tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14404933285024482112024-02-19T01:04:30.338-08:00S.W.E.A.T. Crew: Volunteers on the Appalachian Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National ParkThis is the home of the Smokies Wilderness Elite Appalachian Trail Crew, code named S.W.E.A.T., a group of hiking enthusiasts who work hard and play hard on the A.T. We partner with the Smoky Mountains Hiking Club and The National Park ServiceLeannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16998634326578725933noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1440493328502448211.post-66986105821048491582017-09-14T11:49:00.002-07:002017-09-14T11:50:31.515-07:00S.W.E.A.T. Session 6: The Privy Crew<div class="MsoNormal">
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Session
6 started off with a lot of rain, making for a wet 11-mile hike to Pecks
Corner. Though our awesome participants, Hans (joining us again from Session
1!), Cathy, and Chris, were great about it. When the crew finally made it to
the administration cabin, it was nice to have a dry place to hang out and
change clothes while waiting for the rain to taper off before putting up tents.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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During the first workday, the crew
worked closer to camp in damp conditions, since the hike in had been so long. <o:p></o:p></div>
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That night, Chris, Cathy, and Hans
slept in the cabin. Though Hans was snoring, so he was woken up by Cathy and
then did not get a lot of sleep the rest of the night because he was worried
that he would start snoring again. On the third workday, the crew hiked out to
the end of the section, a 6-mile hike, which took us most of the morning, and
worked back to the stopping point from the previous day. That night Davis,
Katie, and Cathy stayed in the cabin and Davis started snoring, so Cathy woke
him up! <o:p></o:p></div>
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The
final workday was where all the fun was had. The crew had the honor of digging
a new hole for the privy house that is at the administration cabin. So in the
morning, the crew worked on clearing drains on Hughes Ridge Trail from the A.T.
to the cabin and doing a little brushwork just beyond the cabin. Chris and
Davis hiked out a little further on the A.T. to clear a blow down and then we
all met up at the <o:p></o:p></div>
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cabin to start working on our privy
hole. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Digging the hole was the easy part,
the really “fun” part was that the old hole that the privy was sitting over had
overflowed, so we decided to dig two holes; one hole for the new privy and one
hole to bury all the waste that was sitting above ground. Davis was given the
honors of moving all the waste to the new hole. Later that evening we played
some card games, one was a card game Chris taught us, an extremely fun game but
we noticed that the scorekeeper kept winning all the games…<o:p></o:p></div>
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The
last day we packed up and headed out. The hike out from Pecks Corner is much
different than most of our hikes out because it is not all downhill and it is
the longest hike we do during the season. But the crew made good time, and it
was not raining this time. Thank you for all the work you did this session!
Though we had a smaller crew this week, we still completed our section and got
to dig a new privy hole! <o:p></o:p></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1440493328502448211.post-10108812637117172592017-07-31T05:57:00.000-07:002017-07-31T05:57:11.295-07:00S.W.E.A.T. Crew Session 5: "Hike. Work. Hike. Eat. Sleep." Sarah Elliott<br />
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<div class="Paragraph SCXW53990542" paraeid="{79d8894c-1b2c-4c7a-a9a0-1bbcf20a578e}{178}" paraid="502165478" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">T</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">his week, the Assistant Crew Leader, Katie, headed to the beach instead of the mountains, and took</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">a well-deserved break. Logan, a long-time trail maintainer and three-</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">time S.W.E.A.T C</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">rew </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">survivor</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> stepped in as Assistant Crew Leader. And I stepped in to tell you guys how we did without her:</span><span class="EOP SCXW53990542" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Day 0</span><span class="EOP SCXW53990542" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">The volunteers trickled in Monday afternoon. First Bo, a lover of mountains and challenges</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">, arrived at Soak Ash just in time to be put to work replacing a door knob</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">. Then came Julie</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">n, a man with many tales of his travels and a love of Kung Fu Panda.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Next was Isaac, a firefighter on a hotshot crew looking to enjoy the peace of the backcountry</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">. Emma and Ariella</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">, </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">crew alumni</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> and dynamic duo</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">from the</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> same college,</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">drove up together</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">. Lastly came Devin, an Air Force Academy cadet, who was spending the first bit</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">of her three week summer break here before flying out to China. </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="EOP SCXW53990542" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 8px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW53990542" paraeid="{79be6406-63d9-4880-807e-81d591fdd165}{5}" paraid="1152002665" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">We all passed </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">C</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">rew</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> F</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">it</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> with flying colors, and proceeded on to the </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">true</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> challenge: staying awake during the orientation meeting (joking... mostly). We succeeded. As our meeting came to a close, </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="SpellingError SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; background-image: url("data:image/gif; background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Chlo</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="SpellingError SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; background-image: url("data:image/gif; background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">ë</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">, the </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Camp Coordinator, had dinner ready: coconut curry chicken, "vegetable bean stuff", rice, cornbread, garlic bread, and salad. It was</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">delicious, so </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">naturally</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">we all ate way too much; and that was before we had ice cream and cookies for dessert. </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="EOP SCXW53990542" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 8px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW53990542" paraeid="{79be6406-63d9-4880-807e-81d591fdd165}{9}" paraid="61339621" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Day 1</span><span class="EOP SCXW53990542" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 8px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW53990542" paraeid="{79be6406-63d9-4880-807e-81d591fdd165}{123}" paraid="747892365" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">With an 11-</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">mile hike to get underway, we had breakfast at 7:00.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="SpellingError SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; background-image: url("data:image/gif; background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Chlo</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="SpellingError SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; background-image: url("data:image/gif; background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">ë</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> prepared yet</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> another meal fit for royalty, and </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">we hit the road a little after 8:00</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">. Forty-five minutes later, we arrived at our trail head: Newfound Gap. The first 3</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">miles of our hike were accompanied by</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="SpellingError SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; background-image: url("data:image/gif; background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Chlo</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="SpellingError SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; background-image: url("data:image/gif; background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">ë</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">, Javier (Trail Facilities Manager), and Don (Smoky Mountain Hiking Club member), who were hiking mulch up to a privy. About 5 miles in, we stopped at Charlie's </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Buni</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">on</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">, a breathtaking</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> scenic view. After a quick photo-op, we were back on the trail. We took our time, stopped at more beautiful vista</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">s, and</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> made it to our campsite at around 5:30.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> This week, we had unique </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">accommodations</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">: .3 miles from Peck's Shelter, the National Parks Service has a cabin to which</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">we were granted access</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">. Inside,</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> we found</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> backcountry </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">luxuries such as foldable chairs</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">,</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> a card table, and screened windows that kept out the gnats.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">For dinner, we had coconut curry lentils, which was given the crew's stamp of approval. </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Full and sleepy, we all made for our sleeping bags.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Devin was lured </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">by </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">the</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> creature comforts </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">of the cabin</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">and chose to sleep</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> in one of the bunks instead of her tent</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> The rest of us slept in the field surrounding the cabin</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">. </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Logan, whose tent is a tarp and well-placed trekking pole,</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> spent all </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">night battling daddy long-leg spiders and other things that love to lurk</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> in tall grass.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">He characterized his night</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">as "EPIC".</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="EOP SCXW53990542" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCXW53990542" paraeid="{79be6406-63d9-4880-807e-81d591fdd165}{125}" paraid="1602081153" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 8px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW53990542" paraeid="{79be6406-63d9-4880-807e-81d591fdd165}{129}" paraid="594881534" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Day 2</span><span class="EOP SCXW53990542" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 8px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW53990542" paraeid="{79be6406-63d9-4880-807e-81d591fdd165}{167}" paraid="1774021479" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">First work day! </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">When working on a trail crew, you find yourself caring about three main things: h</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">ow much work you've done/still have to do, what the weather is going to be like, and what is for dinner. So that is what I can tell you about.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">With six miles worth of maintenance awaiting us, we stretched,</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> donned our Personal Protection Equipment, and</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> started working our way out from camp</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">. Logan, Julien, Isaac, and myself were set to digging while</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Davis, Devin, Ariella, Emma, Bo</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">, and Isaac took on brushing. There weren't too many </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">water bars</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> to clear, so digging crew took more of a "hike with tools". Digging crew did about 3.5 miles of work by the end of the day, and brushing did about 2.5. We were treated to full sunshine that made us appreciate the shade of the forest. During the day, Steve, </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">the Smoky Mountain Club member who is responsible for the section of trail we were on, hiked up to help us. It was immediately obvious how much Steve loved the Smokies, and it gave us all fresh eyes for the beauty of this remote section of the Appalachian Trail. Dinner was Chili Mac. We found </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">that if you "forget" to add the dehydrated vegetables, the meals taste even better. We still added a few to feel less guilty.