July is Dirt Month

August 1, 2023August 4, 2023 / jim fetig / 4 Comments

The lowly rock bar does its job. We later used rocks to lift the boulder for better leverage.

Shenandoah National Park, July 2023 — It’s been a typical July in the Mid-Atlantic region featuring scorching heat, dripping humidity, gads of gnats, and clouds of dust where the daily pop-up T-storms failed to drip. The rain may have missed a spot or two, but enthusiastic Hoodlums came to dig, push and pound, come what may. By the way, the gnats are a feature not a bug. 🙂

HOODLUMS MONTHLY TRIP
Both the Hoodlums’ third-Saturday-of-the-month work trip and crew week pack the calendar. Caroline and I camped at the Indian Run maintenance hut on Saturday night and weed-whacked our AT section on Sunday, hustling for an early start to avoid the heat.

While some folks breakfast at the hut, Caroline, the ridgerunners and I slipped into Front Royal for a bite at the Knotty Pine.

This is a one-meal-a-day, greasy-spoon, stick-to-your-ribs, and clog-your-arteries breakfast. These hole-in-a-wall, mom-and-pop eat shops are where it’s at in every tiny community across our nation. It’s where locals gather and a part of American culture that I love.

Our project was to work on the AT near the spring on Compton Peak. The tread on about 250 yards of the trail had drifted down hill. Our job was to restore the tread to its original location using a technique called side-hilling.

Reminds me of railroad building.

The raindrops didn’t miss the area around the hut Saturday night. The slow, steady patter on my tent fly served as white noise for sound sleeping. That meant hanging my kit out to dry once home. Cleaning and storing equipment is part of the game. Speaking of games, the ballgame was unremarkable other than the hapless Nats won one for a change, but the spectacular shot of the capitol on the drive home reminds me of why I like living here.

NOW FOR CREW WEEK

Crew week runs Sunday – Friday. We reside at the Pinnacles Research Station. It is equipped with ten bunks, a lab area, kitchen, livingroom, shower and laundry. It is surrounded by apron of flat ground for tenting and trees to hang hammocks.

We tend to work side-by-side with members of the park trail crews and various members come and go as available. I had to be home on Tuesday to chair a PATC Executive Committee meeting but rejoined Wednesday bringing Sabine Pelton, 2019’s Ridgerunner One, who was in town all the way from Maine while her husband attended a conference at the University of Maryland.

We did a lot of rock work this year. This happened while I was away. Crew colleague Cindy Ardecki shared her video of this rock’s journey. There is more than one way to move a BFR as you will see.

The previous day we used a different technique while working on the Overall Run trail just above the falls.

Crush and blunt force injuries are possible, so safety is a big deal. The park doesn’t require hard hats, but the club will consider adopting them as standard PPE this fall.

We ran into a young bear on the hike back to our transportation. He was curious but conditioned to having people nearby. He only moved 10 ft. off the trail as we hiked past.

You might ask if we were nervous. Not really. As a rule, bears are shy and fearful of humans except when food is involved. This bear showed no sighs of aggression or being concerned about our presence. Besides, he was realistically overmatched by eight guys equipped with trail tools.

We also repaired steps on Compton Peak leading to the park’s best columnar basalt formation. We built the original steps 10 years ago. They are in a difficult spot in which to build and were in need of attention.

We’re trying a new technique using logs as retaining walls to create steps filled with rubble.

We worked on the Indian Run access road on the final day. Sabine and I also slipped up to the spring on Compton to improve the flow. We also found new artifacts near the CCC trash midden located on the section. I wrote about it last winter. This trip we found a plate shard and part of a terracotta pipe section.

Sisu

Busy. Busy. Busy.

July 6, 2023 / jim fetig / 4 Comments

Here, there and everywhere, June to July Fourth, July 6, 2023 — We’ll start with the good news/bad news. My dear friend Mary Thurman is now the park manager at Flagg Mountain, Alabama.

