CMC Bi-Weekly Trail Maintenance News

12/07/05

Maintenance News....

MST Coordinator wanted!
The CMC position of Coordinator of the Section Maintainer System for the Mountains to the Sea Trail is open. This prestigious duty for the CMC includes supervising the 5 big sections of the MST (160 miles) which includes 100 volunteer section maintainers. The job is about 1/3rd recruiting of maintainers, 1/3rd communicating with all of the various federal and state agencies and 1/3rd management including recording and reporting all of the hours worked to various places. If interested, please contact Don Walton

MST Section Maintainers wanted!

The  CMC has a Alternate MST section open. It goes from Cat Gap to Neil Gap 3.0 miles. The trail is in good shape and are waiting to start a love affair with an affectionate maintainer! If interested please contact Jim Tanquary, jdtanquary@juno.com or Don Walton at donwalton@bellsouth.net

Looking Back....

CMC EASTERN TRAIL REPORT
Date: 11\18\05
Day of Week: Friday

Trail: MST Section ID: Licklog- Double Top Item # 500

(Travel Work Total)

Blodgett, Lew 1 7 8
Bloom, Jim 1 7 8

Bodenhorst, Piet 1 7 8
Brasington, Boyd 1 7 8
Brooker, Barth 1 7 8
Buie, Angie

Callins, Nina
Carney, Joe

Dektor, Jeff
Deal, Ken 1 7 8
Fitzgerald, Jack 2 7 8
Frank, Alan 1 7 8
Freeman, Bill

Hillyer, John
Holladay, Curt

Greenwalt, Bruce

Jacobs, Gordon
Lazer, Misha
Litvinchyk, Peter
McDonald, Howard 2 7 9
Raber, Dan
Robinson, John
Samuels, Sam
Sheldon, Skip 2 7 9

Soldati, John

Stambaugh, Sherm
Thomas, Jack 1 7 8

Walton, Don

Work Done: Rehabilitated another 1\4 miles of trail. Mover rocks, made crush, widened trail.Removed trees.

Work Needed: One more trip to finish job to Double Top

Reported by: Piet
--------------------------------------------------

Nov. 30, 2005

Took out six and returned with six.  Not bad for a beautiful day on the A.T.  We finally began working so high above the 4200 foot mark that the temperature never reached 37 degrees.  We began our work at the very tail end of this long uphill hike not too far (southbound) of Lick Rock.  We began at the clear cut with about 53 yards of sidehill, then moved back toward B. Cove, but stay above the small spring and huge rock "on the left" for more heavy and dense root removal and sidehilling.  But before we retraced our steps the leading crew spotted another cumbersome step-over about 415 yards (northbound) of where the clear cut is and the views of the Blacks (Mts.).  Moving up to that point, Jorge took out the dangerous spike hanging into the trail and we did some 4 yards of sidehilling at that spot, as one crew member fell off the trail.  Then back down but well above the US marker, we attacked more cumbersome and very dense roots that made the trail in this section very dangerous and most nearly impossible to hike....and installed 33 feet of heavy cribbing to hold and cover the roots not removed.  Three trees removed, several spikes removed off the trail....Condition of trail is FAIR due in part to needed sidehilling.  We took care of items #'s 547 & 548.  As for the blazing...indicated in the "Conditions List," we saw no evidence of confusion, at least as high as we hiked in (taking one hour and forty minutes) to the clear cut area.  It looks like the maintainer may have blazed fairly recently, as the blazes were numerous and very bright.  If a blind hiker could smell white paint, he or she would have no problem tripping over this section. By the way, the clear cut is grand and permits absolutely one of the finest long-range views of the Blacks that we've ever seen....We took in a blazing kit but only did one blaze for a "Left Turn" well below the clear cut area and at an intersection of two old trails that may confuse a hiker heading northbound out of Boone Cove etc.  A great, beautiful day.  Not many dogs around the settlement on Rector Laurel Rd.  and Jorge kept a sharp eye on his gloves, nevertheless!   Official Report follows...thanks guys.  JS