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Isaac established himself as the "Mary Poppins" of the crew: n</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">ot only did he bring banana chips, hot sauce, and spices, but he generously shared with the rest of us. After dinner, we all sat in our fancy folding chairs and enjoyed each other's company until the sun went down. Logan, not excited to spend another night with the creepy-crawlies, used Devin's tent and got some well-deserved beauty sleep.</span><span class="EOP SCXW53990542" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 8px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW53990542" paraeid="{79be6406-63d9-4880-807e-81d591fdd165}{171}" paraid="1233192575" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Day 3</span><span class="EOP SCXW53990542" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 8px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW53990542" paraeid="{79be6406-63d9-4880-807e-81d591fdd165}{209}" paraid="1251504934" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">The low-mileage first work day gave us all a chance to recover from the hike in. So for</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">our second work day, we hiked to the outer extremity of our section— Dry </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Sluice</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> Gap at </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">6</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> miles out. In between hiking out and back, we only had about 3 ½ hours to work. But, we managed to clear all but nine</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">water bars</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">, and brush all but about a mile and a half of our section. We once again were treated to full </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">sunshine (and very sweaty shirts)</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">. Burritos were made for dinner</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">, which was ranked the best meal of the trip.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> Ariella discovered her love for Sriracha. Talking with each other until sundown by now had become a </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">kind of unspoken tradition. Bo and Steve both proved themselves avid story-tellers. They are both veterans, and Devin and Logan are currently serving</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">, so the rest of us learned a lot about life in the military. Turns out, all branches get into very similar </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">shenanigans</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">. </span><span class="EOP SCXW53990542" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 8px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW53990542" paraeid="{79be6406-63d9-4880-807e-81d591fdd165}{213}" paraid="144941691" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Day 4</span><span class="EOP SCXW53990542" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 8px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW53990542" paraeid="{79be6406-63d9-4880-807e-81d591fdd165}{255}" paraid="1051181319" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">With only 1.5 miles of our section left to do, we were done by lunchtime. In fact, Logan, Ariella, Emma, Steve, and Devin seized the opportunity to do a </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">celebrator</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">y photoshoot— if there isn't a trail volunteer calendar yet, there should be! </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Now it was time to move on to "bonus" work. We hiked back</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">, and cleared the .7 mile trail</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">from the AT to our camp along the way</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">. With the little bit of time we had left, we sharpened and prepared our tools for the last work day. Weather was, once again, sunny. But there was distant thunder in the afternoon, </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">and it rained</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> for a collective 30 seconds. Dinner was pesto alfredo pasta, my personal favorite. Again, we sat down for our daily </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">wait-</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">for-</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">the-</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">sun-</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">to-</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">go-</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">down</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> conversation. We kept finding ourselves asking questions that, in the </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">front country</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">, we would simply Google the answer to. Since no one had service, we chose instead to designate a "Google person" to give us an answer. Whatever they said was fact. </span><span class="EOP SCXW53990542" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCXW53990542" paraeid="{994f07e3-df8d-44a8-8d66-3001578cee0a}{4}" paraid="953218800" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Day 5</span><span class="EOP SCXW53990542" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 8px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW53990542" paraeid="{994f07e3-df8d-44a8-8d66-3001578cee0a}{72}" paraid="785512991" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Steve had to pack up and leave in the morning—he said </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">something about being an adult with responsibilities. With all of our work done, we moved on to working in the opposite direction from camp,</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> doing what the next session's </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">S.W.E.A.T. crew is</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">assigned</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">. Ariella, Emma, Devin, and I grabbed loppers</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">and declared ourselves "The </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="SpellingError SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; background-image: url("data:image/gif; background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Loppin</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">' Four". As we expertly cleared</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> branches, we also showcased our talents as a cover band. Our signature songs were</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Jol</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">ene</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> and the Phineas and </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="SpellingError SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; background-image: url("data:image/gif; background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Ferb</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> title sequence. The trail was already in good condition, so we made it about 2.5 miles before </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">lunch. Afterwards, we went back to camp, and carried 40 pound b</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">ags of mulch from the cabin to the privy at Peck's shelter—.3 miles. We spent the rest of our work time cleaning the tools once again, and making sure the cabin was going to be as pristine as we found it. We were down to the last dinner: "Thanksgiving". It consists of mashed potatoes, rehydrated vegetables, gravy, and </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="SpellingError SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; background-image: url("data:image/gif; background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">craisins</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">. Throughout the week, Thanksgiving had earned a reputation as the meal everyone wanted to avoid, so we saved it for last. Well, we all survived. </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">The </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="SpellingError SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; background-image: url("data:image/gif; background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Loppin</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">'</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> Four decided to make the last night in the field a slumber-party in the cabin. We stayed up until eleven (way past hiker bedtime) playing cards. At one point, Isaac ran in, saying he heard boars. This quickly escalated into a melodramatic</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> man v. wild scenario with Davis, Julien, Isaac, and I </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">walking through the forest with our headlamps. Sure enough, a few hundred feet from camp,</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> t</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">here were</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> distinct piggish sounds of snorting and shuffling. We threw some rocks, heard some fleeing hooves, and declared ourselves the victors</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">. Isaac decided to join our </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">slumber party in the safety of the cabin. </span><span class="EOP SCXW53990542" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="Paragraph SCXW53990542" paraeid="{994f07e3-df8d-44a8-8d66-3001578cee0a}{76}" paraid="363061789" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Day 6</span><span class="EOP SCXW53990542" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 8px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW53990542" paraeid="{994f07e3-df8d-44a8-8d66-3001578cee0a}{106}" paraid="983102489" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Despite all</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">of</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">the excitement of the previous night, we woke up early, broke down camp, stretched, and were on the trail by 7:45. Back at Soak Ash, we knew </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="SpellingError SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; background-image: url("data:image/gif; background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Chlo</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="SpellingError SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; background-image: url("data:image/gif; background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">ë</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> was preparing l</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">asagna and apple crisp. Such strong motivation made us hike the entire 11 miles back by 12:30. The parking lot at Newfound Gap was a chaotic swarm of tourists and </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">day</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">hikers</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">, so we wasted no time in getting out of there. We made it back to Soak Ash, and all took our long awaited showers. We found ourselves appreciating simple things: good smells, fresh fruit, and cushioned seating. The welcome home dinner lived up to all of our expectations, and once again we collectively ate way too much.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="EOP SCXW53990542" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></div>
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<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", Tahoma, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 8px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;">
<div class="Paragraph SCXW53990542" paraeid="{994f07e3-df8d-44a8-8d66-3001578cee0a}{136}" paraid="160114102" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;">
<span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Volunteers trickled out, just as they had come in: Julien and Isaac hit the road to get home in time for work the next day. The rest of us stayed the night. Bo left early in the morning to prepare for a trip to see a friend.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> Devin caught her flight to Beijing.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> Ariella and Emma drove back with an essay </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">to write by the end of the day. Davis drove out to help a friend do rockwork. Logan is taking a day to relax before</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> setting out.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">I am taking a</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">flight back home tomorrow morning after volunteering for four sessions. The ending of each session is always a little bittersweet. You realize how unlikely it is that you'll see any of these people again, people that you've gotten pretty close to in just six days. Corny as it sounds, that’s also the beauty of volunteering. For whatever reason, we all showed up, we all worked together, and we all accomplished something difficult. Our lives all converged for this week, and we did something meaningful</span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW53990542" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">with our time. That is a great feeling. And a feeling I am going to miss after getting to experience it for 40 days. </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="TextRun SCXW53990542" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> </span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1440493328502448211.post-32156542633519213742017-07-31T05:52:00.006-07:002017-07-31T05:52:43.613-07:00S.W.E.A.T. Session 4: Rocky Top<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This
session was a hiking week! Our hike in, a 5-mile hike to Spence Field Shelter,
where we camped for the week, was the easier part of the week (though we did
end up hiking in a thunderstorm at the very end of the hike). The next four workdays
consisted of a 2-mile hike, a 13-mile hike out to Derrick Knob Shelter and
back, an 8-mile hike, and a 5-mile hike. The terrain of this section was also
the hardest of all the sections the crew covers during S.W.E.A.T.; the crew had
to hike up Rocky Top (everyday), over Thunderhead Mountain, down to a couple
gaps and then back up to Derrick Knob Shelter. <!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]-->Luckily, we had an awesome crew
