Crew 2: Brown Fork Gap Relocation
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Attention Konnarock blog readers: we have a major triumph to report in the most recent documentation of Crew 2’s daring and decisive trail building deeds. It is not every week, or even every year, that a Konnarock crew has the opportunity to open up a brand new relocation on the Appalachian Trail.
Week 10 of the 2018 season, however, is one such momentous week. The third and final week of the season on the Brown Fork Gap relocation north of Stecoah Gap, NC featured an epic display of trail construction and volunteer excellence that all participants can rightfully be proud of.For those unfamiliar with the project, the Brown Fork Gap relocation was initiated by Konnarock in 2017 to reroute the A.T. around a short stretch of trail that was so steep as to be unsustainable. To circumvent the old trail, a relocation was laid out at a much more sustainable grade, incorporating one switchback with a grade that required a set of steps.
When Week 9 concluded, it was still up in the air whether or not Crew 2 would manage to complete this relocation to a state where it could be opened to hikers. With a much smaller group of volunteers on Week 10, this uncertainty did not diminish in the slightest.
However, Crew 2 has developed a habit of doing quality work under challenging timeframes and conditions, and did not shy away from pursuing the goal of opening this new trail section by whatever means were necessary. In the words of a horoscope from Asheville’s weekly Mountain Xpress newspaper, “If people aren’t laughing at your goals, they aren’t big enough.”
The Week 10 crew picked up work where it was left off on the previous week. Several tasks remained to be completed. The switchback rock staircase required more steps, and both ends of the relocation, where it would tie in with the rest of the A.T., needed to be dug. The upper tie-in, after some last minute consultations, was deemed to require some log steps to mitigate a steeper-than-ideal grade. In addition, the old section of A.T. would have to be properly retired and “trashed” with brush and rocks to effectively erase the old route and guide hikers on to the new one. 
The last portion of work on the stone staircase definitely deserves mention. Appropriate rocks were not especially prevalent at this site even at the beginning of the project two weeks ago, but by the third week of work they had become especially scarce. As a result, Week 10’s six-member base crew needed to employ all hands to carry loads of rocks from increasingly distant locations. Both massive step rocks and tarp-fulls of smaller scree and crush rocks were hauled by a mix of teamwork, determination, and of course the indispensable rock net. Once a sufficient quantity of rocks had been quarried and transported by the crew, construction on the steps resumed and several crew members were able to split off to work on other priorities. 
One of these priorities was the pulling of a final few stumps to clear the tie-in corridors at the top and bottom of the relocation. Pulling tree stumps from the earth is a daunting task - unless, of course, one possesses a TU-17 Griphoist to supply some mechanical advantage! Several crew members set up this machine in a 3:1 configuration, which made pulling the first stump a breeze.
The second stump was not quite so big, and was extracted with only the assistance of a pick mattock and a pulaski. As a bonus, the crew members enjoyed the sweet root beer aroma wafting from this second stump, as it belonged to a sassafras tree.
With the final pieces of corridor cleared of obstacles, volunteers began digging the final stretch of sidehill at the lower tie-in on the relocation. Meanwhile, one by one, crew members got to break away from the rest of the work for a truly special privilege: painting fresh white blazes on the new trail section. Even alumni volunteers with years of experience under their belts seldom get to enjoy this coveted moment in leaving their mark upon the A.T. By the third work day, the rock staircase was nearing completion and the lower tie-in had been dug to satisfaction. Only one major task remained: the upper tie-in, which featured a short but steep climbing turn that necessitated steps. With both rocks and time in short supply, the only solution to complete the relocation by the end of the day was to cut and use black locust logs and install them with plenty of scree and brush on the sides to keep hikers on the trail.
Ox, representing the Smoky Mountains Hiking Club, had been working alongside the crew for several days at this point, but perhaps found his biggest moment to shine in felling and bucking a locust tree to provide material at this critical point in the construction. Whatever crew members were not engaged with finishing the rock staircase were then pulled in to debark and split these logs in order to maximize usable material and prepare the steps for installation.
Although there is a lot of prep work, log steps often go in much faster than rock steps. Even so, timing was looking very tight, as the logs were not processed until lunch time. This left just half a work day to install enough log steps (estimated 10-12) to make the climbing turn and tie in with the A.T., protecting this steeper section from erosion. Volunteers began installing steps soon after lunch, a process that involves digging a custom-fit trench and then hammering locust stakes deep into the soil to hold the steps in place. Of course, plenty of crush is also needed to lock the steps into place, so many volunteers were enlisted to find crushable rock and then smash them into gravel.
