Trail work July 18 and 19th 2009

Date of trail work ...... 18 & 19, 2009

Number of workers .... 1

Time spent .................... 11.5 hours (includes commute from Oak Ridge)

 

Summary report:

 

Well this trip was part work and mostly pleasure ... listing just the amount of time worked and travel time ... not the night I spent.

 

Ken and I arrived a bit after 8:00 am and got cars moved in position and back to South Rock Jock ... and started the trip. It started out nice and cool with low humidity but it didn't take long to work up a serious sweat in the sun. We worked from the trail head to where Jim had ended up last trip.

 

Had a great day working with Ken. I'm not sure but bending over clipping brush and briars with a backpack ... probably wasn't my best plan! That said I think we did a great job of getting Rock Jock clean clear and easy to follow. Few trees that we still need cross cut work ... or cooler weather!

 

It was great meeting Jim along the trail and getting to meet his son.

 

Ken and I took out one cluster of trees and another one on the south end. I encountered on big tree on the north end on my walk out that needs a cross cut crew for sure ... it's located at N 36 52.360', W 081 54.270'.

 

Speaking on the walk out this morning ... Jim and Ken had it so clean and groomed ... I kind of snipped as I walked at just a few remaining stragglers .... and that's about it.

 

Ken's report covers a lot of what happened but I need to add ... the low blue berries were sweet and plentiful and a true treat of the trail after the burn is the growth of Blackberries! Yes ... I avoided cutting absolutely no briars ... EXCEPT those that grew Blackberries!!! Like Ken said ... should have had a stick of butter, suger and a little flour ... and I'd have had cobbler for dinner!

 

Had a great night above Razor's Edge ... slept like a baby in my hammock. Most of the water sources are nearly dried up along Rock Jock ... Mossy, Zen Creek and just a little flow on Bluejay ... but the stream on Razor almost to the cliffs ... has a bit more flow and a most excellent taste!

That stream can be found at N 35 52.367, W081 54.287.

 

Going to have to do that again ... great place to spend a night.

 

Regards .... Michael

 

Work Report - Rockjock - 19july2009

Work Date: 7/19/2009
Workers : 1 Kenneth Crump
time spent: 11.5 hours including commute time
Work done: Shearing summer growth along Rockjock Trail

I met Michael at Conley Cove just before 8:30am.  Michael was plannng to
thru-hike Rockjock, working along the way and to camp Sunday night somewhere
in the Razor's Edge area. We left his car at Conley and took mine to the
south end of the trail and were soon on the trail. The work zone started just
north of Tshirt point, but we did some light clipping before that, and removed
two trees along the way.  After Tshirt Point we were working both sides of the
trail with shears, trying to close the gap to where Jim had reached last Thursday
in Moonshine Canyon.

Despite the weather forecast, it was hot and sweaty work. Upon entering Moonshine
we had pretty much run out of energy, and began just making sure the trail was passable
and open. We made sure to get all the briars and clear the foot path, but cutting
wide was pretty much over.

There are two drainage areas in the back of Moonshine about 100 yards apart.
We stopped at the southern most one for a break.  I knew Jim's Thursday work
should have reached the northern drainage.  I hiked up there and found the end of
his work, then went back to Michael.  We were hearing voices up in the Chimney
area, then suddenly heard voices nearby.  Someone was coming!  After listening
a minute and hearing no more we started working again, rounded a corner to
find Jim clipping away.  Michael moved on north to find a camping spot while
Jim, Jared and I finished up that short area and then worked back to the north.

I failed to mention this earlier.  Michael and I were clearing the heavy weeds in
the back of the first drainage north of Tshirt, when I heard something snap ahead.
I looked up and saw a lady crossing a small pine log.  She was saying something, so
I figured there was someone else behind her.  Turned out there was not.  She
was alone, thru-hiking Rockjock.  She said she'd been this far south before, but
had turned around and gone back to the north. She was from Newton, NC, but if
she gave her name I've forgotten it.  We gave her some pointers for getting through
Mossy Canyon, and she continued on.  Wish I could get my wife to even enter
the woods!!

Since Jim was parked to the north, I hiked on through with them.  Jim and I
visited Michael's camp for a bit and returned his loppers we'd been using, then
we were off for Conley.  Jim and Jared gave me a ride back to my vehicle.

It was a long day, and I'm a little slow today, but Rockjock should be good
on into the fall now.

Ken

RockJock trailwork 7/19/2009

Date of work: 7/19/2009
Number of workers : 2 - Jim de Friess and Jared de Friess
time spent: about 5 hours each (including commute)
Work done: clipped back growth along RJ.

We hiked in from the North to where I quit Thursday and started clipping
to the south. In about 100 yards Michael and Ken popped around the
corner. Michael then proceeded North while Jared and I worked with Ken
on the trail corridor in Moonshine canyon.

ROCKJOCK has been clipped all the way through- spread the word.

Since it is so hard to get to we made sure we clipped wide. Ken had
been going all day so after about one hours work he was ready to go
visit Michael. We went with him.

It took us an hour to get to the trail head, an hour to hike into
Moonshine, an hours work, then two hours out.