consisting of Sarah, who joined us during the previous session, Jenny, Joey,
and David. This section was 6.5-miles long and was very brushed in, so we had
our work cut out for us. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
The
day the crew hiked out to Derrick Knob Shelter, we were only able to get 3
hours of work in, and the rest was spent hiking. Though in those 3 hours of
work, we were able to cover 2.5-miles of trail! Even though this session was
incredibly challenging with all the hiking, our crew was able to brush the
whole section and finish clearing almost all of the drains. <!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_5"
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SqskU035its/WX8nsCej7xI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/pbXWx48q__Uz_M7yxZkBWP9li9KDXXk3QCLcBGAs/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SqskU035its/WX8nsCej7xI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/pbXWx48q__Uz_M7yxZkBWP9li9KDXXk3QCLcBGAs/s320/5.jpg" width="320" /></a>We also had an awesome surprise
this week: Bobby, the Rocky Top Crew Leader from years past, came out to join
us on day 3 and hiked in an amazing dinner of homemade lasagna, garlic bread,
salad, and ice cream! Knowing that Bobby was hiking in to meet us and bringing us
food was a good motivator, helping us get back to camp! <!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_2" o:spid="_x0000_i1030"
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Bobby also joined us the next day
and gave us an extra hand brushing, which helped a lot. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
That was not our only surprise of
the week though; Jenny saw a bear while she was using the bathroom, which was
pretty cool too! <o:p></o:p></div>
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Though
this section was tough to hike, we had great views: Rocky Top offered a 360
degree view, there were a couple meadows on our way to the top of Thunderhead
that looked out on Cades Cove, we could see Clingmans Dome off in the distance
from Briar Knob, and we could see Fontana Lake from a nice grassy bald before
the climb up Rocky Top. We also could
not have asked for nicer weather, though it was a little warm, we had sunshine
for every workday and for our hike down. <o:p></o:p></div>
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This session and group was a lot of
fun and we completed so much work! Thank you for all the work you completed
Sarah, Jenny, Joey, and David. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1440493328502448211.post-59156583151312038572017-07-10T12:34:00.004-07:002017-07-10T12:34:49.549-07:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
S.W.E.A.T. Crew Session 3: The
Bonus Crew<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
We
have already made it to Session Three of S.W.E.A.T. Crew! This week we had
returning volunteers from Session two, Logan, and Caitlin, join us again, and
then new volunteers Ray, Bill, Sarah F., Sarah E., and Rob. This crew session,
we hiked up Russell Field Trail, a 5-mile hike that we had already hiked during
Session One, to Russell Field Shelter. The hike in was pretty nice, since it
was a shorter hike, and the crew made it to camp around three o’clock that afternoon.
Our trail section that the crew covered was a 5.5-mile section from Spence
Field Shelter to Little Bald, an extremely nice section of trail that had mild
inclines, much different than the section of trail Session Two covered. <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
On
the first workday, the crew completed about 2-miles of brushing and clearing drains
and waterbars under a sunny sky! </div>
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RP4a_y56--0/WWPWUn6No4I/AAAAAAAAAII/0-42yCOS9QAQqKcuYvFQwGwbyez1s8HwwCLcBGAs/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RP4a_y56--0/WWPWUn6No4I/AAAAAAAAAII/0-42yCOS9QAQqKcuYvFQwGwbyez1s8HwwCLcBGAs/s320/3.jpg" width="320" /></a>That
evening, Chloë, as she had to hike up a volunteer who joined us late, and
Morgan, the RidgeRunner, joined us, a bright spot in our evening as it started
to rain. It drizzled on and off overnight, kindly waiting to soak us around 9:00
the next morning and continued raining for most of the day. Though Sarah E. and
Sarah F. were able to get a fire started in the shelter, where a couple people
hung their socks up! Luckily, that was most of the rain, save for a passing
shower around dinnertime the next evening. The rest of the workweek went great;
the crew saw dry, partly cloudy, days and a lot of work being completed. <o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We finished our section around
lunch on the third workday and were able to start working on bonus projects,
hence the Bonus Crew. Overall the crew completed 5.5-miles of brushing and
cutting back woody growth, 232 cleaned waterbars, 9 new drains were installed,
and 2,558 feet of tread was redefined (rehinging the trail where it had begun
to creep down the mountain and taking the berm off the outside of the trail so
water can run off)! Thank you Session 3 for the great work! </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1440493328502448211.post-13244672722383021122017-06-28T06:59:00.004-07:002017-06-28T06:59:44.979-07:00S.W.E.A.T. Crew Session 2: Derricks Knob Death March<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1i5wPdE68KA/WVO0pumE7qI/AAAAAAAAAGY/oSXckmaj0WEZof0RbHrY6Va0kpjtUHahwCLcBGAs/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="540" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1i5wPdE68KA/WVO0pumE7qI/AAAAAAAAAGY/oSXckmaj0WEZof0RbHrY6Va0kpjtUHahwCLcBGAs/s320/8.jpg" width="180" /></a><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IrMZx71aDPM/WVO0n8ruWNI/AAAAAAAAAGE/7wAP6pCwl7wE6QwDoB68xPfWXiDsVVaawCLcBGAs/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="540" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IrMZx71aDPM/WVO0n8ruWNI/AAAAAAAAAGE/7wAP6pCwl7wE6QwDoB68xPfWXiDsVVaawCLcBGAs/s320/1.jpg" width="180" /></a><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rgk4-o0WfIo/WVO0om9_ypI/AAAAAAAAAGQ/bPGLSqpLFfMzaNx0nlkKgP1NWzNnFnnUgCLcBGAs/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rgk4-o0WfIo/WVO0om9_ypI/AAAAAAAAAGQ/bPGLSqpLFfMzaNx0nlkKgP1NWzNnFnnUgCLcBGAs/s320/2.jpg" width="180" /></a><br />
<br />
This week on crew we had two returning crewmembers from session one, Paul and Caitlin, and then four new crewmembers, Tyler, Logan, Sara, and Christian. The hike in was mostly downhill, a nice change from session one’s hike in, and six miles. However, the workweek was grueling. The crew had a six-mile section to cover and no matter which way you walked, it was always uphill! The first workday we worked about a mile away from camp, widening the corridor so hikers don’t have to weed-whack their way through, and clearing drains. <br />
<br />
<br />
That morning the crew worked in some light rain, thought the afternoon proved to be nice, with mild temperatures. Tuesday, the crew worked three miles away from camp under the only some partially blue sky. Though of course, it did rain that evening after dinner.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cvt1j-Cop9o/WVO0p2iD9SI/AAAAAAAAAGc/KCBL2b0MdTQQC6Qv0Cs_eDRWxtpDH5F8wCLcBGAs/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cvt1j-Cop9o/WVO0p2iD9SI/AAAAAAAAAGc/KCBL2b0MdTQQC6Qv0Cs_eDRWxtpDH5F8wCLcBGAs/s320/5.jpg" width="180" /></a><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D458hbE91r4/WVO0pP-ljZI/AAAAAAAAAGU/T20Qznunr28DdFDe_3inlOnEkPzjuFXCACLcBGAs/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D458hbE91r4/WVO0pP-ljZI/AAAAAAAAAGU/T20Qznunr28DdFDe_3inlOnEkPzjuFXCACLcBGAs/s320/7.jpg" width="240" /></a>Wednesday was the real test though, in the morning we hiked out all the way to Derek’s Knob shelter, a six-mile hike, and began working back to where we had stopped the day before. The weather stayed nice most of the day, raining on us as we worked for a short period in the afternoon. Then after working, the crew had to hike back to camp, the most grueling part of the workweek!<br />
<br />
The hike back was, of course, up hill, though it was made better by our constant complaining and Tyler’s made up words as we played the game Contact. The crew didn’t end up getting back to camp until 6:10 that evening, so we enjoyed a shorter<br />
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last day of work! <br />
Which was really nice because it started raining around 10 in the morning on our last day of work and did not end until around midnight! The rain and wind were caused by tropical storm Cindy, which lead to a restless night for most of the crew. The next morning the crew was up early and the hike out was achieved pretty quickly, as we were all ready to dry out and get warm, an interesting thing to be wanting in the middle of June!<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1440493328502448211.post-55714522297356708012017-06-19T07:33:00.005-07:002017-06-19T07:33:40.241-07:00S.W.E.A.T. Session 1<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b>Working on AT from Gregory Bald to Little Bald </b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nZEjUgIZvkM/WUfgNR47jDI/AAAAAAAAABM/xHXgVwca-HsjDAzgw_uHxu9qoSvk94sFQCLcBGAs/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nZEjUgIZvkM/WUfgNR47jDI/AAAAAAAAABM/xHXgVwca-HsjDAzgw_uHxu9qoSvk94sFQCLcBGAs/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a>Crew season started out on a great
foot with session one. Joining Davis and Katie were: Hans, who carried up
enough food to feed the entire crew and basically had his own concessions stand
all week; Caitlin, who uttered the infamous line, “I just raked that s**t off”
after Andy re-naturalized the area Caitlin had just debermed; Paul, the
traveling Englishman; Matt, who was our daily reminder to just breath; and
Andy, the crews tireless drain cleaner (and is also banned from playing PELT).</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v8clj_6naOI/WUfgNhDSLWI/AAAAAAAAABQ/c6HK37tHGoM_wf8SrGz5OcmNVm374GhRgCLcBGAs/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v8clj_6naOI/WUfgNhDSLWI/AAAAAAAAABQ/c6HK37tHGoM_wf8SrGz5OcmNVm374GhRgCLcBGAs/s320/2.jpg" width="180" /></a>The crew enjoyed a challenging
9-mile hike up Russell Field Trail to the A.T. and then on to Mollies Ridge
Shelter, where we set up camp for the week. The crew was able to meet Hopeful,
the Smoky Mountains Hiking Club maintainer for this section, and his brother,
Wayne for the first three days of the session. The work section was from Doe
Knob to Gregory Bald Trail, a 4-mile section, that the crew did an excellent
job of maintaining; 118 drains were cleared, 548 feet of trail were debermed,
15 new drains were built, 1,258 feet of tread was redefined, 4 miles of
brushing, and 8 feet of closing off trail braiding (when people start to make
social trails around the trail itself).</div>
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All the work was done under
beautiful blue sky and nice temperatures, except for about thirty minutes of
rain during lunch on the fifth day. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dfQcbwTh_e0/WUfgPZVgHQI/AAAAAAAAABc/zBn9TKk8W7EEvfk3mlxDw1N3DEvbf03agCLcBGAs/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dfQcbwTh_e0/WUfgPZVgHQI/AAAAAAAAABc/zBn9TKk8W7EEvfk3mlxDw1N3DEvbf03agCLcBGAs/s320/3.jpg" width="320" /></a>The crew week was also full of wildlife sightings; a couple of grown hogs were spotted on the hike to work, as well as some baby hogs that were sighted around dusk one night, some fearless dear were seen around the shelter, and a momma bear with her two cubs, the cubs climbed a tree and then scooted back down, were noticed on the hike out. Thank you to all our volunteers on session 1 for making this a great first week of crew and for all the hard work that was accomplished! </div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y5ksELrl6fk/WUfgRRpCDtI/AAAAAAAAABk/7f2WI4ZtsaotsliAJ39MSjM5aRhGT1jlQCLcBGAs/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y5ksELrl6fk/WUfgRRpCDtI/AAAAAAAAABk/7f2WI4ZtsaotsliAJ39MSjM5aRhGT1jlQCLcBGAs/s320/6.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1440493328502448211.post-57569539461399049262016-08-07T18:35:00.002-07:002016-08-07T18:35:33.974-07:00SWEAT Crew Session 5SWEAT Crew Session 5<br />
<br />
Derricks Knob to Spence Field Shelter<br />
<br />
Day 1<br />
<br />
Steve, our only volunteer this week, Matt and Katie headed out on the morning of<br />
<br />
day one, being sent off by Meg, Julia, and David, who stood in for Chloë as she taught<br />
<br />
a Leave No Trace course for CLC. After a few pit stops were made on the way to the<br />
<br />
trailhead, at the grocery store, getting gas, and the backcountry office, we made it to<br />
<br />
the trailhead. From there we crushed some miles up to Derrick’s Knob, making it<br />
<br />
luckily before the rain. At the shelter we ran into Maury, the ridge runner, once<br />
<br />
again and conversed with her while dinner was being made. The night went well,<br />
<br />
except for the Bard owl that decided to wake us all up at 2 o’clock in the morning,<br />
<br />
hooting above our tents!<br />
<br />
Day 2<br />
<br />
After breakfast and a quick stretch circle, since there were only three of us, we did a<br />
<br />
quick orientation to trail maintenance and then began working. The morning<br />
<br />
consisted of sun and clouds as we worked, but midday we got poured on, however<br />
<br />
we were lucky enough that the rain only lasted about 45 minutes and we were able<br />
<br />
to dry out some. But the rain gave us the opportunity to see our waterbars in action!<br />
<br />
We did have a friend in a deer as we worked though; we saw him multiple times<br />
<br />
during the day and had an eight-point rack.<br />
<br />
Day 3<br />
<br />
We worked on some awesome steps during the morning, making a steep section of<br />
<br />
trail much nicer. It took us a while to find a nice log, and then a while longer to cut it<br />
<br />
into the size we needed, but eventually we got one step in place as it began to rain.<br />
<br />
But the rain did not last long, tapering off not long after it began. We then put in<br />
<br />
another step, making the section of trail even better! After lunch, we headed down<br />
<br />
to where we stopped the day before and continued working on waterbars and<br />
<br />
brushing. But the time we made it back to camp it had begun to rain again, but later<br />
<br />
we had a nice sunset and blue sky.<br />
<br />
Day 4<br />
<br />
We hiked out to our stopping place from day three and continued working, one<br />
<br />
person on swingblade, one on waterbars, and one on lopping. We worked all day on<br />
<br />
Brier Knob, ending the day at the top, where Matt was unfortunately stung by a<br />
<br />
yellow jacket, but thankfully it was the end of the day, so he took some Benadryl and<br />
<br />
then we began our hike back to camp. After arriving back at camp and making pasta,<br />
<br />
it began to rain on us once again, so we all retired to our tents for the night.<br />
<br />
Day 5<br />
<br />
After a nice, beautiful morning, we began our trek out to work. Climbing Brier Knob<br />
<br />
was tough, due to the steep slope, but we made it to the top and from there kept<br />
<br />
