Crew 1: Big Butt/Jerry Cabin
As the month of May comes to a close, so does Week 4 of the
Konnarock Trail Crew season. This fourth
week took Crew 1 on a precarious climb to the upper reaches of Big Butt
Mountain in western North Carolina.
The
primary goal of the trip was to rehabilitate an area of trail that had become a
slippery mudhole, with an existing log ladder no longer serving its purpose. This messy area of trail would test the
mettle of the Konnarock team and serve as an example of the necessity of
sustainable trail building techniques.
On this thrilling journey, Crew 1 took an
incredibly solid group of military and veteran volunteers from the University
of Central Missouri (AKA the Mules).
Jeff Huffman, Director of the Office of Military and Veteran Services at
UCM, coordinated this experience as a service learning trip to create lasting
memories and increase the connection veterans students have to their
university.
In addition to the team from
UCM, Crew 1 also featured one international guest volunteer: Rui, visiting us
from the Azores, Portugal, came to learn about trail building for his Ph.D
studies. Despite the considerable credentials
of this team, crew members came with a wide range in prior camping experiences:
from seasoned hunters and highly trained survivalists to those who had never
slept outside before.
The journey up Big Butt Mountain was a tricky one, mainly
due to the extremely dicey forest road that Crew 1 ascended in their
vehicles. 11 miles of winding, rutted,
gullied dirt roads required several episodes of chainsaw usage to clear the
way. With a new set of
tire chains and the driving expertise of Crew Leader Jerry Kyle, however, even
the Konnarock van made it up the difficult road without getting stuck.
The crew set up camp in the historic Ballground area, where
the AT passes through a beautiful bald field that is also highly exposed to the
elements. With dark clouds gathering on
the horizon and the thunder rumbling in the distance, the team shared a
delicious dinner before retreating to the shelter of tents for the
evening. This retreat came just in the
nick of time, as the Ballground was shortly thereafter blasted with a ferocious
storm. Heavy rain dumped on the field
and the sky was never dark for more than a second or two as lighting flashed in
rapid succession.
In spite of the powerful storm, Crew 1 awakened the next
morning undaunted and ready for action.
Day 1 of project work was exclusively dedicated to quarrying and
transporting rocks for the construction of a stone staircase and a stone crib
wall. Due to the thick brush and general
lack of suitable rocks at the immediate worksite, the crew had to dig and carry massive rocks from a considerable distance of
several hundred yards.
Luckily, Crew 1
had a team of Mules (UCM’s mascot) to take care of the job. Even rocks easily weighing 400 pounds were
transported using rock nets and the coordinated might of Crew 1’s volunteer
team. By the end of Day 1, enough rocks
had been collected and moved to do most of the construction on the necessary
structures.
For the next two full days, crew members worked on several
tasks. One group focused on the stone staircase, another on the crib wall, and
a third group became a virtual gravel-factory as they smashed large stones into
crush. All tasks were made considerably
more challenging by the preponderance of dark, reeking organic muck that formed
a thick layer above the mineral soil.
This unpleasant layer had to be systematically scraped off of the tread
surface in order to return the trail to a state that could even support
structural building. Several drainage
channels were installed in the process, so that in the future water will be
able to find its way off of the trail more easily. Even the mineral soil was challenging to work
with as it was a thick clay-filled material - so the digging and rock
construction was intense and all crew members were thoroughly tired by the end
of the work days.
By the end of the third work day, an incredible amount of
work had been achieved. Although Crew 1
will be returning to Big Butt Mountain two more weeks to finish up what is
currently a work in progress, the Week 4 team set a mighty foundation for the
improvements to this challenging trail section.
Through the installation of massive stone steps and a solid crib wall,
the trail has been raised out of the water and provided with several drainage
opportunities. The next week will
feature plenty of crush-and-fill on the crib wall and the placement of several
more steps, plus some additional measures to secure the new steps to the
bedrock beneath them.
Besides grueling rock work, Crew 1 enjoyed several evening
campfires at the Ballground, a number of delicious meals (including a special
breakfast of made-to-order omelettes and creamy grits courtesy of Jeff and
Jerry), and plenty of stimulating conversations and reflections about all
aspects of life. Without exception,
everyone on the crew took away a number of educational experiences from this
trip, whether it was learning about Leave No Trace camping, learning how the
military works, or learning about international cultural differences.
On the way home after the close of the project, the crew
stopped for lunch in Bristol at the legendary Burger Bar restaurant. This turned out to be a meal of epic
proportions as one crew member took on the Burger Bar Challenge. The goal of the challenge is to successfully
eat a 2-pound quadruple-cheeseburger with a 2.5-pound side of fries - in under
30 minutes. Earning the trail name
“Burger King” this UCM volunteer beat the odds with 8 minutes to spare, winning
a t-shirt and the pride of being one of only five customers to ever succeed in
the undertaking.
Afterwards, the owner
of the Burger Bar, Joe, thanked the crew for their trail-building service by
covering the costs of lunch and giving the team a special behind the scenes
tour of the restaurant and his neighboring catering business, Piedmont
Catering. A huge thank you to Joe for
this hospitality and generosity!
Another big thanks goes out to Rocky Fork State Park for helping to transport Crew 1’s gear
up the last leg of the journey to the Ballground via ATV. Thanks as well to ATC Southern Regional
Director Morgan Sommerville for accompanying the crew on the climb up the
forest road on Day 1. Finally, a big
thanks to Jeff for recruiting this all-star team of volunteers as part of his
work with UCM’s Office of Military and Veteran Affairs.
--Josh Reynolds, Assistant Crew Leader
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