Week 6 & 7: June 13-25, 2019

Crew 2: South of Bee Cove Lead Rehab

working with Smoky Mountains Hiking Club

click here for the complete photo album

Good gracious, what a blast! By far the most fun I’ve had in ages. This week the Konnarock Crew was put to the test with two consecutive weeks in the field, bringing about challenging logistics and endless opportunities to have a great time. 

Our objective this week was to build trail to bypass two very dangerous spots in the Bee Cove area near Fontana. These heavily eroded sections were plagued by slick mud, gnarly roots and steep bedrock making it not only challenging to cross but quite dangerous as well. So what do you do when faced with such a dilemma? You wipe the sweat from your brow, strap on your personal protective equipment and start digging! 

And dig we did, at the end of two weeks we had constructed 40 stone steps, several of which were chiseled out of solid bed rock with a jackhammer. The Smoky Mountains Hiking Club accompanied us this week, showering us with gratitude for what we had accomplished and bolstering our workforce. The club was even gracious enough to treat the crew to two wonderful dinners!

How to pass the time between the two work weeks? On one of our off days, we all packed up and drove to Wild Water Rafting Company near the Nantahala Outdoor Center for some white water rafting! After a few days of rest, relaxation, tacos, and cut-throat games of monopoly we headed back to the Cable Cove Campground to begin plugging away at week 2. 

We spent the first day back finalizing a few projects then headed down the hill to begin working with log steps. At the base of the hill we stumbled upon a huge downed black locust and took the opportunity to set in some steps and stage materials for the club to use in the future. Two more successful weeks on the AT.. accomplished, friendships developed, ice cream demolished, and a trail built that we can all be proud of. 

--Paul Sealy, Assitant Crew Leader

Week 5: May 5-9, 2019

Crew 2: Yellow Mountain Rehab

working with Nantahala Hiking Club

click here for the full photo album

Rumbling thunder cries out in the distance as a thunderstorm gnashes its teeth, threatening us with torrential downpours. Konnarock Crew 2 yells back, “NOT TODAY” to no avail as the rain rinses the dust from our brows and the sweat from our skin. 

If there is anything that I learned while hiking the A.T. it's that rain will always win, there is no such thing as a “dry” A.T. experience. Regardless of the persistent rain, morale remained high as we did our best to make improvements to the trail, laughing and joking with one another as if it was a sunny picnic. 

The rain persisted the entire trip, limiting our ability to build sturdy structures. We were able to rehab a particularly dangerous area of trail where sloping bedrock caused the soil to slide downhill, making for a treacherous decent. Junk cribbing and stone steps followed by mounds and mounds of freshly made crush made certain that it would no longer be an issue. 

The Nantahala Hiking Club joined us again to fortify our efforts as we slogged through the mud attempting to restore order, keeping our spirits high. After stabilizing as much as we could, and setting water diversions, we packed up and headed to a club member's residence where we were treated to hot showers, warm beds and a delicious potluck-style home cooked meal! 

All things considered, this was a great week. Its difficult for me to have any negative feelings towards this week - it will take more than rain to tarnish my love for the A.T.! Yet again the Konnarock Crew coupled with the Nantahala Hiking Club have completed a successful week of maintenance. Come out and join us!

--Paul Sealy, Assistant Crew Leader

Week 5: June 5-9, 2019

Crew 1: Battery Cliff Rehab

working with Old Dominion Appalachian Trail Club

click here for the full photo album



For week five, Crew 1 returned to Battery Cliffs to continue our rehab work on a heavily eroded section of trail. This week the highline made a reappearance, and all 70 of the rocks we flew downhill to a staging area last week, got flown uphill, to the work site this week.

Fighting gravity turned out to be quite a challenge, but we managed to do it all in a relatively short amount of time. We also got to do some building this week and put in some cribbing and a staircase despite the less than ideal weather. It ended up raining on us a good bit, so we had some leisurely mornings under the kitchen tarp, and then would head to work between 11:30 and noon most days when the rain eased up.

Even though most mornings were pretty rainy, some of the evenings after work were nice enough that we could enjoy a nice campfire and Jerry got the chance to grill hamburgers over the fire for the first time on project. On the last night, the club had an amazing chef come cook for us at our campsite which was a big hit. It was by far the best food I’ve ever had in the field and definitely put most of us into a food coma by the end of the meal.

It was yet another awesome week!

--Sarah Ellsworth, Assistant Crew Leader

Week 4: May 25-29, 2019

Crew 1: Battery Cliff Rehab

working with Old Dominion Appalachian Trail Club


click here for the full photo album


On week four, Crew 1 set off for Battery Cliffs doing a rehab project in a section that has been really degraded by water. A lot of rockwork and drainage will be necessary to solve this problem.