working south, mainly working on brushing as that section of trail was very<br />
<br />
overgrown. We moved slowly throughout the day, as the brushing was really hard,<br />
<br />
but the work done was really great and rewarding, especially walking back through<br />
<br />
what we had brushed. Steve got stung today, but luckily he is not allergic, so no<br />
<br />
Benadryl was needed. The day was gorgeous, a little hot, but blue-sky overhead and<br />
<br />
sun and at camp we talked about taking showers the next day!<br />
<br />
Day 6<br />
<br />
We got up early, packed up our stuff, ate breakfast, did stretch circle and then began<br />
<br />
our hike out. On the way out, we stopped by the waterfalls we had hiked past on the<br />
<br />
way in, the falls were gorgeous and Matt got in, walking under the falls. Once we<br />
<br />
were off trail, we then took a detour to Cades Cove, since neither Steve nor Katie had<br />
<br />
been there before and we were so close. We drove around the loop, took a picture<br />
<br />
on the van, and got stuck in a bear jam. After our detour, we made it back to Soak<br />
<br />
Ash for some homemade pizza made by Chloë. Our crew session came to a great end<br />
<br />
and Steve was the volunteer of the week!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1440493328502448211.post-72466807461846923242016-08-07T18:34:00.000-07:002016-08-07T18:34:59.093-07:00SWEAT Crew Session 4SWEAT Crew Session 4<br />
<br />
Dry Sluice Gap to Hughes Ridge Trail<br />
<br />
Day 1<br />
<br />
The crew, consisting of the Conservation Leadership Corps -Adri, Ni, Lucy, and Jay-<br />
<br />
Cal, our wonderful and only non-CLC volunteer, and Chloë, who was standing in for<br />
<br />
Matt who had to attend his sisters wedding. We headed out from Newfound Gap,<br />
<br />
hiking towards False Gap. On our hike in we lunched at Icewater Spring Shelter, and<br />
<br />
later passed Charlie’s Bunion. We also ran into two lovely ladies right before False<br />
<br />
Gap that we had met at Mollie’s Shelter the week before! After making it to camp<br />
<br />
and setting up just in time, it began to rain, which then turned into a thunderstorm,<br />
<br />
but due to Cal’s great tarp work, we were able to stay dry before settling into our<br />
<br />
tents for the night.<br />
<br />
Day 2<br />
<br />
After some decision making, we decided False Gap was not the best basecamp for<br />
<br />
our crew, so we packed up and headed out to relocate at Hughes Ridge Cabin. We<br />
<br />
avoided rain and thunderstorms on our way to our new camp, catching gorgeous<br />
<br />
views from Laurel Top and Bradley’s View. Both of these views were untouched by<br />
<br />
signs of civilization for as far you could see! After arriving at Hughes Ridge Cabin, we<br />
<br />
took a short break and then began to set up camp, once again just in time as it began<br />
<br />
to rain again. That night we were once again lulled to sleep by the sound of thunder.<br />
<br />
Day 3<br />
<br />
Our first day of work! We hiked up to Bradley’s View, where we took our morning<br />
<br />
break, and were Chloë left us, and just enjoyed the gorgeous view of mountains<br />
<br />
stretching out before us. We worked south on the A.T., clearing a heavy brushing<br />
<br />
area and waterbars. Leanna met us around two, replacing Chloë! She was a welcome<br />
<br />
sight to see and brought much energy to the group. That evening around dinner, we<br />
<br />
caught Leanna up on what we had done the first two days and it once again rained<br />
<br />
as we got ready for bed.<br />
<br />
Day 4<br />
<br />
Today we split up into two groups, one headed out to False Gap and the other group<br />
<br />
worked from our stopping point from the day before. Maury, the ridge runner,<br />
<br />
joined us today, which was awesome! We were able to clear all the waterbars<br />
<br />
between False Gap and Bradley’s View, and hit the very bad grown-up sections of<br />
<br />
brush. Maury also joined us for dinner that night, which was finally a storm free<br />
<br />
night and we were able to eat out from under the tarp!<br />
<br />
Day 5<br />
<br />
We worked under a beautiful blue sky and sun today, working back from Bradley’s<br />
<br />
View to Hughes Ridge trail. We finished clearing all the waterbars and brushing<br />
<br />
through that section as well as installing one new waterbar. We then finished the<br />
<br />
day out by clearing a few waterbars on the Hughes Ridge trail on the way down to<br />
<br />
Peck’s Corner Shelter and then tiredly tromping out way back to camp. We made<br />
<br />
jokes and Jay gave us some replays of what had happened on the radio today as<br />
<br />
Shepard’s pie was prepared for dinner. That night we went to bed with showers on<br />
<br />
our minds.<br />
<br />
Day 6<br />
<br />
Hike out day! Our hike out was along Hughes Ridge trail, then onto Bradley Fork<br />
<br />
trail, eventually coming out into the Smokemont Campground. We were packed,<br />
<br />
done with stretch circle, and on trail by 7:40! The crew crushed the miles as we<br />
<br />
made our way down the mountain, passing over many blow downs from all the<br />
<br />
storms. We were lucky that is did not rain on us as we hiked and the clouds actually<br />
<br />
gave way to sun as the day progressed. When we finally made it to the Smokemont<br />
<br />
Campground, Cal, Jay, Leanna, Lucy, and Adri, waded their way into the creek to cool<br />
<br />
down their tired feet and enjoy the cold water. The crew was glad to back at the van<br />
<br />
and we made our way to back to basecamp for some ice cream and pizza!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1440493328502448211.post-43998750680012145632016-08-07T18:32:00.002-07:002016-08-07T18:32:33.618-07:00SWEAT Crew Session 3<div class="MsoNormal">
SWEAT Crew Session 3</div>
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Written with the help of the whole crew</div>
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Little Bald to Gregory Bald Trail</div>
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Day 1</div>
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Majestic
Matt led our 9-mile ascent to magnificent Mollies Ridge. The weather was hot
and muggy with afternoon thunder. On our way in, we saw a bear as we were
approaching Russell Field shelter’s water source and a rattlesnake as we closed
in on Mollies Ridge shelter, which was just the beginning of all the wildlife
we saw this session. We made it to our camp that evening after a grueling hike
up Russell Field trail before hitting the A.T. and after Noah and James cleared
a blowdown along the way, and set up our tents behind the shelter. </div>
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Day 2</div>
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After
stretch circle, we headed out south on the A.T., working our way to Gregory
Bald trail. We make it about a mile and a half clearing waterbars and the
corridor. Matt, our fearless leader, was attacked by a bee at 9:13am and was
incapacitated by Benadryl by the afternoon, so he made his way back to camp to
rest. The rest of the crew continued on working, James and Noah saw another
bear, and by 4 o’clock we found ourselves an unknown distance from camp
(estimated mile and a half). David went forging for water, which he luckily
found under the blue blaze at Ekaneetlee Gap, before we headed back to camp to
be greeted by Matt who was prepping for dinner. After dinner, as Matt and James
were cleaning dishes, they found out someone had used our sump hole as their
privy! </div>
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Day 3</div>
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We
worked our way towards Little Bald in the morning. Sean was supposed to meet us
today, but he got held up in the office. So after lunch we headed back to the
shelter, where we stopped to refill on water and talk to some hikers. From the
shelter we kept on towards Gregory Bald trail, working from where we ended on
day two, clearing waterbar’s and brushing. On our way back to camp we came
across to more bears and later that night we also hog watched as a herd of hogs
came near camp. </div>
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Day 4</div>
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Sean
finally made it to camp in the morning after being held up all day at the
office the day before. From there we headed out to work on tread all day! Sean
left at lunch, but not before he and Matt saw another bear, but fear not we
were later greeted by the man himself, Randy Puckett (don’t worry Andy, we told
him you said hi). During our tread work, we also angered a nest of yellow
jackets and had to leave a section at the end of our sidehill alone, but we
completed about 206 feet of bench work! </div>
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Day 5</div>
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We
headed out to finish a section of tread work that we had begun at the end of
the day before. After finishing that section, we split up into two groups and
one group headed out to the end of our section, Gregory Bald trail, while the
other group worked from where we had stopped on day three towards the Gregory
Bald trail. The two groups ended up meeting around lunch, and after lunch we
worked on two short sections that desperately needed sidehill work. We also had
some trail magic, as Brad, a volunteer from session one and two, hiked up to
see us for the afternoon and brought us apples and bananas (however, he forgot
the cookies Chloë had asked him to hike up to us)! </div>
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Day 6</div>
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Hike out
day! We packed all our gear and the crew was on trail a few minutes after
8:00am, ready for a mostly downhill hike, which proved much easier than our
hike in. It took us about four hours to hike out, where we ended up in the
Cades Cove picnic area to the smell of some really good food being cooked over
fires. We then made it back to basecamp, where the crew cleaned the tools and
put away all the crew gear, and everyone finally got to shower! Chloë then
cooked us a great meal of burgers, veggie burgers, and salad, and we had the
rest of the night to hangout and talk before our awesome crew members left the
next day. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1440493328502448211.post-21345644183692708282016-08-07T18:14:00.002-07:002016-08-07T18:15:24.926-07:00SWEAT Crew Session 2<div class="MsoNormal">
SWEAT Crew Session 2 </div>
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Pecks Corner to Balsam Mountain Trail </div>
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Day 1 </div>
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After
eating a wonderful breakfast prepared by our Chloë, Matt and the crew headed
out with Sean to Newfound Gap. The first day consisted of the crew- Matt, Sean,
Bryce, Greg, Britt, Jessie, Evan, and Brad- hiking 11 miles in to Hughes Ridge
Cabin where we set up camp. Once making it to camp it was discovered that both
Britt and Bryce had forgotten to empty their packs after crew fit and had ended
up carrying in a few extra pounds in the form of sandbags! Thankfully, Sean
packed the sandbags out when he headed out Saturday. Around camp, Bryce made
himself comfortable, having packed in two roll pads and two sleeping bags,
while that night Britt found out his roll pad had a hole in it.</div>
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Day 3</div>
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Today we
cut the cheese – a two-pound block of cheese that Chloë sent in to the field
with us- and in less than 48 hours the crew devoured it. </div>
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Day 4</div>
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Katie
hiked in today to meet the crew after attending her brothers wedding, meeting
the crew as they were enjoying their lunch at a nice overview and from there we
continued on cleaning waterbars and brushing throughout the afternoon. Bryce,
who had left basecamp wearing a white shirt and white pants, was a sight to see
as his once white clothes were now stained by dirt and mud and was a testament
to all the work the crew had been doing. After dinner had been cooked by our
chef Brad, and dishes had been cleaned, we caught up on the latest
interworking’s of the National Park Service via our radio and then we piled
into Hughes Ridge Cabin to sleep (which to Matt felt like summer camp all over
again). </div>
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Day 5</div>
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This was
our big push day – Matt, Brad, Evan, and Bryce hiked 5.3 miles to Tri-C<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>orner while Greg, Britt, Jessie, and Katie worked from the
day four stopping point towards Tri-Corner. After arriving at Tri-Corner, the
group ate lunch, filled up on water, and then began working back towards Pecks
Corner and the other group. The day was filled with long miles of work and the
crews came within a couple of 100 yards of meeting each other to finish our
section. After another great mean, we listened to Greg and Britt’s childhood
stories! </div>
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Day 6</div>
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Hike out
day/shower day! The crew was up and at it by 6:30am and then we were on trail
by 8:00am. Instead of hiking out on the A.T and to Newfound Gap, we took Hughes
Ridge trail to Bradley Fork trail, where we cleared a blowdown along the way, to
Smokemont Loop trail, about 11 miles of downhill. Finally, we arrived at our
crew van and made it back to Soak Ash for a late lunch and crew dinner made by
our beloved camp coordinator, Chloë. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1440493328502448211.post-40099167488538441002016-08-07T18:06:00.001-07:002016-08-07T18:07:37.465-07:00SWEAT Crew, 2016, Session 1 by Joan aka Blue Jay SWEAT Crew, 2016, Session 1 - Silers Bald Shelter to Derrick Knob Shelter<br />
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-Written by volunteer Joan aka Blue Jay </div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e9yck4udRhI/V6fZTF6eltI/AAAAAAAAABQ/4O5dZBffMkc_UElPXbcT6RX3giM8V2zIwCLcB/s1600/SWEAT%2BS1P1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e9yck4udRhI/V6fZTF6eltI/AAAAAAAAABQ/4O5dZBffMkc_UElPXbcT6RX3giM8V2zIwCLcB/s320/SWEAT%2BS1P1.png" width="320" /></a>We are the SWEAT Crew, 2016, Session 1. We are a group of 3 crew leaders and 6 volunteers.<br />
<br />
Crew leaders are Katie, Matt, and Sean. Volunteers are Andy, Brad, Bryce, Jeff, Joan, and Ray.<br />
<br />
We are from 5 states and range in age from 21 to 64. Some have completed hiking the AT<br />
<br />
before; all feel the pull to help maintain this national treasure. We gathered on Sunday 6/5 at<br />
<br />
the Soak Ash crew house for a gear and physical fitness shake down. We all passed! We had a<br />
<br />
delightful meal and started transitioning from strangers to an organized work crew.<br />
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<br />
<br />
On Monday, 6/6, we drove to Clingmans Dome; our base camp is at Silers Bald shelter. We<br />
<br />
