Piney River
Shenandoah National Park, June 24 – 27, 2024 — Crew week has bit of groundhog day feel to it. Opportunities to get outside for several days don’t grow on trees. I mean if you want to keep your idle hands out of the devil’s workshop, staying busy is the thing to do. When crew week comes up, you don’t hesitate.
Normally have have a single large project. We join forces with the park ranger crew to git ‘er done so to speak. This year we had random trail work and the rehabilitation of two buildings ‘gifted’ to us by the park service for use in storing tools, equipment and creating a workshop. We divided into teams to tackle our assignments.
Freaking blowdowns never stop. When working in federally designated wilderness areas, we have to use traditional tools which are muscle powered. Battery powered or motorized tools are a no no.
This year we were joined by our two current Shenandoah ridgerunners, Kara and Emily, plus Alex Gardner who was in the park last year. That so many return to volunteer speaks volumes about the quality of the program and who they are as dedicated stewards of the our national treasures.
Kara brushed a perfect blaze. Blue is the color used to mark side trails that connect to the AT. Those of us who blaze know that paint drips usually decorate our clothing. Kara managed to avoid that fate.
Of course we had to dig. Tread work is ubiquitous. It’s usually hard to photograph. This is the beginning of a rolling grade dip designed to shunt water off the trail.
Everybody hates weeding. Clearing weeds is necessary to reduce the number of ticks and by extension, Lyme disease. Here we’re clearing the camping area around the Indian Run Maintenance Hut.
Making sandwiches for lunch at the Pinnacles Research Station reminded me of my first crew week in 2013.
First crew week in 2013. Of this group, four regulars remain – Wayne Limberg, Noel Freeman, Cindy Ardecky, and me.
Please tell me what you did on your summer vacation.
Sisu
Nothing as heavy duty as what you were doing. I did clear brush along the short deer path behind our house so we can get to the bigger city trail system. So far, no ticks. We’re lucky.
In a couple of weeks we will be in Wisconsin for a big family gathering.
Enjoy Wisconsin. Lots of my relatives are from there. Turns out that part of our local social trail is on ill-defined county land while the rest of it belongs to the school system. The school system cleared the white pine and a huge number of large laurel bushes. The did plant some replacement hardwoods. However, their actions opened the trail to sunlight meaning it will be weedy has hell and require much more effort to keep it clear. In the process they also destroyed the ambiance. I love bureaucracies.