough to negotiate. (This was reported before the snows of Feb 11)
March 11 Chainsaw refresher course taught by GSMNP. Sawyers, check your certificates and make sure you are up to date.
Trail Maintenance Workshop
This year SMHC and ATC will conduct basic trail maintenance workshops at the Nantahala Outdoor Center on May 6. This is an opportunity for those interested in learning about trail maintenance to try it out. We’ll do the training at NOC in the morning, then go south on the AT to do the hands on maintenance training. NOC will host us, and there will be some great door prizes including raft trips!!
Appalachian Trail Display at Sugarlands Visitor Center
SMHC members Randy Puckett, Ann Farrar, Lucinda Turbeville, and Phyllis Henry have been collaborating with Morgan Sommerville of the ATC and National Park Service staff to create a display in the Sugarlands visitor center celebrating the Appalachian Trail. The grand opening for the display will be in late March. The new display will be showcased by a series of lectures to be given at the visitor center this April and May. Speakers who have through hiked the A.T. will tell their stories. Receptions will follow the lectures. Watch for more information as dates and speakers are confirmed. Take your sweetheart on a date to the park. Enjoy the new display, hear a story with slides, and get refreshments.
May 27 Wilderness First Aid course offered at Fall Creek Falls State Park. Cost $140
A.T. Work Report
1/21/06 Jim Quick hiked to Spence Field and swept out the privy, knocked down the pile with the slider board, and filled the mulch bucket. He picked up and packed out trash from shelter site. (Terri & Chris brought the trash bag down).
1/25/06 Carol Anderson, Steve Higdon, and Lucinda Turbeville cleaned up Icewater springs, untangled the pack wires, checked on the privy, and everything else looked good and dandy.
1/28/06 Mac McNutt, Terry Elmore, Stew Taylor and Phyllis Henry removed all blowdowns from Newfound Gap to Icewater Springs shelter. They cleaned the shelter, fireplace, fire ring, and privy, filled mulch buckets and carried out all the empty mulch bags. Folks were very appreciative of the tarp. Fill dirt that we put in on last trip had compressed nicely - inside of shelter was dry. Trail was extremely icy - several falls on Saturday.