hiked carrying packs heavier than some of us were accustomed to carry. We hiked with bluets,<br />
<br />
Solomon Seal, and blackberry blossoms. Birds sang their sweet songs of welcome to the<br />
<br />
backcountry. We arrived at Silers and set up our tents. It was (mostly) an easy day and the<br />
<br />
weather proved to be delightful. We enjoyed a group meal and evening camaraderie, hopped<br />
<br />
in our tents around sunset, and dreamed about hard labor.<br />
<br />
Tuesday was our first work day. By 8 am, we were all ready for a day of hard work and a labor<br />
<br />
of love for a trail that has special and personal meaning to all of us. The AT lives in the hearts<br />
<br />
and minds of so many people all over the world. We, the Smokies Wilderness Elite, felt a sense<br />
<br />
of honor and pride to be among its caretakers for a week. On this day that gave us perfect<br />
<br />
weather, we – among other things - created 3 new water bars, cleaned out many existing water<br />
<br />
bars, added stone treads over a sloggy wet area, cut back brush, reclaimed a short section<br />
<br />
rerouted by hikers, found and crushed rocks for trail repair, and managed to stay safe and<br />
<br />
happy all day. We retraced our steps back to base camp and were very pleased to hike over our<br />
<br />
hard work. We enjoyed a community meal, assembled back at Soak Ash and rehydrated over<br />
<br />
our camp stove in a huge pot. We had strong winds most of the night that sounded like flowing<br />
<br />
water. The night was clear with a zazillion stars and was considerable cooler than our first<br />
<br />
night.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A_lo3DW_umQ/V6faE4CCuSI/AAAAAAAAABc/E6D8qYrQxJ0hQ9T8yM4Mv9FDMLBfbAGzACLcB/s1600/SWEAT%2BS1P3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A_lo3DW_umQ/V6faE4CCuSI/AAAAAAAAABc/E6D8qYrQxJ0hQ9T8yM4Mv9FDMLBfbAGzACLcB/s320/SWEAT%2BS1P3.png" width="240" /></a>Wednesday, 6/8, was our second work day. We awoke to a cool, clear, and beautiful morning.<br />
<br />
We all were thankful for the weather, even with hats, gloves, and jackets on. We started our<br />
<br />
day again with our Safety Circle. In Circle we learn a bit more about the lives of our fellow crew<br />
<br />
members, we do a pretty complete set of stretches, and we remind ourselves about safety<br />
<br />
issues that we could face in the day ahead. Like yesterday, we encountered various creatures<br />
<br />
that call these woods their homes. There have been huge worms, snails, bright yellow spiders,<br />
<br />
Jordan salamanders, bees, inch worms, and a few deer. We move critters as we work and try to<br />
<br />
put them back in their homes when we finish. They are good and vivid reminders that we share<br />
<br />
this lovely trail with creatures large and small, and they are part of what makes this trail, with<br />
<br />
all its unique and abundant life, so special for so many. Again, we feel the honor of our work,<br />
<br />
and that less-than- perfect night in our tents or those muscle aches become less significant to<br />
<br />
us. We encounter hikers along the trail in our work. We shout “hiker up” so those working<br />
<br />
ahead can put down tools and let the hikers pass safely. Often, very often, the hikers thank us<br />
<br />
for what we are doing. That feels pretty good! What&#39;s a bit of dirt – actually a whole lot of dirt<br />
<br />
– on our work clothes compared to the knowledge that we have helped to make someone’s<br />
<br />
outdoor experience a good one?<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Thursday, 6/9. Our third work day. It was a bit harder to get out of our tents this morning. Our<br />
<br />
minds were willing but we had to push our bodies just a bit more. We were tired from two<br />
<br />
good days of work. It&#39;s great to hear the pot of water boiling for coffee and breakfast, and our<br />
<br />
Crew Leaders make sure we all hear the morning cracking of the whip. Actually Katie and Matt<br />
<br />
never push us too hard; they encourage us, as good leaders do. Today was another reminder<br />
<br />
that nature is prolific and relentless. We pushed back brush and weeds, knowing that in a few<br />
<br />
short seasons it will look like we were never there. We cleared out existing water bars,<br />
<br />
knowing that water is nature’s strongest force and rains will erode our good work. Sometimes<br />
<br />
it&#39;s like the trees and the trail itself are laughing at our noble efforts. Yet we work on. And we<br />
<br />
are pleased with our work. And many of us come back for other sessions; we come back for<br />
<br />
more. And we love the ache in our backs and the tightness in our muscles and the cold nights<br />
<br />
in our tents. We love the group meals. We love to clean the dishes together. We love the hike<br />
<br />
back to camp each night, walking over the trail that we tended today and on the rocks that we<br />
<br />
set yesterday and seeing the cleared brush from our first day. We know the trail will forget us<br />
<br />
in its own good time. But we won&#39;t soon forget our time together and our work on this beloved<br />
<br />
trail.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Friday, 6/10. Before this blogger tells you about how great Safety Circle was this morning, I<br />
<br />
must digress a bit and talk about our meals. Last night’s was especially good. It was a bean<br />
<br />
dish. We all joked about beans, of course. Everyone over the age of four jokes about farting<br />
<br />
after eating beans. There are a couple serious things, though, one should know about eating<br />
<br />
beans and camping. First, don&#39;t fart in a tent without really good ventilation. Keep all<br />
<br />
vestibules open, no matter how cold or raining it is; it could be lethal otherwise. Second, never,<br />
<br />
ever fart while in your zipped up sleeping bag. You can pass out if those smells seep out over<br />
<br />
your nostrils. If the fart lingers inside your bag, it will penetrate into the down feathers and you<br />
<br />
can never, ever get the smell out. There are reports of people having to burn their sleeping<br />
<br />
bags after eating beans and not taking appropriate precautions. It may be a generational thing<br />
<br />
or perhaps a gender thing, but some of us have trouble letting one rip when others are in close<br />
<br />
proximity. It is not wise to hold things in; there will be trouble in the night. One can imagine a<br />
<br />
group tent site the night of a bean dinner - there would be no concerns about bears coming<br />
<br />
around! Moving on to this morning’s Safety Circle, the first safety suggestion was to fart often<br />
<br />
and loudly. Today was our last workday. It was another glorious day. Bright blue sky and a little<br />
<br />
warmer than other days. We have been a productive crew and yesterday we made it all the<br />
<br />
way to Derrick Knob shelter, our farthest work point. So today we scouted for rocks to make a<br />
<br />
few more water bars. There are large ascents in this section of trail, necessitating water bars.<br />
<br />
We found rose quartz, granite, lichen-covered rocks, and rocks older than dirt. Working with<br />
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XTVOqDeSOsA/V6faFF3LJ6I/AAAAAAAAABg/r0dp6ri9fLE5X4FRzaG2IzhyoNoKdQpIgCLcB/s1600/SWEAT%2BS1P4.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XTVOqDeSOsA/V6faFF3LJ6I/AAAAAAAAABg/r0dp6ri9fLE5X4FRzaG2IzhyoNoKdQpIgCLcB/s320/SWEAT%2BS1P4.png" width="320" /></a><br />
rocks was a good reminder that these Appalachian mountains are among the oldest mountains<br />
<br />
on Earth. We smashed rocks to use for fill, used the best and perfect rocks, and built THE BEST<br />
<br />
water bars ever made. They are works of art. We sweated in our labors today. We lived up to<br />
<br />
our namesake. WE ARE THE SWEAT CREW!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Saturday, 6/11. We broke camp this morning about 8:00 and had our last Safety Circle. Some<br />
<br />
of the safety issues today centered around how to eat our cold ice cream shake from the Shake<br />
<br />
and Dawg when we get close to home. Our hike out of camp was fast, with a stop at the<br />
<br />
Clingmans Dome Tower. We were a van full of hungry workers and there was much talk about<br />
<br />
our Shake and Dawg stop. We were more than a little smelly but no one there called us on it. It<br />
<br />
was a good week. It was a great week. We left last Monday as strangers; we returned today as<br />
<br />
friends. That’s what a week at SWEAT will do for you.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1440493328502448211.post-79383257891175889432016-04-07T10:57:00.002-07:002016-04-07T10:57:24.287-07:00Sign up to join the SWEAT Crew this Summer!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-spkwnt6vMb0/VwafcczyYoI/AAAAAAAAAuY/nGT3WnW9C8cYpl_L9qyb8G96dCBUwDHvw/s1600/Konnarock%2BGeorgia%2B2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-spkwnt6vMb0/VwafcczyYoI/AAAAAAAAAuY/nGT3WnW9C8cYpl_L9qyb8G96dCBUwDHvw/s400/Konnarock%2BGeorgia%2B2015.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;">Registration is now open for the 2016 season of ATCs legendary SWEAT Volunteer Trail </span><span class="il" style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;">Crew</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;">. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;">Led by professional </span><span class="il" style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;">crew</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;"> leaders, the SWEAT Trail </span><span class="il" style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;">Crew </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;">hits the trail in the remote backcountry of Great Smoky Mountains National Park to maintain and improve the Appalachian Trail.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;">Meals and equipment for each 6-day session are provided at no cost--and don't forget the T-shirt and the bragging rights that come with it! You'll never have so much fun working hard and getting dirty. </span><a href="http://www.appalachiantrail.org/home/conservation/trail-management/trail-crews/sweat-trail-crew" style="background-color: white; color: #336699; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 14px;" target="_blank">Sign up today!</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1440493328502448211.post-37179353371870304942016-01-19T08:15:00.000-08:002016-01-19T08:15:06.575-08:00SWEAT End of Season ReportThe 2015 End of Season Report for the SWEAT Crew can be viewed at the link below.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5AuaoqGawFmcEJFczVlNkdWYjQ/view?usp=sharing">SWEAT 2015 End of Season Report</a><br />
<br />
Thanks to all our volunteers for making 2015 a great year!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1440493328502448211.post-24986908215989295882015-08-30T06:54:00.001-07:002015-08-30T06:54:52.828-07:00Thank You!! To All Our Volunteers!<div class="MsoNormal">
SWEAT Crew Leaders David and Morgan want to thank each and
every volunteer who made this season possible.
From Session 1 to Session 8, the level of hard work, comradery, and
understanding you shared went far to making our jobs easier. It was a memorable summer, and you all hold a
dear place in our hearts. Thank you for
the time you spent away from your jobs, your summer breaks, your loved ones to improve
one of the most storied trails on earth.
We hope to see you next year! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sincerely,<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Your Crew Leaders.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1440493328502448211.post-22946052270131124162015-08-30T06:53:00.000-07:002015-08-30T06:53:21.350-07:00Final SWEAT Session 2015<div class="MsoNormal">
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Day 1<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Session 8’s hike-in was a deceptive one—only four miles,
but every step of it uphill! Still, the
crew made it up in time for everyone to set up camp and begin some trailwork. Tim and Bryan picked up where they left off
on their previous 2015 SWEAT crews by swingblading, while Chuck (the ‘new guy’)
showed off his professional landscaping skills with the loppers. After supper the crew went to meet our
neighbors at Cosby Knob Shelter—a couple making their way to Hot Springs—who
seemed enthusiastic about joining SWEAT next year.<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Day 2<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Judging by the forecast, the rain appeared all
but imminent. Donned in rain suits we
set out to accomplish as much as possible before the bottom dropped out…but it
never did! Session 7 volunteer, Britt,
joined us around noon and went straight to cleaning waterbars. Bryan quit early after taking a headache but
was back on his feet by chow time. Again
we went to go visit the shelter neighbors, only to find one backpacker who was
already asleep.</span></span></div>
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Day 3<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
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The team got to see the work in store on the 4+ mile hike
to Inadu Knob: brushing…brushing…and <i>more</i>
brushing. Leapfrogging was the game as
the volunteers paired off on lopping and swingblading duties. The sound of thunder never far away, the crew
worked double-time and with fingers crossed.
By day’s end they’d accomplished 2 miles of trail work and dodged
another downpour.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Day 4<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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After a breakfast of peanut butter and honey burritos,
the crew went on a brushing rampage. We
met a handful of friendly hikers who thanked us for our work and offered us
snacks. Bring on the trail magic! After our nightly shelter visit, we talked
under the tarp until ‘hiker-thirty’ called everyone to their tents.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Day 5<o:p></o:p></div>
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Last workday for SWEAT 2015! It was a bittersweet day for the crew: on one
hand it was hard to believe the week had gone by so fast; on the other, we
wanted to see the job through. Following
the crew’s last swipe of the swingblade, final cut with the loppers, they
decided there was enough time to head back to basecamp early, where Meg was
waiting with burgers and a birthday cake to celebrate Morgan’s 30<sup>th</sup>. What a way to end a great season!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1440493328502448211.post-76463369741303090202015-08-25T06:56:00.003-07:002015-08-25T06:56:25.621-07:00Big Crew, Big Session, Big Fun!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QsBtUmCXkjQ/VdxzRhsCfrI/AAAAAAAAAMo/FgPhZg4cE3s/s1600/img_2199_20514243186_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QsBtUmCXkjQ/VdxzRhsCfrI/AAAAAAAAAMo/FgPhZg4cE3s/s320/img_2199_20514243186_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Session 7 Crew</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Day 1 - The hike from Clingman’s Dome to camp was a
10+mile slog through the fog and rain.
