Week 12: August 3-7, 2019

Crew 1: Battery Cliffs Rehab

working with Old Dominion Appalachian Trail Club

click here for the complete photo album

The final adventure of the 2019 season is complete! Week 12 took our crew all the way to the northernmost reaches of Konnarock’s range, up by Rockfish Gap, near Waynesboro, VA.  Located just off the Blue Ridge Parkway, Battery Cliff proved to be a scenic and majestic location for the end of the season.

The crew began by setting up camp at the Humpback Rocks picnic area and reviewing the safe use of tools before meeting Dave Grimes, president of the Old Dominion Appalachian Trail Club (ODATC). Dave took the crew on a walk-through of the project site - which happens to be on a stretch of original, never-relocated AT - to identify priorities and goals for the week. Among the tasks to be completed was the installation of several more steps on the massive stone staircase that was installed earlier in the summer, plus additional water bars, check steps, and other water management along the length of the trail.

Eventually, the trail reaches the project’s namesake, Battery Cliff - an impressive rocky outcropping with a breathtaking view of the surrounding mountains (and the Wintergreen Ski Resort). Where the trail wraps around the beginning of the cliff, Dave pointed out “the trophy project,” a narrow section of trail which could improved by building a crib wall to create a wider platform.

With priorities in mind, the crew began work early the next morning, initially tackling the improvements to the recently constructed rock staircase. When Crew 1 worked this area back in June, they utilized a Griphoist highline system to efficiently move multitudes of rock from far off spots to the staircase sites. With only one week on the project and only a handful of new steps to install, a highline was not on the table this time around, so instead the crew fell back on the classic rock net to carry each rock by people-power alone.

The quarrying was difficult here, as many of the good rocks were already harvested and many of the remainder required carrying over long distances. In some cases, sledgehammers and carbide-tipped “stonebuster” hammers helped to make rocks just right for the situation.

Joining Crew 2’s forces on the first work day were several members of ODATC, including Amanda Noe, the club’s Trail Supervisor. The club members formed a small team and tackled a water bar project further up the trail, building an impressive reinforced drain to take water off of this largely fall-line trail section. Meanwhile, Konnarock crew members completed other tasks like making loads of crush, and piling “scree” rocks on the sides of the staircase to keep hikers on the intended path.

Building steps here was challenging due to the rocky soil and the presence of underground bedrock in many spots. Nevertheless, the crew worked efficiently and by the end of the first day, most work on the original staircase was completed. Afterwards, a trip to nearby Sherando Lake provided a much appreciated opportunity for the crew to swim and clean off.

The second work day was spent installing a number of rock check steps further up the trail on steeper sections where flowing water was causing the trail to begin gullying. Crew 2 members continued to test their rock-hounding abilities, searching far and wide for suitable step rocks, and often needing to get creative to make a less-than-ideal rock work as a step.

Several crew members also worked on building a second rock water bar - a challenging job due to bedrock just below the soil surface. Flat rocks of just the right size were needed to create the reinforcing bar here, and digging the drain involved slogging through extremely rocky soil.

By the end of the second work day, the crew was ready to take on the trophy project. The amount of work required to construct a sturdy crib wall is considerable, and some were apprehensive that there wasn’t enough time to complete the project in just one day. However, once the work was initiated, there was no turning back! The third and final work day involved a herculean coordinated effort by the entire crew to build a large, approximately 3’ high crib wall.

The crew members were divided amongst a variety of tasks: some hunted for suitable cribbing rocks (flat, ideally rectangular, not too big and not too small), others were tasked with gathering as many small, oddly shaped rocks as possible (for filling small crevices), still others were employed with making enormous amounts of crush to fill the void behind the crib wall. The result was a constant supply of material being carried and dumped at the site of the crib wall, where I worked to carefully fit the rocks like puzzle pieces into solid layers.

To make the work even tougher, the sun blazed down upon the cribbing site, and the exposure of organic soil during the digging summoned hordes of flies which pestered the crew at every turn. The small flies, however, were just an annoyance in comparison with the gigantic horse flies that joined in the fray, seeking blood from unsuspecting crew members.

Though the work was strenuous and the bugs were unrelenting, the crew never faltered. Dutifully, everyone continued to carry hundreds of pounds of rock to the cribbing site, and gradually the wall took shape. Eventually, what seemed to be a long shot project began to look very much finishable.

By 3PM, the wall was nearly completed, and only finishing touches remained. The ambitious “trophy project” had become a reality. The crew finished up by working on brushing in the sides of the trail where the ground had been torn up, and laying scree rocks to direct hikers on the proper path. Several crew members worked on cutting back vegetation and widening the trail up around the cliff rock, which in conjunction with the newly cribbed platform made the ascent and descent around the rock much easier.

Victorious, the crew gathered tools together and hiked down to Humpback Rock campground one last time. To celebrate, everyone piled into the Konnarock van and took a field trip to the Crozet Creamery for delicious ice cream! It goes without saying that Week 12 would not be complete without an ice cream run.

A big thanks is due to ODATC - not only did they work with the crew this week, but they also provided the crew with a club-sponsored feast of fried chicken, collared greens, mac-n-cheese, and more on the evening of the second work day. A club-sponsored beverage cooler was also much appreciated by the crew.

That same evening, everyone enjoyed a campfire, complete with
s’mores, and got to celebrate a crew member birthday! Rich was able to enjoy a one-of-a-kind birthday candle marshmallow, in lieu of a cake.

But wait… there’s more! Crew 2 didn’t stop the fun after the work was complete. On the way back to base camp on the last day, the team made a stop at what has increasingly become a Konnarock tradition: Dinosaur Kingdom II in Natural Bridge, VA. If you aren’t currently aware of the decisive role dinosaurs played in the Civil War, I suggest you find time to make a trip to this undeniably unique attraction. To top things off, the crew made one more stop at the Foot of the Mountain Cafe for some of the world’s best sweet potato fries and all kinds of other delicious food.

And thus ended Crew 2’s last excursion for the year. It has been a challenging season full of twists and turns, but it’s heartening to see the fantastic work completed and the great experiences shared by volunteers all along the way. The Konnarock Trail Crew continues to show that incredible things can be accomplished by people who come together for a common cause - in this case, the cause being maintenance of the Appalachian Trail, a national treasure that provides an accessible wilderness respite for people up and down the east coast. The soul of the Trail is composed of the many people who work together to preserve this experience for posterity.

A special thanks at the end of the season to Janet Gibbons, our camp coordinator, for providing delicious meals and logistical support throughout the entire spring and summer; to Josh Kloehn, Resource Manager, for organizing the Konnarock Crew once again; to our US Forest Service Partners for supporting us with vehicles, letting us use the Sugar Grove base camp, and in so many other ways; and of course the many maintaining clubs we partner with who make every effort to welcome Konnarock on their trail sections and facilitate successful and enjoyable project weeks for all.

Until next year!

--Josh Reynolds, Crew Leader