This is stellar news for Mary. She’s been searching for “big girl” work for a long time. She’s uniquely qualified and so far, she’s loving it.

Mary’s mission: Bring a long dormant park back to life. Who could be better for that? Her degree from Florida State is finally paying off.

Unfortunately, with Mary’s fortune, we lost our ridgerunner in the Michaux State Forest, Pennsylvania.

Before she hit the road, we visited the Smithsonian’s Udvar-Hazy Center where the large aircraft are on display. Obviously, this is the Space Shuttle Discovery.

We also shared a fire and some beer. Can’t wait to visit Flagg Mountain after the weather cools off.

Got to welcome four new AT Communities into the fold. AT communities welcome hikers, support the trail and are a vital source of volunteers. I kept my speeches mercifully short. Some of the politicians didn’t.

Along the way things happened. This is the readout on a gas pump. Usually I get gas in Front Royal, VA when I go to the park. It’s often 50 cents less expensive than in the D.C. area.

Guess who left home without his wallet? In addition to not having my drivers license, I didn’t have a credit card. How close was it? My tank holds 15 gallons.

Nice blowdown on Pass Mountain. Tina is my go to swamper because she’s usually available during the week. Pole saws don’t require credentials or PPE. Secret: The car is parked on a fire road less than 100 yards away.

Made a quick trip to weed the part of the AT Caroline and I maintain. Used my new Stihl battery string trimmer. Worked like a charm. The park service says a persistent bear reported by several hikers has been hanging around. Methuselah, the apple tree, is bearing fruit.

For the first time ever, the PATC was in charge of chainsaw training for a class composed solely of park service employees.

We had several park instructor/trainers working with us and carrying a substantial teaching and evaluating load for the four-day course.

Wayne Limberg is teaching chain sharpening in this photo.

My chainsaw was due for cleaning and inspection. Needed a new starter rope. Of course the dealer didn’t have one. The chain catcher had done its job too many times. Received the new parts the next day via Amazon.

A young fox caught a small black snake for dinner as viewed from the bedroom window.

Our friend Martha Kumar is a professorial scholar of the American presidency. I first met her when I served on the National Security Council staff at the White House. Of course, she was born on the Fourth of July. Our tradition is to attend the Nationals game followed by Martha’s birthday party where we sing Happy Birthday.

Let’s close with the bullseye rash found on my elbow after the chainsaw classes. We spend a lot of time in the woods. It’s doxycycline for two weeks.

Sisu

Fun Week – Open House, WFA, Hoodlums

May 28, 2023 / jim fetig / 4 Comments

PATC HQ, Vienna, Va. May 27, 2023 — The PATC headquarters building hides in plain sight, buried deep, just off the main drag, in the Washington, D.C. suburb of Vienna.

We decided it would be advantageous to piggyback our open house on the local annual street festival thinking we might attract more people. The objectives: raise our profile, sell some stuff and recruit new members. We also added a members only cookout at the end.

The crosscut salami slice is always a favorite. Fun for all ages. The youngest gets the chunk sawed off.

We had multiple displays from the ski touring group, mountain rescue and our standard science fair display used at outreach events.

The early results: $1,200 in sales, 200 visitors, 15 new members. That’s in line with our projected performance objectives.

But there’s more…

Wilderness First Aid has to be recertified every two years. https://www.solowfa.com/

Ridgerunner training at High Point State Park, New Jersey.

Of course the third Saturday of the month belongs to the Hoodlums trail crew.

The Hoodlums are like Lake Wobegon. All the women are strong, the men good looking and everyone is above average.

Of course, it’s weed season.

The mountain laurel are finally blooming.

American chestnut next to chestnut oak which mimics American chestnut.

Freshly weeded trail.

Before the string trimmer waltzed by.

Ran into Alex Gardner, the Shenandoah ridgerunner. Always good to get caught working.

Sisu

Quick Trip

April 26, 2023 / jim fetig / Leave a comment

Wild flame azalea

Shenandoah National Park, April 25, 2023 — My new job as club president is keeping my away from the outdoors, more than I would have thought. In addition, this month’s Hoodlums work trip was rained out. I needed an outdoor fix.