We stopped at two shelters en route, allowing everybody the chance to
lunch out of the wet and empty their boots.
With about three miles left, David had to respond to an injured hiker
report. Applying his excellent
wilderness medical skills he was able to stabilize the hiker until other help
arrived and they airlifted him out. Good
work, David!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4KZxXGn_7Ks/VdxzY0nDR9I/AAAAAAAAAMw/fqNjhFuEJ-o/s1600/img_2207_20353769349_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4KZxXGn_7Ks/VdxzY0nDR9I/AAAAAAAAAMw/fqNjhFuEJ-o/s320/img_2207_20353769349_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brit on the swingblade</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Day 2 - It was a 6-mile hike to the end of our work area,
made a little easier by clear skies.
Jeff, Kirk and Tina began brushing at Silers Bald Shelter while the rest
of the gang ascended further north to tackle the blackberry invasion. At the end of the day, Morgan commented that
it seemed like the toughest workday of the season. Luckily, there was a great supper and dessert
to look forward to, followed by bedtime around 7:30.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x6M7LNniaFQ/VdxzjnWRVNI/AAAAAAAAAM4/iExON5ZFeIk/s1600/img_2210_20353768489_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x6M7LNniaFQ/VdxzjnWRVNI/AAAAAAAAAM4/iExON5ZFeIk/s320/img_2210_20353768489_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kessiah works the loppers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Day 3 - The crew split into two teams today, with Morgan,
Tina, Jeff and Kirk heading south brushing while the rest of the bunch went
north to finish a 2-mile section of waterbars and lopping. On the way up, David’s crew heard a bear
growl, so they kept close together in hopes of no further encounters. After a good 3.5-mile total of work
completed, everyone headed back to camp for tuna mac and conversation with the
wild pig hunter, Rick.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oXVceKcIBZc/VdxzrQ61KCI/AAAAAAAAANA/wryeo5nJDQ4/s1600/img_2236_20514240536_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oXVceKcIBZc/VdxzrQ61KCI/AAAAAAAAANA/wryeo5nJDQ4/s320/img_2236_20514240536_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hanging out at camp</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Day 4 - Yet another day of dividing and conquering. Morgan’s group headed south and brushed their
way back from Starkey Gap. David’s group
had a more thrilling workday after Kessiah spotted a rattlesnake on the trail!!! The crew took some photos from a safe
distance and resumed their brushing a little further downtrail. Later, on the way back to camp, they were
caught in a major downpour. Luckily Kirk
and Morgan had supper prepared for their soggy return.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JdmclqMovOI/Vdxz0S9RdsI/AAAAAAAAANI/8JcfQufiQL4/s1600/img_2294_19919571233_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JdmclqMovOI/Vdxz0S9RdsI/AAAAAAAAANI/8JcfQufiQL4/s320/img_2294_19919571233_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andrew on the loose!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Day 5 - The crew ate breakfast a little slower this
morning, watching and hoping the rain would quit soon. In the end everyone sucked it up to clean a
few more waterbars and dig sidehill.
Tina showed everyone out with her amazing pulaski skills while Greg
worked the shovel. Returning to camp the
skies opened long enough for the crew to dry their gear and sun bathe. Dinner was followed by a game of
‘Bean-Boozled’ (look it up…YUCK!).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F2Hh3V7_4mE/Vdxz7mh04wI/AAAAAAAAANQ/J3yMIyBdZYs/s1600/at-hike-6-032_20816740405_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F2Hh3V7_4mE/Vdxz7mh04wI/AAAAAAAAANQ/J3yMIyBdZYs/s320/at-hike-6-032_20816740405_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Group shot with some passing hikers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Day 6- The long walk home…frequent stops with the
intermittent bear markers (aka fresh scat).
The ascent to the dome was long and arduous, but it paid off once the
crew reached the top and were able to take in the breathtaking views. After tacos at Soak Ash basecamp, David and
Morgan handed out the prized trail crew shirts and everyone got time to reflect
on another great week of trail maintenance.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1440493328502448211.post-12440624542169425232015-08-10T14:12:00.001-07:002015-08-10T14:12:20.704-07:00Up on Mollie's Ridge<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FHm-MEzssb8/VckTH5ZRw8I/AAAAAAAAAK4/SDR4-kL1c-8/s1600/img_2010_20233826855_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FHm-MEzssb8/VckTH5ZRw8I/AAAAAAAAAK4/SDR4-kL1c-8/s320/img_2010_20233826855_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Day 1 <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
On our climb from Cades Cove we met a hiker who’d lost her
backpack to a bear! It goes without
saying that it put newbie volunteers Bryant and Sam on pins and needles (and
never more than a stones throw from their packs on the way to Mollies Field.) Randy returned for his second week, while ATC
SORO’s Trail Specialist, Chris Binder, made a guest appearance on the way
up. Arriving at camp we encountered
Smoky Mountain Hiking Club (SMHC) members Hopeful and Ox, who helped us devise
a plan for the week over dinner.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Day 2<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
With our SMHC additions, we decided to divide and conquer
trail-south of Mollies. Team one worked
on installing steps while team two handled brushing. Both Ox and Hopeful proved to be a wellspring
of trail knowledge, advising the crew on the do’s and don’ts of tread
rehab. And wouldn’t you know it…they
shared dessert with us too!<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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Day 3<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
We witnessed an authentic moment of trail magic during
breakfast: A family of hikers had
forgotten to pack their stove. On the
verge of cancelling their trip, Hopeful stepped forward and offered his. What a lifesaver! In other news, it was a big brushing day for
SWEAT. We headed north and worked back
through the bugs and blowdowns. During
breaks, Sam and Bryant foraged for early blackberries, while Randy took time<i> </i>to <i>rest
his eyes</i>. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HOLq6EASkxE/VckTc76kfYI/AAAAAAAAALQ/fLJDokxJN_c/s1600/img_2061_20045804508_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HOLq6EASkxE/VckTc76kfYI/AAAAAAAAALQ/fLJDokxJN_c/s320/img_2061_20045804508_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Day 4<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
With the team’s main objectives accomplished ahead of
schedule, everyone was eager to work on steps and waterbars. David led the step installments while Morgan
handled the latter. It was a productive
day, with the crew finishing five steps, two waterbars, and a handful of
drains. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Day 5<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
After the morning safety meeting—led by none other than
SWEAT veteran, Randy—the crew set out to accomplish more major jobs. Sidehill was priority, followed by more
waterbars. Meanwhile, Sam serenaded the
crew with an original song he’d written in light of his SWEAT experience. What he lacks in vocals he makes up for in
wit and creativity. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Day 6<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The long walk home…well, more like a trail <i>run</i>, owing to the majority of it being
downhill. Plus, everyone was promised
some soft serve at the Cades Cove gift shop once we were finished. Talk about brain freeze!<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1440493328502448211.post-21549160566714258562015-07-27T07:21:00.004-07:002015-07-27T07:21:49.767-07:00Goodbye to Vinicius!<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Crew Leaders
David and Morgan would again like to express their appreciation to Vinicius—a
hard worker and a good friend. Before
heading out to his next adventure he left us with a few words about his
experience:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">I have only good things to say about the</span></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> time I lived here, how many miles we’ve walked and how many
beautiful places visited. But without a doubt the most important aspect of my </span><span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">adventure was the people I met, people of good soul and good<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>heart, who made my volunteer period a memorable one. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">I’ve seen different
cultures, different ideas and stories; I learned to work with the land and to
enjoy good food. Did I learn great lessons from this adventure? Maybe, but
without doubt the most important was that all journeys are taken one step at a
time.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OxL99LRZGfE/VbY-bO9p_AI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/rOVm4nKEJ3c/s1600/img_2003_19976296881_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OxL99LRZGfE/VbY-bO9p_AI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/rOVm4nKEJ3c/s400/img_2003_19976296881_o.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Morgan and Vin.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1440493328502448211.post-31326645427535204132015-07-27T07:20:00.001-07:002015-07-27T07:20:31.151-07:00Session 5: Cabin Living on Hughe's Ridge<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Day 1: On
arrival day for session 5, the new crew celebrated Vinicius’ 22<sup>nd</sup>
birthday with surprise cake and ice cream.
This week marks his fourth and final crew week. His efforts are dearly appreciated and he’ll
be sorely missed!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QL1dPIszbN8/VbY9FmzxBII/AAAAAAAAAI8/NJprlDuOMt0/s1600/img_1887_19350203713_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QL1dPIszbN8/VbY9FmzxBII/AAAAAAAAAI8/NJprlDuOMt0/s320/img_1887_19350203713_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SWEAT Crew Session 5</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It was
an 11-mile haul from Newfound Gap to Hughes Ridge Cabin. On the way up, the crew found time to tackle
a couple blowdowns and catch some rest at Charlie’s Bunion. Arriving at the cabin the team was quick to
set up tents and take rest, only to be summoned by the aroma of chicken tacos.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C0usJIkEV1Q/VbY9RIDX13I/AAAAAAAAAJE/q9mlTfxPfXM/s1600/img_1892_19350200063_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C0usJIkEV1Q/VbY9RIDX13I/AAAAAAAAAJE/q9mlTfxPfXM/s320/img_1892_19350200063_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taking a break on the hike in.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">Day 2:</span><span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">After
yet another long hike to reach the work area’s northern terminus, veteran SWEAT
members Handlebar and Randy quickly settled into their brush-busting
roles. Meanwhile Doug showed Richard the
finer points of lopping, and Ryan tried his hand at the scythe. There was more than one person mentioning
sore arms on the walk back to camp.
After dinner, the crew gathered over hot cocoa and jokes shared by
Randy, Richard and Doug.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JsQZIXvJqLs/VbY9bwIVmlI/AAAAAAAAAJM/Ha4kq83S2dc/s1600/img_1909_19350186753_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JsQZIXvJqLs/VbY9bwIVmlI/AAAAAAAAAJM/Ha4kq83S2dc/s320/img_1909_19350186753_o.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cleaning a waterbar.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KLV2tXlQMCg/VbY9ccI7lZI/AAAAAAAAAJU/qBO7lJL2mNs/s1600/img_1910_19963487082_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KLV2tXlQMCg/VbY9ccI7lZI/AAAAAAAAAJU/qBO7lJL2mNs/s320/img_1910_19963487082_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lopping!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Day 3: Randy,
Handlebar and Morgan were the certified swing-bladers for the day, while Doug
and Richard cleaned waterbars. It was a
productive day owing to clear skies and cool breezes. With the aim to reach an overlook by quitting
time, the crew pushed hard and got there.
Needless to say, the day called for an early bedtime!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l3tFHEHFl04/VbY9nzHzmOI/AAAAAAAAAJc/_tmd2KIm4s0/s1600/img_1949_19944894136_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l3tFHEHFl04/VbY9nzHzmOI/AAAAAAAAAJc/_tmd2KIm4s0/s320/img_1949_19944894136_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heading back to camp.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Day 4: The
crew hit a milestone with their brushing by completing the section north of
Peck’s Corner. That’s a whopping 4.5
miles of serious blowdowns and brush.
Back at the cabin, the victory was celebrated with fried pies and a commemorative
game of PELT!, led by Vinicius, the star player.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6axtqSKLytY/VbY91hnyVNI/AAAAAAAAAJk/ff-ig4M61pI/s1600/img_1995_19976303301_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6axtqSKLytY/VbY91hnyVNI/AAAAAAAAAJk/ff-ig4M61pI/s320/img_1995_19976303301_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Morgan taking a well-deserved break.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Day 5: The
sun shined on crew #5’s last work day.
