Crew 1: Poor Mountain Relocation
click here for the complete photo album
The second week of the season is done, and it was an amazing experience. Students from the University of Central Missouri (UCM) made the long trek to Virginia to help improve the Appalachian Trail.
The crew was half veterans, and half civilian students who came together to bond and work. Crew 1 headed down to Georgia to begin work on relocation of the trail at Poor Mountain near Hog Pen Gap. The purpose of the relocation is to move the trail to a more sustainable location.
On the first day we made the six hour drive to Georgia and hiked in tools to the worksite. On the way down we were able to stop at a rest area and pick up a copy of a newspaper with a horoscope section so we could learn what the week had in store for us.
The next day we were expecting bad weather, but were pleasantly surprised by the nice sunny day we got to enjoy. An impressive amount of quality sidehill was dug in one afternoon, but unfortunately the weather was less kind to us for the rest of the week. The next day was rainy with scattered thunderstorms, so we thought it would be unsafe to head up to the worksite. Instead of heading up there, we went on a short, lovely hike down to a huge waterfall. 
Later that afternoon, the weather cleared up some and we were able to get some work done at a different site that was closer than the relocation. This section was steep and degraded, so we all had the opportunity to do some non-sidehill projects. Rock steps, rock waterbars, drainage dips, and log steps were all put in in the following two afternoons. Both of the next two mornings we were rained out, but we still managed accomplish so much.
On the final evening we were generously hosted by a member of the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club at his beautiful house along the Etowah River. The UCM students had the opportunity to float the section of river in inner tubes and canoes (the canoes somewhat less successfully by the end).
After the float trip, a big dinner was served to all of us around a bonfire and the next morning an equally impressive breakfast was served before we hit the road. All in all, it was an amazing, fun, and super productive trip. We already can’t wait for next season's UCM group.
On the final evening we were generously hosted by a member of the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club at his beautiful house along the Etowah River. The UCM students had the opportunity to float the section of river in inner tubes and canoes (the canoes somewhat less successfully by the end).
After the float trip, a big dinner was served to all of us around a bonfire and the next morning an equally impressive breakfast was served before we hit the road. All in all, it was an amazing, fun, and super productive trip. We already can’t wait for next season's UCM group.
---Sarah Ellsworth, Assistant Crew Leader
No comments:
Post a Comment