My excuse: Yesterday was the park staff’s annual meeting with its partners – park association, trust, concessionaire, and volunteer organizations. It’s a chance to share, learn and maintain relationships. After the meeting I drove an hour northward.

A blowdown was calling near the summit on the section Caroline and I maintain. After the meeting, I dashed up the mountain to clear it. It was a step-over, so not the highest priority. We left it during spring cleaning because we didn’t think we had time to cut it with a hand saw.

The weather was ideal, a sunny 47 degrees. No breeze and no sweat on the hike up to the summit. It’s been awhile since I’ve been solo. The solitude was priceless.

Got there and it was gone. Much later I realized our first ridgerunner was on the trail and that he probably removed it. Meanwhile, the greenbrier and blackberry canes are starting to go nuts. My clippers clocked overtime.

The inspection established everything was in shipshape. The spring was flowing well. No major concerns other than we can anticipate more than our fair share of weeds.

The azalea and mountain laurel are beginning to bloom. We have a walkabout planned for May 13 to catch peak flowers. That date seems about right.

As one might expect, the animals are very active.

Coyotes mark their territory with scat. It’s possible that this is two males arguing over the boundary. This has happened several times along game trails lower down. This rock was part of some steps much further up the mountain, so I’m not certain exactly what the story is. In addition, found some bear scat, cub size, near the trailhead. That’s the fist bear scat in awhile.

Fresh bear activity. There’s not much to eat right now – mostly acorns and other nuts under the leaf litter, and insects. The bears use their claws to shred rotting logs to expose the bugs inside. This is a black birch. They are soft and rot quickly – good bug habitat.

Blowdowns never end. This one is a minor obstruction at 12″ in diameter. It’s going to need a bigger saw. We’ll get it next work trip which should be May 20.

Sisu

Shenandoah Ice Storm Clean up

December 24, 2022 / jim fetig / 1 Comment

Photo Dec 20 2022, 2 47 10 PM

Shenandoah National Park, End of December, 2022 — The ice storm from a week ago made Skyline Drive look like a combat zone. Hundreds and hundreds of trees and branches are down along all 105 miles of road that meanders along the ridgeline that forms the backbone of the park’s geography.

Damage reports suggest that the north district from Front Royal to Swift Run Gap seems to have been hit the hardest.

The park leadership assessed the damage and asked qualified volunteers to join the clean up effort. That request is a testament to the integration of PATC volunteers into park operations and the faith the park has in our ability to deliver value when we are asked to help.

It’s obvious from the photo that the clean up is a labor intensive effort. Each one of those branches and tree trunks has to be removed from the roadway. The roadsides also have to be cleared to the treeline so that mowers can operate in the growing season. That is a lot of stoop labor.

Those of us who normally work on trails learned a lot about the process of cleaning up the “drive” after a storm. Here’s a hint: They use a lot of “big boy” toys – bucket trucks, graspers, chippers, and loaders in addition to chainsaws, loppers, pruning saws, and rakes.

The larger debris gets piled up to be loaded into large dump trucks and hauled to the park boneyard.

The lesser debris is fed into a chipper, thereby speeding up the circle of life by feeding the forest back to itself as mulch. We learned a lot thanks to our park service partners.

Although there always seems to be a chipper operating in my urban-forested neighborhood, I never gave them much thought. Now I know they’re driven by a giant flywheel and grinders capable of crunching 15-inch logs with ease! We even learned how to clear jams and reset them. Hearing protection is mandatory. Them suckers is loud!!!

While PATC volunteers were helping in other areas of the park, the North District Hoodlums answered the call in their home territory. I think the park expected that we would have only enough to help feed the chipper.

We beat that expectation and divided ourselves up into two groups, one to stuff the chipper and the other to clear the area around the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center followed by work on the drive.

By lunch time, the chipping was nearly done. We decided to finish chipping and then join forces for the remainder of the day.

