Crew 2: Justus Mountain Relocation
working with Georgia Appalachian Trail Club
click here for the complete photo album
Greetings, loyal readers, volunteers, and trail enthusiasts one and all! The sixth Konnarock Trail Crew week has come to a close, and with this, the 2018 season is officially halfway through. This milestone was reached with Crew 2’s second consecutive trip to northern Georgia - this time with a focus on the AT at Gooch Gap, near Dahlonega. Again, the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club (GATC) proved to be an invaluable partner for Konnarock in addressing the trail maintenance needs on the GA section.
The main project at Gooch Gap was the construction of a log staircase on a particularly steep section of sidehill along the recently built relocation, in order to harden the tread and check erosion. Despite the lack of suitable black locust trees on site, GATC members made the job easy by cutting logs off site and hauling them to Gooch Gap while Konnarock was in between project weeks. Thanks to this prep work, the log construction could start right away when the crew arrived.
The work at Gooch involved two main phases. One group of volunteers and club members stayed right at the road access point and worked to debark the locust logs, cut them down to size, and make copious stakes by splitting short log sections into narrow pieces and then sharpening the ends. This was an enormous amount of processing work to be done, but thanks to the combined forces of GATC and Konnarock, it didn’t phase the group in the slightest.
Meanwhile, a smaller group worked with crew leader Brian Allgood on the construction of the steps themselves - just a short hike down the A.T. from the road access. Carrying the logs from the road access to the step site would have presented a challenging logistical situation, but luckily GATC came through with one of their own signature inventions - named the “Zebmobile”. This welded, wheeled device proved to be a safe, stable and ergonomic way to transport numerous logs from one place to another.
Installing the locust log steps proved to be a time consuming process, since the design for the site involved the use of saddle notching all pieces of the staircase and cribbing together. This involved notching process will result in a very solid structure that should stand the test of time. As always, a huge quantity of crushed rock was required for locking steps into place and filling in behind them - so several volunteers devoted their energies to this task.
While the log staircase was the principal goal of Week 6, this week was unconventional in that Konnarock did some degree of hopping between the step project at Gooch Gap and the relocation at Justus Mountain (about a 10 minute drive away).
The second day of the Konnarock week coincided with GATC’s big monthly work day, when many prospective club members come out, work alongside seasoned members, and get their first introduction to trail maintenance. The opportunity to work with the Konnarock Trail Crew is an added draw for prospective GATC members, and provides a great opportunity for these valuable partners to collaborate and learn from one another.
In this case, GATC brought out about 30 members - prospective, new, and veteran - and commenced with a talk by the club president and a tool safety talk by the district supervisor. The large combined group then split into teams and worked to even out some rough sections of sidehill tread along the Justus relocation, in addition to constructing several sets of rock steps in strategic points along the trail. Seeing a great number of individuals working together on the Justus Mountain relocation provided a great reminder of the way in which the A.T.’s existence is dependent on partnerships between so many dedicated people.
Meanwhile, a rotating group of Konnarock volunteers spent many hours working on the continued rock demolition involved in widening a section of bedrock trail that was pushing hikers into a dangerous slipping hazard. Last week, the Milwaukee rock hammer drill was used only in its chipper configuration, but for Week 6, the crew tried a grand experiment of using feathers and wedges - traditional masonry tools used to split and shape large rocks - to break up the solid bedrock and widen the trail.
This task involved using the Milwaukee to drill holes into the bedrock, where the feathers could be inserted, and the wedges pounded in with hammers to create fissures and break up the rock. This work involved a lot of trial and error, and patience on the part of volunteers. Though it was a great learning experience and resulted in some success, it ultimately became more fruitful to return the drill to chipper mode and break up the remaining bedrock jack-hammer style.
By the end of the final work day, the crew had returned to Gooch and made substantial progress on the locust log staircase. Approximately 13 beefy, cribbed log steps were installed with accompanying rock gargoyles. It is hard to see the amount of different tasks and components that went into these steps from simply looking in hindsight. The remaining steps remain to be constructed next week.
When they weren’t hard at work, the Konnarock Crew found time to enjoy the sights and sounds of their temporary GA home. For the second week in a row, Crew 2 stayed in the gymnasium building at the Camp Merrill Army Ranger training facility. Unlike last week, a new group of Ranger students were in session this week - so the crew was graced with the occasional music of low-flying helicopters, gunfire and explosions as the new recruits underwent their training.
While the sounds of battle were a bit different from the typical soothing wilderness balm of crickets and birdsongs, staying at Camp Merrill had some unexpected perks - such as the delivery of a box of extra MREs (Meals, Ready to Eat) for the lucky members of the crew.
In other musical genres, long-time Konnarock volunteer Cool Breeze provided plenty of entertainment with his signature penny-whistle - whether it was evening jams with other musically inclined crew members or a morning wake up call of “Reveille.”
Crew 2 also enjoyed a trip to the secluded Black Falls, a spot on the Etowah River which Bruce of the GATC pointed out to Konnarock the week before. This beautiful waterfall and swimming hole provided an ideal place to cool off and wash the sweat away after a hot, humid Georgia work day. There’s nothing quite like the shower of a natural waterfall to cleanse oneself of fatigue.
Of course, a trip to Georgia would not be complete without a night at the idyllic home of Tom Lamb, trail supervisor of GATC. Located on an oxbow of the Etowah River, Tom’s house provides an unparalleled launch point for a scenic and relaxing tubing trip (or several). In addition to tubing, the Lamb Experience included a bonfire, some excellent grilled salmon and other side dishes, homemade beverages and local neighborhood bluegrass talent.
Most of the crew opted to sleep in the yard, awakening to a freshly prepared breakfast the next morning. Breakfast featured Tom’s homemade biscuits, served with a side of mustard in the tradition of Billy Bob Thornton’s Sling Blade.
After tearing themselves away from Tom’s little piece of paradise, Crew 2 hopped back in the vehicles and began the long trip back north to VA. The trip featured one last stop at the famous 12 Bones Smokehouse in Asheville, NC, for a fantastic BBQ lunch. The consumption of such fine cuisine was a fitting way to end another successful Konnarock crew week.
This blog post would not be complete without giving a huge thank you to the dedicated volunteers who gave their time and energy to the Konnarock Trail Crew this week. It is always inspirational to see what a group of strangers coming together for 5 days can accomplish, building both friendships and trail structures. Major thanks as well to all of the GATC members who came out during the week to work alongside Crew 2. The hospitality of the Georgia club is legendary and this was on full display this week with another unforgettable end-of-week bash at Tom Lamb’s house.
Only one week remains in the humid domain of north Georgia, just miles away from the southern terminus of the A.T. Tune in next time to learn about the conclusion of 2018’s southernmost project, which just might feature even more excitement than the adventures thus far?
What will happen when Crew 2 stays at Camp Merrill, just a couple miles away from the impending spectacle of the counter-cultural Rainbow Gathering? This looks to be no ordinary Konnarock week in the making… if there was such a thing as an ordinary Konnarock week to begin with. No doubt there will be stories to be told afterward, but one thing is assured - Crew 2 will not leave without completing some high-quality trail work on this legendary Trail that brings so many people together.
Installing the locust log steps proved to be a time consuming process, since the design for the site involved the use of saddle notching all pieces of the staircase and cribbing together. This involved notching process will result in a very solid structure that should stand the test of time. As always, a huge quantity of crushed rock was required for locking steps into place and filling in behind them - so several volunteers devoted their energies to this task. 
--Josh Reynolds, Assistant Crew Leader
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