Wolfpit trail and MST to river

https://picasaweb.google.com/jdefriess/Apr292011ShortoffMSTarea?authkey=Gv1sRgCNOcs-jzscjYGQ#

Photos at link above.

Date of work:  4/29/2011

Number of Workers: 1 Jim de Friess

Time spent : 6 hours including commute

Work accomplished:  I was planning to camp along the lower part of MST and work the mile of trail or so as it ascends Shortoff.  Leaving Wolfpit I ascended to a point where 2 orange flags were to the left of the trail at a sharp right hand bend.  Following the path by the flags it remained on contour and took me to the MST on the ridge just above where the cliff ends to the NW.

I descended MST about a 100 yards and headed over to survey the terrain to the NW.  MST was in fabulous shape, clipped about 4' wide for the as far as I could see up and down.  After surveying I descended to another part to get a better MST look to the SW.  Clear.

I hiked up the hill and found the trail condition consistent all the way to the intersection with the trail to wolfpit.  At that intersection I descended and de-limbed a tree.  The rest of the way down I cleared waterbars.  Where water was actively running down the trail I looked for the first opportunity to divert it.  There are sections that have water running down the trail 20-30'.  At one particular point I noticed the waterbar was diverting it off the trail, however it was coming right back on 15' later.  I cut two pine logs to build a better (longer) waterbar to prevent it from running back on- I was successful.  Where the water does still run down the trail, I tried to channel it to one side.  In that one area, prior, the water was running about 100' down the trail, now its about 30'.

The waterbars have held up well, the trail was mostly dry.  One was filled up and I couldn't clear it- I was tired and a lot of digging would be required.  Near the trail head there was another tree across the trail.  Its gone.

A good day in the woods, the trail up Shortoff from Wolfpit and MST down to the river are in wonderful shape.  

South LGT and PI April 19-21

https://picasaweb.google.com/jdefriess/52GorgeHours?authkey=Gv1sRgCNGXyerTsPzfmwE#

This is a link to photos as part of a three day two night trip into Linville gorge.

Dates of work: 4-19 through 4-21

Number of workers: 1 - Jim de Friess

Time spent : purely a guess - 20 hours?  Including commute (7 on the 19th, 8 on the 20th, and 5 on the 21st)

Work done:  Checked PinchIn and LGT south of PinchIn with the purpose in mind of clearing major obstacles I had heard were making hiking more difficult.

I cleared trees with Pulaski unless they could be stepped over, or were too big.  All the majors obstacles to trail navigation are gone.  There were places were multiple trees blocked the trail, and hikers had been finding their way around.  On most occasions I was able to clear the original trail.  Two exceptions where I clipped in the bypass were one, in an area with about a 3' drop where a slide had occurred (not recently).  The bypass has a dropoff too, but being narrower its a little easier to deal with.  The second one was in an area where water clearly pooled in the trail area, and hikers where bypassing around to the west.  I left this one because it would be easier to negotiate in an active rainstorm.  

My other tool was loppers and I was trying for width and height.  60% of the obstructions just needed to be tossed off the trail.  In the areas where the trail tunnels through rhodo I left it a little lower than I wanted to in areas.  People who hike should be awake.  With the loppers I cut the smaller green and dead to clear the trail.

PinchIn had a tree across the lower part, but most work was done on LGT.  I feel its around 2 miles from the PinchIn LGT intersection to the Dellinger Chimney and I am pleased to report the trail is much better.

LGT could use some shearing in places, and there was a poison ivy vine bigger than my leg- which I didn't mess with.  But I had no shears.  PinchIn needs some shearing too.  Both are in good shape.

On a personal note I did some cooking and had a great time.

a minor workday on north RJ

Not knowing if govt is shutdown or not you may have to disregard.

My pics are at 

https://picasaweb.google.com/jdefriess/Apr102011Rockjock#

Date of work 4/10/2011.  

Time spent : about 4 hours including commute.  This was at least partly a recreational hike.

Work done: removed trail obstructions with a pulaski

Notable, the three foot high Hemlock between split rock and Zen creek was cut twice, and no longer has to be crawled over.  We cleared some other logs too, and notched the ones we left.

It was a great day with great company.  Thanks Ken.