On the way out we took a side trip (which I'm not counting as work
time). We went out toward Razor's edge. I saw the exact spot that I
fell at last year. The activity in the area now bypasses that spot.
I'll have to visit again when the leaves fall off the trees.

We then hiked out, I pointed out to Ken two places the trail needs a
minimal reroute (within its corridor) to avoid steep slippery hills. It
looks like it was flagged and built to avoid brush, but now that it
exists two tweaks are in order. He concurred.

I gave Ken a ride to his truck at the south entrance of RJ.

It was a good day in the woods.

Jim d

RockJock work 7/16/2009

Date of work: 7/16/2009
Number of workers: 1 Jim de Friess
Time spent: 11 hours- includes commute.
Work done: shear work on Rockjock hiking from north to south. I also
moved a couple small trees that had fallen across the trail.

Now the story. Well I was going to go regardless. After what Ken did
Tuesday and the way the weather looked - I might have made the same
decision in his shoes. I left later than I thought but got to old
Conley about 8:30. There was a white US government plated vehicle
parked where we normally park to work on the southern part of RJ. It was
a small SUV. There was no occupant. From what I could tell driving by
Tuesday was a success.

I continued on and was passed by two USFS vehicles, a small ranger and a
small green SUV behind it- this was on Dog Back they were heading south
and me north. Maybe our forest service friends will enlighten us as to
their mission(s).

I parked at old Conley, didn't see Allen figured he wasn't coming since
Ken wasn't so I took my coca cola and was going to put it in the first
stream -so it would be cold on exit. Found the first stream not
running. So I decided to carry it to Jason's puddle. There was a tree
across the trail just past the first creek, I was able to push it out of
the trail. There was another on the decline toward Jason's puddle a
Rhodo, fortunately it broke easily, and I cleared it too.

Jason's puddle was dry. I was only clipping worst offenders, but
generally what Ken and I had done was looking pretty good. I decided to
carry my coke to Bluejay Falls.

At Bluejay Falls there were a couple drips, but no puddles. The coke
went into the pack, yes I carried it the rest of the way.

Now that both hands were free, I started clipping wider, I worked up the
boulder field which was passable then turned left at the top. The trail
was pretty thin, so I clipped it wide. All the way to split rock was
thin- not any more. At split rock I made a mental note that it would be
a good place to retreat to if a thunderstorm came along. The sky was
still threatening, I had seen some mist in the gorge. After split rock
it was still a little narrow so I kept clipping.

When I rounded the corner by the turn for one bat cave the trail was in
good shape. I clipped but I was able to make good time and distance.

When the trail turned uphill a few hundred yards before the next creek
crossing (which was only dripping too). I noticed a bunch of wasps.
Evidently I had disturbed their nest, and they were buzzing and crawling
out like they were drunk. I backup up about 10' and watched, they never
showed any interest in me, I guess they are used to a downed tree
disturbing their nest and having to relocate. In just a minute or so I
quickly went by them, then carefully clipped back to where I stopped
which was about a foot from their nest. There is also tree across the
trail before this point. I had it in my mind to try for tee shirt, so I
didn't take out the pulaski for it. It can be gotten under easily.

Beyond the wasps I clipped, and went through the next creek. The growth
was bad in patches, some of the trail looked good, other places it took
a while to clip through.

I passed the turn to razor's edge, which looked more used than the trail
beyond. I clipped the growth back going up the hill and through the
next drainage area (creek- which was also dry). The south side of that
canyon if that is what is is had some dense growth as well. I also
noticed now I had more sun than clouds.

Then it got better out of the canyon. Here another wasp landed on my
shear handles and started crawling up toward my hands. I put them down
suddenly and he was still on there. I was about to squash him when he
flew to a nearby tree and took off. Within a minute or two a hornet
landed on my handles. I was thinking mad wasps or hornets could be
worse than a snake, cause you couldn't get away if they decided to sting
you, and now I had a third encounter. I did notice at a break several
wasps crawling on my clippings, maybe they were grateful for sap access.

The trail started turning into the next canyon which I believe is
moonshine canyon. It looks like it has two (northern one is now dry)
stream crossings according to the map. It really got thick here. There
was evidence that someone had passed not too long ago, but they had to
swim through the growth. Right in the middle was a burnt tree trunk
across the trail (6" maybe) and probably hard as a rock. There was no
way (as fatigue was setting in) I was getting out the pulaski, so I
clipped around it and it can be stepped over- hopefully its one cut for
next time.

I really slowed at this point, fatigue and thick brush, but was
determined to get to a common reference point. I decided the stream bed
would be an appropriate stopping point but it was 200 yards away. I
clipped, I rested, I clipped, I rested. I finally walked to the stream
bed, clipped across it and slowly worked back.

The northern most stream bed in Moonshine is as far south as I got Ken-
sorry to say. I think that is right anyway - two stream beds south of
the turn to razor's edge. This one had the loose white (light colored)
rocks.

My back was hurting, my arms were tired, and I reasoned I had enough
liquid left for the walk out. So I turned around. I took four breaks
coming out. One just south of the turn to razor's. One where I slipped
coming down a hill - 600-700 yards south of the approximate turn for One
bat (that turn wasn't obvious). One at Bluejay Falls. I laid down on a
rock there. One at hacker's point.