Vinicius was especially poised, as it was his final day volunteering
with SWEAT. He and David teamed up on
waterbars while the rest of the crew followed Morgan up to Laurel Top. Eight hours and a lot of sweat later, the
crew celebrated a job well done by soaking up some sun at the finish line.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Who knows?</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Day 6: During the long hike back, the weather was
gracious enough to hold off rain until everyone was virtually in view of the
van. Back at Soak Ash, the entire team
stayed overnight so there was always someone raiding the kitchen!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3XZEV9G_13U/VbY-GgdDkLI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/IjGIr5xWggw/s1600/img_1992_19350117843_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3XZEV9G_13U/VbY-GgdDkLI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/IjGIr5xWggw/s640/img_1992_19350117843_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love the Smokies.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1440493328502448211.post-4350002650838757002015-07-15T10:49:00.000-07:002017-06-23T10:51:58.478-07:00Guest Post: Patrick Slaughter<div style="text-align: center;">
<h2>
<a href="http://sweatcrew.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img height="247" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zXbttYXUe1Y/UFocQvfN9DI/AAAAAAAAADY/owmIcqMRiuA/s400/sweat%2Bfinal.jpg" width="400" /></a></h2>
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<h3>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Smoky Wilderness Elite Appalachian Trail Crew</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">(S.W.E.A.T)</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> a Trail Maintenance group based in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park that work on the Appalachian Trail (A.T) in the Smoky Mountains area. </span></h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3rGedwPr3go/VaVNsKywscI/AAAAAAAAASQ/cXlt0cSHft0/s1600/DSCN0450.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3rGedwPr3go/VaVNsKywscI/AAAAAAAAASQ/cXlt0cSHft0/s640/DSCN0450.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Session 4 S.W.E.A.T Crew</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-emEVYw0XUvI/VaVOIgdUzrI/AAAAAAAAASs/3etJnHaT2sI/s1600/DSCN0521.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-emEVYw0XUvI/VaVOIgdUzrI/AAAAAAAAASs/3etJnHaT2sI/s320/DSCN0521.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.8px;">Crew Leader David & Assistant Crew Leader Morgan </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.8px;">with Super Safe in the back ground.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">This year's crew, lead by crew leader David and assistant crew leader Morgan help conquered the tedious trail by solving the problems at hand. The crew is tasked with handling multiple blow-downs, solving water drainage issues with grade dips and keeping the trail in great condition for people walking on the trail, as well as the trail itself by de-berming. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">For this session this duo along with volunteers had to hike 10 miles to get to their work-site (<i>Mount Chapman to Camelback</i>) overcoming obstacles like: a short trip down the wrong trail, monsters mountain slopes, rain from the heavens, and fog that made you feel like you were one with the clouds. Most of the time a normal day will include: breakfast , heading out to work a break, work,lunch, more work, dinner and some type of fun activity for the end of the day. You would be surprised at what types of meals that camp coordinator Megan pre-packages for us to cook in the woods. For example, a meal like thanksgiving might feel unheard of, but it's perfectly made with mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, and turkey packages seasoned to perfection. We cook it all on a gas stove, and we had apple, peach and other types of turnovers for dessert.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">With meal like that no wonder so many people who love hiking the Appalachian Trail (A.T) would want to have a backpacking experience they way they work it on crew! It's almost enough to make anyone volunteer to do trail maintenance crews like S.W.E.A.T. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yKIi7UtaBXI/VaVVaz-KuFI/AAAAAAAAATE/wqzyhOS2Li8/s1600/19673203771_85669612bd_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yKIi7UtaBXI/VaVVaz-KuFI/AAAAAAAAATE/wqzyhOS2Li8/s320/19673203771_85669612bd_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">S.W.E.A.T Crew volunteers enjoying their Thanksgiving one serving at a time</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">S.W.E.A.T Crew is a team that has about 5-8 volunteers and 2 crew leaders in which the crew help solve many problems that hit the trail. Problems dealing with water drainage issues, annual plants wanting to grow in the trail, and removing fallen trees.</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Each situation is addressed by applying the tools we take into the field, like using lopping shears to clear away tree limbs, or cleaning out drainage systems using a fire rake and pulaskis. Moreover, many people who find out about this opportunity to volunteer </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">S.W.E.A.T Crew </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">gain life changing events. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SJucR5ZbWdc/VaZ7ji5pjvI/AAAAAAAAATc/2VOUV-0UEu0/s1600/DSCN0504.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SJucR5ZbWdc/VaZ7ji5pjvI/AAAAAAAAATc/2VOUV-0UEu0/s320/DSCN0504.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;">Morgan, Jacob and V (From Brazil) playing Hack sack </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">For our Brazilian volunteer Vinicious, he honed his English skills. He and others instance, gained a deeper understanding about how to live in the back-country. Others achieve a outstanding appreciation for the trail, but perhaps most importantly, people tend to find life long connections with people due to some of the fun events that the crew do together. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Bonds like these</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> tend to never break; connecting all the people who hike the A.T and all of it was done by doing trail maintenance.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3Girehbd_OU/VaaojC_6f7I/AAAAAAAAAUI/8vTdl8fS8L8/s1600/19642478806_9349441259_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3Girehbd_OU/VaaojC_6f7I/AAAAAAAAAUI/8vTdl8fS8L8/s320/19642478806_9349441259_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Super Safe using the swing blade</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">
For more information about the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, S.W.E.A.T Crew and other volunteer organization like it on the Appalachian Trail visit the following websites from below.</h4>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://appalachiantrail.org/" style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #696f00; display: inline; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.6px; outline: none; text-decoration-line: none; transition: 0.3s;">http://appalachiantrail.org</a><br />
<a href="http://sweatcrew.blogspot.com/">http://sweatcrew.blogspot.com</a>/<br />
<a href="http://www.konnarockcrew.blogspot.com/">http://www.konnarockcrew.blogspot.com/</a><br />
<a href="http://rockytoptrailcrew.blogspot.com/">http://rockytoptrailcrew.blogspot.com/</a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dob7FYMu008/VaaofwZgqKI/AAAAAAAAAUA/-SOOb6j69lE/s1600/19480748490_9e74464eff_o.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dob7FYMu008/VaaofwZgqKI/AAAAAAAAAUA/-SOOb6j69lE/s320/19480748490_9e74464eff_o.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Elizabeth (Coach) Lopping the points of the tree.</td></tr>
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<h4 style="text-align: center;">
For more pictures of this S.W.E.A.T Crew session visit the flicker account below as well.</h4>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/atc_soro_crews/albums">https://www.flickr.com/photos/atc_soro_crews/albums</a><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8BzT35z44WI/VaaoUq36qsI/AAAAAAAAATo/UnRrwbvA9Sc/s1600/19642537406_0ba9081f8d_b.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8BzT35z44WI/VaaoUq36qsI/AAAAAAAAATo/UnRrwbvA9Sc/s320/19642537406_0ba9081f8d_b.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Jacob (Blisters)</td></tr>
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<b>Blogger:</b> Patrick Slaughter (<i><b>Trail Crew Name:</b> Rouge</i>)<br />
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<b> Title:</b> Trail Skills Intern<o:p></o:p></div>
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@ Appalachian Trail Conservancy<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-indent: 0.5in;"> <span style="font-size: x-small;">Based out of Asheville, NC</span></i></div>
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<b>Occupation: </b>Student </div>
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@ North Carolina A&T State Universtity<b> </b></div>
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<i>in Greensboro, NC</i></div>
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<b>Studying:</b> Landscape Architecture</div>
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Leannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16998634326578725933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1440493328502448211.post-76512058509245139672015-07-15T09:04:00.003-07:002015-07-15T09:04:50.756-07:00Session 4: Mt Chapman to Camel Gap<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hlCj3L6LtbM/VaaCprPQeaI/AAAAAAAAAHU/Ec0doF4XNhQ/s1600/dscn0451_19506358629_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hlCj3L6LtbM/VaaCprPQeaI/AAAAAAAAAHU/Ec0doF4XNhQ/s320/dscn0451_19506358629_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Session 4 Crew</td></tr>
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Day 1: Session 4 began by welcoming a host of new faces and
veteran volunteers. There’s Newt, a
7-time crewman, and his grandson, Jacob, from Dallas. There’s thru-hikers Elizabeth (another alum),
Doug and Will, Vinicius (back for more),
and Patrick, an intern for ATC SORO.
After the crew made the long journey to the trailhead, their journey was
made longer when they took the wrong trail.
With daylight burning, the leaders decided they should stay at Round
Bottom horse camp where everyone could recoup and take a swim in the nearby
creek. Sadly, Newt decided he had better
return to basecamp after some difficulty with the climb. We were sad to see him leave, but believe
he’ll enjoy waiting for Jacob’s return with all the conveniences of basecamp
and local family. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wFfovX0iosg/VaaDBNyphgI/AAAAAAAAAHc/xoDK-w-u3GI/s1600/img_1757_19661659432_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wFfovX0iosg/VaaDBNyphgI/AAAAAAAAAHc/xoDK-w-u3GI/s320/img_1757_19661659432_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Crew is Ready for Work!</td></tr>
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Day 2: Approach to Tricorner base camp take two! The crew got up super early to try and make
up for lost time. They met a lot of
difficulty head on, as the first 2.5 miles seemed more like an endless
staircase than a hike. By the halfway
point, Crew Leader David was tending to Jacob and Doug’s blisters, and Vinicius
needed a nap. Camp was reached with just
enough energy for the crew to set up tents and cook supper…Tuna Alfredo! Thanks as always, Meg.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Rw5Kd8nibfQ/VaaDbrMR07I/AAAAAAAAAHk/H-Qv44q0Y8o/s1600/dscn0530_19070211524_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Rw5Kd8nibfQ/VaaDbrMR07I/AAAAAAAAAHk/H-Qv44q0Y8o/s320/dscn0530_19070211524_o.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Patrick and the Crew Take a Break</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AwMS26iKTDk/VaaDiuz79GI/AAAAAAAAAHs/7QYFyMTeRgU/s1600/img_1787_19673207421_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AwMS26iKTDk/VaaDiuz79GI/AAAAAAAAAHs/7QYFyMTeRgU/s320/img_1787_19673207421_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bustin' the Brush</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Day 3: Everyone was incredibly amped to begin working. Breakfast was scarfed down ahead of the
team’s charge up Mount Chapman, which needed a good deal of brushing and
waterbar cleaning. David bestowed Will
the trail came ‘Super Safe’ after he exhibited superb safety…ness while
wielding the Pulaski. Meanwhile Doug,
Elizabeth, Pat and Jacob handled blowdowns.
