southern two-thirds of official RJ 11-11-2010

Date of work: 11/11/2010
number of workers: 1 (Jim de Friess)
Time spent:9 hours- includes commute
Work done: Shear work along Rock Jock trail from southern entrance to Zen creek, we also threw the light brush out of the trail.

The story:  I met Ken at 8am at the south end of Rock Jock trail along NC 105.  We started hiking down into the gorge and turned North through Mossy Canyon.  Our plan was to try and get somewhere near the middle of RJ and then clip back south on the way out.  We clipped minimally, but some as we progressed North.

At Mossy Canyon we looked for a way to avoid the really steep and tricky section we have named "Underwood's Stairs".  There was a cliff preventing easy access to the saddle on the west side of Mossy point.  We followed the trail to the top of the stairs.  Coming down one section of the stairs we then headed North crossing the area above the Falls.  We continued a slow descent and were able to work our way back to the trail without having to descend the part that must be scrambled up.

Once back on the trail I stopped briefly to get to flat rock below the trail to take some of the pictures of the mossy canyon area.  It is fabulous.

Back on the trail we continued to Tee shirt point, clipping a narrow path to make the trail easier to follow.  At tee shirt we began the climb I had realized was there from tee shirt to the back of the canyon when I backpacked South two weeks ago.  I took a few pictures, and paced myself arriving at the back of the canyon along Rockjock.

From there the terrain is up and down, but no long sustained climbs or descends.  We could see we were progressing toward Sunshine because it has some live big trees.  We clipped the briers, the blackberries and the devil's walking sticks, mostly.  Some grass when the sticker bushes were minimal. 

Once above Sunshine point we saw a path out to it.  Someone had de-brushed about a 10' corridor for a while and the path was well worn.  In some respects the path down to Sunshine looked better (clearly more used) than the trail south that we had just come through on.  We dressed RJ to make sure it looked like the primary trail.  Hopefully people study their maps. 

We went down to Sunshine point and took a break there, and lots of pictures.  There was a chain bolted to a rock near a cliff, and the path had been well worn.  Nice little plateau below the trees right at the cliffs.  It would be hard to hammock camp there, but mature live trees and hammock camping possibilities exist up the hill from the plateau but still below Rock Jock (RJ).

After that detour we continued North on RJ.  The trail here had been well used  for a while.  When we started our descent on the North side of the hill toward razor creek the growth was thicker.  Ken wondered how the people going out to Sunshine had gotten there.  Just then practically we saw a well worn path to the left up the hill.  Ken investigated and found a fire circle.  We would later see where this path goes.

We noticed that the north sides of hills seemed to have the thickest growth along RJ.  We decided after discovering the side path to try and work RJ further north to the place where a 70' hemlock fell along the trail.  The area has plenty of devil's walking stick, and we wanted to make sure people could find an easy way through.  This took us to Zen creek. 

We made it to Zen Creek meaning we had hiked from the South 2/3s of RJ.  The path to Razor's edge was also well worn.  We again tried to make sure RJ trail would be clear to anyone trying to follow it.  We then worked our way back to the path heading west up the mountain.

A quick check of GPS showed that this path would need to gain 700' of elevation in about 0.3 miles (1500') of horizontal distance.  We realized it would probably have parts steeper than Pinch In.  We decided to follow it.  There were regular rock stacks and as we ascended the brush had been cleared.  A nettle thicket had been clipped back, it had briers and blackberries and it was steep- straight up the grade in places.  As we progressed there started being switchbacks.  Easy to follow once we ascended to the brushy part.

Eventually we popped out on the road near where the road starts to seriously descend Dogback toward Conley.  Knowing now what to look for the path is clearly visible from the road, and there is a place to park about two cars across from it.

Once I had worked on an official trail, I think RJ, and tried to block a side path someone had created with brush, only to come back for the next work session and find the brush moved from where I had put it back into the official trail.  Since that experience, I have only tried to make the official trails more inviting, and not block.

As we walked over Dogback along the road I considered the effort that someone put in to create those paths- too bad we can't get that kind of help for legal trail work.  If the cliffs at Sunshine were the goal then the path from the road to Sunshine would be about 1/2 mile total.  To get to Sunshine from either end of RJ would require about 2 miles of hiking, and require negotiating the loose rocks and Underwood's stairs in Mossy, or the loose rocks in Blue Jay canyon.  I can certainly see why they did it, and it has been pointed out to me that the trails in the gorge were at one time a path that somebody took to some feature, and then came back to show someone else. 

It was a great day in the woods, RJ is discernible all the way through.  There are some trees that need to be removed from the trail, but that will be a later trip.  The 60 degree weather helped my stamina.  At 80 or above we wouldn't have gotten nearly as much accomplished.  All days in the woods are good, but this one especially so.

Thanks Ken.

Pictures are at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/jdefriess/RockJockVeterans2010#