With all the snake sightings I was a little on edge. I startled several
lizards, and when the took off I jumped too. That must have happened
5-6 times. I did not take my camera though. At hacker's the views were
great, the humidity had gone down, and there was only a hint of haze. I
watched two buzzards float up on an updraft.

I headed for the truck. Got there and drove home. When I got to lower
elevation the heat started getting to me. I made it home, cleaned up.
Got some ice and drank that coke.

It was a good day in the woods. I think we will have RJ more hiker
friendly and sooner than last year for the Fall show. Get the word out.
There is a hint of color along the trail (the low stuff where I cut). I
hope its an indicator that growing season is winding down, and the dry
weather now is hurting growth also.

Jim d

Training and Trail Work 14july2009

Trail:  Rockjock (south end)
Workers: Ken Crump,  Grant,  and Luke
Time Spent: 10.5 hours including class time and travel time (edit that if needed Pat, don't know if you include class time or not)

Work done:

After Grant and Luke had their class training in the morning we moved to the south end of Rockjock
trail, arriving there at about 11:30am.  Guess what?  The temporary signs I had hung about 9 feet
off the ground are already gone.  Saw no sign of them or the rope.  Oh well, I guess someone really
needed two Rockjock signs.

We started at the road and worked through the 200 feet or so  that needed attention there, using loppers
and shears.  These guys didn't really need any instruction.  The work seemed to come naturally to them.
After that area we decided to hike to the cliff edge and work on the way out.  We ended up going as far
as "Balanced Rock" where we took a short break. Then we started slowly back out working as we moved
along.  It was amazing how the plants have grown, trying to cover the trail just since Jim and I were there
a few weeks ago.  Our goal today was to make sure the trail bed was clear and visible and that hikers
could easily pass.  I think we accomplished that.

Just before coming out of the canyon we came to some deadfall that Jim and I had skipped due
to the heat and fatigue.  I decided to have a little pulaski demonstration. We ended up taking
turns and had it cleared up in just a few minutes.  From there we worked our way slowly back
up the hill clipping, shearing and cleaning some waterbars as we went.

It was a good day, and I think we accomplished a lot for an afternoon's work.  Grant and Luke are
easy to work with and seem to enjoy the challenge.  Thanks for the help on Rockjock guys.
I think you can handle anything you encounter without problems.

We saw no other hikers, only a few cars on the road. I did see a rabbit on Paddy's Creek Road, and
we saw  one hawk and a few vultures.  The low growing blueberries are nice and sweet. The bears
are gonna eat good this year.

Debbie and Pat, it was good to see you today and to meet Leigh.

Ken

July 11, 2009 Bynum Bluff trail

Date of work: July 11, 2009
Number of workers: 2 Jim and Jared de Friess
Time spent: 5 hours each- which includes commute
work accomplished:

We got bored and went to Bynum bluff. We started with shears and
loppers down the trail, when we got to where people weren't using the
switchback we discovered they had thrown the obstacles I placed there
Thursday out of the way. We widened the trail they are supposed to use,
and placed a bigger pile of brush to be moved in both the upper and
lower ends of the shortcut. There was also a standing dead tree (4") at
the lower end, I cut it down and fell it where people shouldn't have
been walking but were. Maybe....

While I was doing this, Jared went down to where we stopped being
thorough Thursday and worked his way back up. He only had shears, but
he was doing a fine job. Some loppers on the lower reaches may be in
order still. There is also some tread work that can be done where it
side hills on the way down.

Over all it is in much better shape. It was shady, no bugs, and 10
drops of rain on us and a thunder clap. A storm edge maybe went by.

It was a great day to be in the woods, and I watched a group use the
switchback they were supposed to as they hiked out.

09709 Bynum Bluff trailwork

Date of work: July 9, 2009
Number of workers: Jim deFriess and Mark Conforti
Time spent 6 hours: includes commute
Work accomplished:

We arrived at the trail head at 8am and proceeded to hike to the river.
Major stuff was clipped on the way down. The missed switchback was
clearly more used than the trail. Not having anything really big to
stack in it we continued down. On the lower end of the switchback it
was easier to block but still not too effectively. We wanted to get to
the river so we proceeded.

At the river we took in the beauty of the canyon, and watched the fish
for a brief period of time before starting back out. I had set an alarm
so we would get back early afternoon and we worked from the river up
several hundred yards. The trail in that area is very crowded, it
really needs Jason and his saws, but we opened it up considerably, both
of us using loppers. We may have gotten half way back to the LGT when
the alarm went off alerting us that it was time to head out.

At that point we cut a few things walking back up and out. We put a
dead tree in the missed switchback part of the trail and tried to make
the turn very obvious. At the other end of it we also paused to cut a
little extra to attempt to block the entrance to the steep shortcut and
encourage people to use the less steep route.

We ate some blueberries, some were ready- looks like there will be some
for the next several weeks.

It was a great joy working with Mark, I don't think he broke a sweat.
The weather was overcast, bugs were minimal. Another wonderful day in
the woods.