As you can see, it’s tedious work.

Photo Dec 20 2022, 2 44 10 PM

As the day ended, your enthusiastic volunteers dragged their tired butts back to the rendezvous point. We finished chipping the first four miles of Skyline from Front Royal to Dickey Ridge. We cleared the drive four more miles beyond, nearly to mile post 9.

This blog is written to offer insight into what goes on behind the scenes. This was another peek. Judging by what’s left and the potential damage of today’s bomb cyclone storm, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.

Thanks to Wayne Limberg, Cindy Ardecki, Justin Corddry, Dan Hippe, Tom Moran and our National Park Service colleagues. They supplied good company, shared some of these photos and and cared enough to volunteer their time and expertise.

Sisu

Mother Nature’s Party Dress

October 18, 2022October 19, 2022 / jim fetig / 2 Comments

Shenandoah National Park, October 15 – 16, 2022 — Mother Nature’s autumn soiree is in full swing. She’s dressed in loud colors that evoke AC/DC cranked to the max. She will keep the party rocking until the pumpkin lattes run dry.

The colors truly are spectacular. These are from the Big Devil’s Stairs canyon and the south side of Compton Peak.

So what were we doing there? It’s the third Saturday of the month – Hoodlums work trip day. As always, we organized into several work groups.

Our group was assigned to hike deep into the Big Devil’s Stairs (BDS) gorge to clear a cluster of massive live tulip poplars recently blown down by a possible microburst.

The lower half of BDS hasn’t been maintained in awhile because there is no access from the park boundary. Most people hike to the second canyon overlook and then double back. Few wonder down to the bottom where the views are nil and the trail is steep.

Before we get down to muscle business, let’s celebrate an encore appearance from a special Hoodlum.

Sam Keener became a Hoodlums regular just before the pandemic. During lockdown we met twice weekly over Zoom for personal training sessions. Later she joined the FBI, graduated from their academy at Quantico and is now a Special Agent. Fortunately we’re fake hoodlums. Besides, she’s one of us! You can’t bust yourself.

Sam gave me a FBI Pittsburgh Field Office challenge coin which is now front and center in my trophy case along with a chunk of the Berlin Wall and a piece of the foundation from Check Point Charlie – made famous by a Berlin Crisis standoff between Russian and American tanks.

Back to business.

The going on this one was rough. The bind on each of them was such that these trees wanted to move like Superman, up and away.

We hacked at this cut for more than an hour without being able to muscle through. Sam is a power lifter, so she makes the friction seem far less than it was.

Nearby, the other crew was slogging too. The binds were unusual – side and bottom.

Ultimately we walked down to the other crew. The clock had run out. We’ll be back with many more bodies to finish the job. This was much bigger than five people.

As we licked out wounds, Mother Nature flashed her jewelry in the form of this young timber rattlesnake.

Ole Jake No-shoulders was nonplussed by our presence.

On Friday I sneaked up early to pick up six chainsaw chains I’d left with the Stihl dealer for sharpening.

I spent the night in solitude at the Indian Run maintenance hut, aka Hoodlums clubhouse. I had to hack my way in for the sixth time this year! If only Mother Nature would stop throwing her party favors on the access road! The hut does look like it would be fun to spend an evening there during the Christmas season.

Sisu

Tom Moran kindly contributed photos and videos to this post.

Seasons end but the work lives on.

October 5, 2022October 5, 2022 / jim fetig / 5 Comments

The Appalachian Trail, September 30 and October 2, 2022 — We’re a month early but my final chapter leading our ridgerunners has been written. Dan Hippe will now keep the flame burning brightly with his capable leadership.

It was a cold and drippy day as Sara and I climbed up to Annapolis Rock one last time to pack up the caretaker site and secure it for the winter. The stuff good enough for next year was packed into the tool box while we carted the UV-rotted tarps to the dumpster at Washington Monument State Park.