This week we set up a highline which was incredible to see in action. We were like a machine moving rock and managed to fly over 70 huge rocks in just a day and a half. The teamwork with this crew was awesome which was definitely what allowed us to fly so much rock so fast.

We had an expert tree climber with us who helped us rig up the whole system on day 2 and once it was set up everybody was assigned a job to do. We all ended up liking what we were doing so much that we never really switched up positions so everybody ended up being a pro by the next day.

On day 4 to wrap up the week, the crew put in two rock water bars and a few steps to help control the water issue before we come back for week 5. The last day of the week was our drive day so we got to sleep in a bit before we hit the road.

In our off time this week we got to adventure some. On day 3 we went into Waynesboro for our mandatory weekly ice cream stop. Then on day 4 after work we went off to Sherando lake and swam around to clean off, some people even brought out some soap. It’s a beautiful lake that we will most definitely be returning to next week ( they even have hot showers there ). 

On the last day of the week on the drive back to basecamp we stopped at Dinosaur Kingdom 2 which was an incredibly enlightening experience. We learned the secret history of the civil war, saw plenty of prehistoric creatures, and entered a room that defied the laws of physics. We even got to chat with the creator of this surreal world for a bit. It was probably the strangest place any of us had ever been in our lives. You can’t leave Dinosaur Kingdom 2 the same person as when you go in.

Ultimately we couldn’t have asked for a better crew and it ended up being a great week full of
weird adventures and really good work.

--Sarah Ellsworth, Assistant Crew Leader

Week 4: May 25-29, 2019

Crew 2: Yellow Mountain Rehab

working with Nantahala Hiking Club

click here for the complete photo album

As the weeks press on and the trail begins its transformation I am constantly reminded of all the work leading up to the construction of the Appalachian Trail and how many wonderful people have impacted its winding path. 

On October 7^th, 1923, the first section of trail from Bear Mountain to Arden, New York was opened and ever since a very special family has been building. Each week we get a new group of volunteers and the family grows larger, others return to visit and some you just can’t seem to get rid of! Our Camp Coordinator Janet always makes camp feel like home with her questionable humor and delicious food, here at Konnarock everyone is family. 

Our second week on the Yellow Mountain Rehab project was an absolute dream. Perfect weather all week, followed by an incredible Thai dinner with friends, set the bar high for the rest of the season. Regardless of a small our crew this week we were able to make great progress, it’s incredible how much can be accomplished with unity, tenacity and sweat. 

We first focused on finalizing a project from the previous week before moving down the hill to address a section of trail suffering from direct water flow and steep sections which could soon become too difficult to traverse. At the end of the week we walked away having completed several stone staircases, a large water bar, a crib wall, and a log staircase. 

Shout out to The Nantahala Hiking Club who accompanied us for a second consecutive week, none of this would be possible without the support from our hiking clubs! Next week will be our last week on the Yellow mountain rehab before moving on to Fontana Dam, come on out and join the family!

--Paul Sealy, Assistant Crew Leader

Week 3: May 17-21, 2019

Crew 2: Yellow Mountain Rehab

working with Nantahala Hiking Club

click here for the complete photo album

I’ve heard it said that time flies when you’re having fun, well it goes even faster on the Appalachian Trail. It seems just yesterday we set out from Sugar Grove Base camp and headed south to Deep Gap in the Nantahala National Forest with our lively group of volunteers hailing all the way from South Dakota.

After a delicious welcome dinner, orientation and a nights rest we set out for Deep Gap campground, assembled our shelters and hiked to the summit of Standing Indian Mountain to stretch our legs and take in the landscape. Bright and early the next morning, with muscles stretched and tools cached we dug into our first project of the week: a steep, slick hill riddled with gnarly birch roots.

 Using the Griphoist and rock nets we moved 400 pound rocks uphill to set in place as stairs and cribbing, gently nudging them into pre-dug holes with rock bars and pick mattocks. The Nantahala Hiking Club joined us in force as we manicured difficult sections of trail in the beautiful sunny spring weather.

Time slipped by around the campfire as we laughed and joked, telling each other riddles and making up silly nicknames trying not to let our marsh mellows burn. As the long week wound down we were treated to an awesome dinner by the Nantahala Hiking Club at a local Mexican restaurant before packing up to head back to base camp.



It was such an honor being able to spend a week working with these tough ladies, most of whom had never camped overnight before. Seeing the trail transform alongside them was an incredible and uplifting experience. Come on out and have some fun in the woods with Konnarock Trail Crew!

--Paul Sealy, Assistant Crew Leader