As down-to-the wire as the timing had become, there still remained hope for finishing the relocation in time. At approximately 2:45PM, however, the project almost met with disaster as the deep rumbling of thunder accompanied the darkening of the sky. The crew had gotten lucky with weather all week (really, all three weeks), but it looked as though this heavy supply of luck had finally run out. 
With a large arsenal of tools needing to be packed out of the worksite and a steep hike back down to camp that would become very dangerous in a downpour, Crew Leader Brian Allgood briefly considered calling it quits and hiking out before the storm hit. However, as a last hope, the crew instead opted to hike up to the Brown Fork Shelter in an effort to wait out the storm and score a bit of extra work time to finish the project. Gathering at the shelter with some other hikers, the crew was delighted to discover that the storm almost entirely missed the area, delivering only a light sprinkle of rain. Within about 30 minutes, the crew was headed back to work, ready to make one final push.
The brief delay from the passing storm left less than two hours to finish the project. What followed was a heroic race against time where the crew moved like a well-oiled machine to beat the odds. Much of the crew was employed in hunting for rock, both to use as crush supply and more to use as scree to junk in the sides of the emerging staircase. 
Several members worked tirelessly to crush the rock when it was delivered, while the crew leaders stepped in to install the final set of log steps as quickly as they could safely manage. Once again, all hope briefly seemed lost when the crew’s only sledgehammer snapped at the handle. With ingenuity born from desperation, the crew leaders discovered that a pick-mattock makes quite a respectable stake-pounding substitute in a tight spot.
With everyone working at 110 percent at this final stage of the game, the staircase materialized rapidly. The final count came to 10 log steps, with loads of scree and brush piled on the sides to define the trail’s edge. Close to 5PM, the finishing touches were put on this hastily completed structure, and the crew was able to briefly step back and admire how, even under such time constraints, the staircase was quite pleasing to the eye and effectively accomplished the goal of hardening the tread on this tie-in.
By this point, volunteers had also piled huge masses of brush and limbs over the old section of A.T., making it invisible to the eyes of the average person. The new relocation blended almost seamlessly into the rest of the A.T., and a little passing time with do the rest of the work. Newly blazed and built, the Brown Fork Relocation officially opened for hikers! 
The excitement didn’t end there, as another storm approached while the crew was hiking out with all the tools. Luckily, everyone made it most of the way down before the rain really started pouring. Although all crew members were very wet by the time they made it back to camp, everyone was safe and full of satisfaction at having completed a high-quality project in spite of all the obstacles.
Besides an epic display of trail work, Week 10 did feature a few extra adventures, in typical Konnarock fashion. Ox took the crew out to dinner at Lynn’s Place in Robbinsville after everyone got to take a swim in the bucolic waters of Lake Santeelah. There was no shortage of appetite amongst the crew, and many ribeye steaks were consumed that evening. Another food-filled detour occurred on the way home at the very end of the week, when the crew made a stop at the legendary 12 Bones Smokehouse in Asheville, NC. Spectacular barbecue was consumed, and Konnarock’s name was etched into the graffiti covered walls of the restaurant for posterity.
Week 10 is certainly a week to remember for Crew 2. Never let it be forgotten that this project was made possible by the labors of the dedicated volunteers who chose to spend their time working in the woods to improve the A.T. Many thanks to everyone who came out to work on the relocation.
Special thanks as well to Ox, who spent as many days as he could working and camping with Crew 2 over the course of the three weeks on this project. His hard work, generosity, and entertaining stories made the Konnarock experience that much better for all people involved. Thanks as well to SMHC’s Don for joining in on a half-day of work, and thanks to ATC’s southern regional trail facility manager, Ben Barry, for hiking in to the project on several occasions to consult on the trail construction. The Brown Fork relocation was truly a joint effort and many people who lent a hand over the past three weeks can take pride in what was accomplished.
And so Week 10 concludes. Only two more weeks remain for the 2018 Konnarock season. Crew 2, after working every project so far on the A.T.’s southern region, will finish the season on the home turf of the southwest Virginia high country. The breathtaking landscapes of Grayson Highlands State Park will frame the end of the year’s work. Tune in next time to see what happens when Crew 2 sets up camp in the company of the high country’s famous free-ranging ponies!
--Josh Reynolds, Assistant Crew Leader
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