Since then, Sara has turned in her radio and keys. She’s hiking all of Maryland’s 41 miles as this is written. I picked her up at 5 a.m. in Harpers Ferry where she left her van, and shuttled her to the Mason-Dixon Line for a 6:15 a.m. pre-dawn start. She expects to finish by 11 p.m. tonight.

My larger role may be changing, but the trail maintenance gig has a long runway in front of it.

The spring on the AT section Caroline and I jointly maintain in Shenandoah National Park was, for all intents and purposes, dry. The ground was saturated but the flow was virtually nonexistent. Tina, my friend of 30 years, Gang of Four hiking group member, and occasional swamper, joined us help remedy the problem.

We dug a catchment basin, inserted a 5 ft. length of PVC pipe and anchored in with large rocks.

It worked! Our next Hoodlums work trip is October 16. We’ll check on it then.

The other reason we were working was to rake and shovel silt out of our waterbars (erosion control structures that direct water off the trail). Our section is particularly sandy and the waterbars need annual cleaning.

This is hard pick and shovel work.

We didn’t count the exact number, but we got three quarters of our waterbars cleaned out. We’ll finish the rest next trip.

Exciting news! After almost two consecutive years working with the Hoodlums Trail Crew and one year co-maintaining this section, Caroline has a trail name.

It’s not something trite like “Sweet Caroline.” Regular readers know that she’s an American/Swiss dual national, so she could have been “Swiss Miss.” It’s far better than those.

Meet Caroline “Dozer” Egli” ’cause she can move dirt.

Sisu

Seasonal Rhythms

September 23, 2022December 14, 2022 / jim fetig / 5 Comments

Fall

September 22, 2022 — Today is the autumnal equinox, the day Mother Nature begins disrobing. Ultimately she’ll bare it all. To my delight, she showed a little ankle on my neighborhood walk today, a bright splash teasing what she has on offer.

So it goes in the world of hiking trails and life in general. Events happen more or less in order and on schedule – the circle of life’s rhythms and flow.

If it’s the third weekend in September, it must be the Hoodlums’ annual trail maintenance instructional workshop in Shenandoah National Park. Thirty folks ranging from raw beginners to the well-experience gather to live an learn. Picks are swung, fires are made and beer, shall we say, is swallowed.

This crew repaired part of the Appalachian Trail Caroline and I maintain on the south side of Compton Peak, about 11 miles south of the park’s northern boundary.

Heavy use and heavy weather was taking its toll on a steep traverse. Eight waterbars (erosion control drainage structures) were torn out and reconstructed. Rocks were dug out of the tread to smooth it out and make it a bit safer. It’s good for at least 15 more years.

Caretaker area at Annapolis Rock – Caroline, Sara and Sierra.

This also is the time when the ridgerunner program shrinks to Maryland only. We lost Kasey to a family matter, so Sara Leibold shifted from Shenandoah to Maryland to help us out. She and Sierra will complete the season – my last. I will miss the interviewing, hiring and hiking with the amazing people – nearly 60 all told – who have graced us with their selfless service to the hiking community.

Caroline let me know that she was thinking of taking a Saturday hike on our section. Knowing I would be there Monday, I suggested she hike up to Annapolis Rock with me. Since she and Sara are friends, I thought a two fer would be fun – see Sara and a new place.

While inspecting the area, eagle-eye Sara spied a spotted lantern fly. It’s an invasive insect that is wrecking havoc on the region’s fruit orchards. Did you know that if the jar says Smuckers or Mussleman’s, it probably came from this orchard-rich area? We made the required report.

Unfortunately, on the way to the car I noticed this graffiti and the axe blaze on the tree not far from the upper trail to the Pine Knob shelter. We’ll use Elephant Snot to get ride of it, but why people think vandalizing nature is ok is beyond me. The rock is sedimentary, the remnant of an ancient sea bed.

Tina, aka “Bulldog”, my friend of nearly 30 years, dating back to our days at the White House, has been my swamper on several trips. She pitched in again this month.

The rhythmic drumbeat of blowdowns crashing to the forest floor is quickening. The supply is nearly infinite. Invasive insects have recently killed the red oaks, ash, and hemlocks. The chestnuts and elms are long gone. A native blight is currently attacking white oaks. Have chainsaw. Will travel.

I’ll close on a sad note. We lost Mittens to brain seizures. He was 15 1/2. As the alpha cat, he could be a pain. But, a Formula 1 Ferrari could not compete with the throb of his rhythmic purr. Frank Sinatra’s eyes could not have been bluer. In fact, I wanted to name him “Frank,” but was overruled by my daughter. RIP Big Guy!

Sisu

A fish story.

August 16, 2022 / jim fetig / 5 Comments

Rembrandt sunset.

Aswopiswanan Lake, Northern Manitoba, July 29 – August 6, 2020 — Imagine a land of sky blue water* framed by endless popcorn, all of it patrolled by bald eagles above and by submarine-size northern pike below; where the eagles outnumber the people and the fish can weigh more than small children.

We were there. Four guys alone with two motorboats and a zillion miles of nowhere; where eagle chatter dominates nature’s gossip; where waves slapping your boat is the drumbeat of time passing; where no sign of civilization can find you. Walden Pond, eat your heart out.

We were an interesting deck to shuffle. On the one hand, we are variously two sets of brothers, one uncle, two nephews, two sons, and three of us are dads. On the other, we were simply four fishermen loaded for pike.

Four a.m. wake up.

Let’s start at the beginning. It takes four flights to get there from here. One from where you are to Minneapolis; Minneapolis to Winnipeg; overnight in Winnipeg. Day two opens with a zero-dark-thirty take off in a Beechcraft King Air to a dirt strip at Point St. Theresa. Next it’s a float plane flight about another hour north to the lake and a lunchtime arrival.

What a treat. Our floatplane was a 1953 vintage De Havilland Beaver (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Canada_DHC-2_Beaver), the aircraft bush pilots love.

Although retro as hell featuring well-worn rudder pedals as proof of its lucky legacy, it was updated with the latest avionics from Best Buy.

Fortunately the Beaver can schlepp a load. My brother’s boys are not small people. Matt is 6’6 330lbs. Nate is 220 lbs. Somehow we fit. Since this lake is a regular stop on their fishing circuit, they gave the rookie the front row seat with its E ticket ride.

Number two for takeoff following 10-minutes to warm-up the oil pan. The windows were so scratched that I wondered how the pilot could see much of anything.

Airborne in under a minute. As long as the number of take-offs and landings are equal, all’s good.

The glaciers pocked Northern Manitoba with more lakes than you can count. Classic boreal forest carpets the exposed granite ridges.

Esker debries lines the lake bottoms.

Definitely an old-school stick and rudder aircraft. Happy landing. Hardly a bump when we hit the water.

The fish camp decorated in early particleboard reminded me of hiker accommodations powered by propane where the shower output dribbles like an old man standing at a urinal. Unfortunately at some point prior to our arrival the building made a wrong turn on its foundation but remained true inside. A crew flew in to shore it up on the plane that lifted us out.

After tossing our gear inside, it didn’t take long to launch the two 14-foot boats pushed by 20-horse Yamaha outboards. Thus powered to stay out of trouble, we still could scoot up the lake at a pretty good clip. It’s the venerable kit used in International Falls when I was a kid.

Twenty horses pack a punch even in rough water when the boat smacks your butt like the principal’s paddle back in the day.

Ok. We’re there. We’re on the water. Let’s get down to business.

In this case we don’t have to talk about the ones that got away even though many did. We were using barbless hooks from which smaller fish can easily unhook themselves by wiggling. With the exception of a few walleyes we ate, this trip was strictly catch and release.

Proof they weren’t all lunkers. Too many hammer handles to count. (A hammer handle is a northern pike about the same size as a hammer handle.)

We’ll save the lunkers for last so stay tuned. Now for what happened in the middle.

Northern pike are notoriously aggressive. They’re also cannibalistic.

It works like this. Grandpa hangs out outside the nursery school door waiting for his grandkid’s class to get out, then boom. They eat about anything that moves.

The lunkers are large enough to eat almost any fish or bird in or on the lake. This medium size northern followed a smaller one my brother hooked and attempted to devour it while still on on the hook. The aggressor fish was oblivious of everything else except eating.

An overnight storm proved challenging in several ways.

The wicked wind of the west kicked up waves around three feet tall. The boat moored perpendicular to the wind was swamped.

Bailing it out proved challenging. Then we discovered a leak and water in the gas.

Fortunately there were five boats to choose from so we made a change.

Later, I was wearing an automatic flotation device when a wave flipped me out of the boat as I stood to cast. The auto feature worked. The water was warm! Fortunately I saved the tackle and the ride back to change clothes was short. I was embarrassed but delighted with the outcome. Don’t screw around without PPE.

The abundant wild life have been noted. Here’s some proof. Unfortunately we didn’t photograph the beaver swimming from its lodge.

Now for the best video clip of the trip. Bald eagles owned the sky.

I quickly fished my iPhone from my pocket when I spied this one. It delivered for my effort. I captured several eagle clips. This was by far the best.

Ready for the sunsets and sunrises?

The best was taken by my nephew. I was too whipped and jaded to get out of bed to view the northern lights the first night.

NorthernLights

He caught the big dipper dead center.

Oddities?

What’s with the ancient rifle or the weird chairs? The prop looks like it diced some rocks instead of onions.

The hook and bullet trade is not known for its attention to Leave No Trace outdoor ethics.

Even motorboat fishing has its zen.

Let’s get ready.

Ok, here come the trophy fish. They are in the 38 inches+ class. When they hit, you know it. Your rod bends like a troll with a bad back. The drag groans as the fish overpower the brake. You hang on and reel like crazy. You’re hoping Jaws is on the line.

I won the contest for most fish over 40 inches and for the biggest fish.

This is the 42 1/2 inch lake snake that won me $15. My brother Jack did the honors. The fish are seriously stressed by handling. The less, the better. They also secrete a huge amount of slime as a defense mechanism.

These are serious predators. Here’s what it did to my lure.

The fish was strong enough to break off on of the hooks and bend the rings. My nephew Nate restored the lure to mint condition.

There are a lot of ways to end this story.

It could be the wings back to reality.

It could be another eagle video.

It could be landing a fish.

Instead its the real reason for going in the first place – family, fish and fresh coffee at dawn.

Sisu

*Appropriated on purpose from a Hamm’s Beer ad from yesteryear.

Thanks to Bolton Lake Lodge, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

I took 330 photos and video clips during the week. Here are some out takes:

Saw, Dig, Pull

July 28, 2022 / jim fetig / 1 Comment

My view of the Thornton Gap Entry Station

Shenandoah National Park, July 24 – 27 — The North District Crew Week was anything but usual. For one, we tackled a variety of projects. For another, I only worked three of the five days. Now, it’s off to Manitoba to fish with my brother and nephews.

Usually crew week offers the opportunity to partner with the park service trail crews on big projects that are too big for either outfit alone. This year everybody was everywhere all the time.

We started with the great blowdown hunt. While the remainder of the group took on some dirt work, Wayne Limberg and I searched for a tree tangle reported by a hiker on the Shenandoah Hikers Facebook page. Shall we say it wasn’t where it was alleged to be…

On net we hiked about four miles on our search. We found it about 200 yards from a trailhead parking lot. It would have been a cinch if we had started three miles south of the initial reported position.

We managed to chew a lot of wood into sawdust, huge piles of it.

In the end, the old guys were bushed.

The next day we rehabbed the AT from trailhead parking south to the Byrd’s Nest 4 connector trail.

My last day was best. A tree on the AT about 200 yards south of Compton Gap parking became a leaner last year and ended up in a near vertical posture. This was too dangerous for volunteers to cut. After consultation we and the park crew agreed that it should be pulled down. This is how it happened.