Go teamwork!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NSLAqdpEuYI/VaaED0HM9iI/AAAAAAAAAH0/8qR81dlFL0Q/s1600/img_1760_19642553626_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NSLAqdpEuYI/VaaED0HM9iI/AAAAAAAAAH0/8qR81dlFL0Q/s320/img_1760_19642553626_o.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Patrick wields the loppers.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Will clears some brush.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Day 4: It was a soggy day in the Smokies—plenty of pruny
feet to go around by day’s end. Patrick
was awarded the trail crew name ‘Rogue’ after he grabbed his loppers and took
off on a serious mission. Jacob swing-bladed
from beginning to end, assisting the team’s amazing 2.5 mile maintenance run
for the day. <o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GRqKM-oVomE/VaaEUzi2HwI/AAAAAAAAAIE/brzAypNFq6U/s1600/img_1771_19661650742_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GRqKM-oVomE/VaaEUzi2HwI/AAAAAAAAAIE/brzAypNFq6U/s320/img_1771_19661650742_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vin cleans up limbs on a blowdown.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Day 5: A long final day of brushing was broken up at lunch
with a trail crew naming party. They are
as follows: <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Vinicius-BBQ<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Doug-The Smoky Mountaineer<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Will- Supersafe<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Patrick- Rogue<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Jacob-Blisters<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Elizabeth-Coach<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
After dinner, we resumed our nightly P.E.L.T. game in the
muck and mud, so everyone’s ready to hit the showers as soon as we get back to
Soak Ash.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tcjoY0ayXEI/VaaEjhyHHkI/AAAAAAAAAIM/InqOe5k_wT0/s1600/img_1774_19047812713_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tcjoY0ayXEI/VaaEjhyHHkI/AAAAAAAAAIM/InqOe5k_wT0/s320/img_1774_19047812713_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Volunteers Elizabeth and Vinicius.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Day 6: Soak Ash, here we come! The crew got up before daylight to get a leg
up on the heat (not to mention there were more than a few members ready for
some food NOT cooked in a pot). We made
it down in record time and took advantage of the long drive to sing <i>Genie in a Bottle</i> and dry out. <o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1440493328502448211.post-81669958055810670392015-07-06T08:40:00.000-07:002015-07-06T08:40:04.269-07:00Session 3: Hogs, Logs, n' Slogs<br /><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-suaOGlYSe1w/VZqfZcJw6MI/AAAAAAAAAFg/XOj-xAWJHGI/s1600/img_1616_19454581431_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-suaOGlYSe1w/VZqfZcJw6MI/AAAAAAAAAFg/XOj-xAWJHGI/s320/img_1616_19454581431_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Session 3 Volunteers: Vinicius, Andy, & Tom</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Day 1<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Session 3 was a smaller group than usual, but what we lacked in numbers we more than made up for in laughs and gusto. We added Tom (aka ‘Tomcat’) this week, a Middle School Ag. Teacher from Savannah, Georgia, who made it up the mountain in record speed. Returning crew members Andy and Vinicius added sing-a-longs to our arduous climb from Cades Cove, ensuring we’d encounter no bears on our way.</div>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jvA_0I2HtH8/VZqfZGHxHDI/AAAAAAAAAFU/1N7GaH1WRPQ/s1600/img_1620_19264143699_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jvA_0I2HtH8/VZqfZGHxHDI/AAAAAAAAAFU/1N7GaH1WRPQ/s320/img_1620_19264143699_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vin Takes in the View</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AsaSi-5H-nE/VZqfbcfoqXI/AAAAAAAAAFs/kWh20aYJouU/s1600/img_1669_19264210179_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AsaSi-5H-nE/VZqfbcfoqXI/AAAAAAAAAFs/kWh20aYJouU/s320/img_1669_19264210179_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This Brush Needed Some Serious Taming.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Day 2<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
We knew we were in for a challenging week after waking to Vinicius yelling at the local wild pig population at Beechnut Gap. He mentioned catching one for a barbeque—‘Brazilian Style’—but Crew Leader David advised it would be breaching ATC’s Leave No Trace backcountry ethics, and that we better stick with Meg’s prepared dinners. After brushing through the morning, we met a couple of hikers who showed us photos of the resident rattlesnake on Rocky Top. The crew decided a photo was as close to an encounter as we were comfortable with.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JDX9NDPd9sk/VZqfbQk-L-I/AAAAAAAAAFw/lrLlKjrVTZE/s1600/img_1684_19423955006_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JDX9NDPd9sk/VZqfbQk-L-I/AAAAAAAAAFw/lrLlKjrVTZE/s320/img_1684_19423955006_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Raising the Fire Rake Following the Battle of the Brush</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-21SwMKAUUW4/VZqfcL3ZpTI/AAAAAAAAAF0/1yWS09JTAEo/s1600/img_1691_19443699332_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-21SwMKAUUW4/VZqfcL3ZpTI/AAAAAAAAAF0/1yWS09JTAEo/s320/img_1691_19443699332_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">AT Gothic?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Day 3<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Caffeine was the word this week. It made the morning rainfall much more tolerable. After a thorough Job Hazards Analysis (JHA) from David, describing the dangers of working with wet tools, we set out to clean waterbars and tackle more brushing. By day’s end, Tomcat understood the meaning of ‘Hiker Hunger.’</div>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6PpNrvjEzA4/VZqfdgMO5UI/AAAAAAAAAGE/KtJfK9D74mM/s1600/img_1700_19262396228_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6PpNrvjEzA4/VZqfdgMO5UI/AAAAAAAAAGE/KtJfK9D74mM/s320/img_1700_19262396228_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Working Through the Mud. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MaPXBqfdaKw/VZqfe5cNCyI/AAAAAAAAAGQ/fVreZT6pKOM/s1600/img_1702_19449943575_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MaPXBqfdaKw/VZqfe5cNCyI/AAAAAAAAAGQ/fVreZT6pKOM/s320/img_1702_19449943575_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Drain that Drains!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Day 4<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
We rustled ourselves out of camp early in hopes of beating the rain, hiked to Rocky Top and brushed our way back to Beechnut Gap. The work is difficult—lopping, swingblading, lopping some more—but with the help of precooked bacon, the team found themselves up to the challenge. </div>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zdc4T5ySHZY/VZqfelJ_J4I/AAAAAAAAAGM/h-u_SstpllE/s1600/img_1713_19449821685_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zdc4T5ySHZY/VZqfelJ_J4I/AAAAAAAAAGM/h-u_SstpllE/s320/img_1713_19449821685_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">David and Tom Embrace the Muck.</td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Day 5<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Rain rain rain!
The team stuck close together out of necessity, working through the
torrential downpour to see two waterbars completed. There seemed no end to the mud and water,
when, sometime after lunch, the sky opened up and the team was able to finish
strong, digging drainage dips and raking muck.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Day 6<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
It was all downhill on our hike back out to Cades
Cove. An end to another successful week
of SWEAT Crew was complete back at our Soak Ash basecamp where camp coordinator
Meg stuffed us full of delicious food.
Nothing like a week in the backcountry to build up an appetite!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1ZfANEsj5xE/VZqfZUhNM2I/AAAAAAAAAFY/a5IBd_0VLqk/s1600/img_1608_18827837244_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1ZfANEsj5xE/VZqfZUhNM2I/AAAAAAAAAFY/a5IBd_0VLqk/s400/img_1608_18827837244_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">SWEAT Crew Session 3<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1440493328502448211.post-37611212817975067842015-06-26T11:14:00.002-07:002015-07-06T08:43:24.231-07:00Week 2: The P.E.L.T. Crew in Action<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rwgosRxlas4/VY2T9kRb_zI/AAAAAAAAAD0/kIWDAtCcGQg/s1600/img_1484_19151831306_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rwgosRxlas4/VY2T9kRb_zI/AAAAAAAAAD0/kIWDAtCcGQg/s400/img_1484_19151831306_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SWEAT Crew Session 2</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Day
1</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">:
It was an arduous hike up Anthony Creek
Trail from Cades Cove to an abandoned horse camp site near Russell Field
shelter. 3500 feet in just five
miles…talk about SWEAT Crew! After one
water resupply and a handful of breaks, we made it. A few minutes piling dead fall and underbrush
helped to make the camp accommodating and the tarp up and the stove out means
HOME. Meg had a special meal prepared,
Petros, a Knoxville original, remnant from the Knoxville World’s Fair from
1984. Petros comes complete with real
sour cream, so we thoroughly stuffed ourselves in anticipation for the
ambitious work week.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wxs_vQupK1c/VY2UYMt9SLI/AAAAAAAAAD8/-Q27WUhNLGw/s1600/img_1494_19172162682_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wxs_vQupK1c/VY2UYMt9SLI/AAAAAAAAAD8/-Q27WUhNLGw/s320/img_1494_19172162682_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Up On Rocky Top</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">Day 2</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.3999996185303px;">: We began our first workday by picking up tools located at two different shelters on our way to Rocky Top. By the time we reached the summit, everyone was ready to break and enjoy the magnificent panorama. Meanwhile, Andy took the opportunity to visit Thunderhead - what can we say, the girl's got some energy! From there we worked on clearing brush from the northern portion of our work section.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2__c7dpue1A/VY2UZMzVXfI/AAAAAAAAAEA/rEUj0VDisPs/s1600/unknown_1%2B%25286%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2__c7dpue1A/VY2UZMzVXfI/AAAAAAAAAEA/rEUj0VDisPs/s320/unknown_1%2B%25286%2529.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View Hiking Up to Rocky Top</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4vnVBHOgLnE/VY2VHapz2NI/AAAAAAAAAEM/gHPmbzc-iug/s1600/img_1504_18557315633_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4vnVBHOgLnE/VY2VHapz2NI/AAAAAAAAAEM/gHPmbzc-iug/s320/img_1504_18557315633_o.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vinicius & Tim Clear Back Brush</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Day 3</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">: The team broke into
two smaller crews in order to divide and conquer the most difficult work
areas. The Hazel Creek Gang, comprised
of Dave, Jeff and Crew Leader, David, headed south to cut back some serious
mountain laurel, while the Spence SOBO’s (Andy, Tim, Vinicius and Morgan)
worked on cleaning/constructing waterbars and more brushing. By the end of the day, everyone was beat, but
still found energy to play a round of P.E.L.T!—a version of hacky sack introduced
to us by Crew Leader David.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8mjezSVnx-k/VY2VHBJhI7I/AAAAAAAAAEQ/HBMNotbrCos/s1600/img_1579_18557045933_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8mjezSVnx-k/VY2VHBJhI7I/AAAAAAAAAEQ/HBMNotbrCos/s320/img_1579_18557045933_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back at Camp, Ready for PELT!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7Od5KXDC1a0/VY2VjL9xlPI/AAAAAAAAAEc/lRjAtfHagFA/s1600/img_1503_18555392974_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7Od5KXDC1a0/VY2VjL9xlPI/AAAAAAAAAEc/lRjAtfHagFA/s320/img_1503_18555392974_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">David Attacks a Blowdown</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Day 4</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">: Half the crew began
the day preparing breakfast while the other half treated their blisters. It rained intermittently in our approach to
the worksite, but never enough to damper spirits. Since the section from Russell Field to
Spence Field is open to equestrian use, we had to widen the corridor a great
deal. It was well worth the time, as by
the day’s end we’d met 12 riders more than willing to share their appreciation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1LW8-AUuyBM/VY2VjSgNJEI/AAAAAAAAAEg/cHJAY_TXKUc/s1600/img_1560_18990208578_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1LW8-AUuyBM/VY2VjSgNJEI/AAAAAAAAAEg/cHJAY_TXKUc/s320/img_1560_18990208578_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dave Clears Out a Drain</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9Gj_0G46Ysc/VY2WDKoA8VI/AAAAAAAAAEs/szY7fwifzjg/s1600/img_1535_19177848775_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9Gj_0G46Ysc/VY2WDKoA8VI/AAAAAAAAAEs/szY7fwifzjg/s320/img_1535_19177848775_o.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tim Backfills Crush Behind a Log Waterbar</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Day 5</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">: Our work week
drawing to an end, the crew set out with the drive to finish the remaining 1.5
miles of trail. With an ample supply of
gusto, good humor, and a few sore arms, the crew raced to the finish in time to
return tools to Spence and survey the several days of hard work. Needless to say, we returned to camp
satisfied with our labors. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Day 6</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">: We packed out after
packing up camp and enjoyed ice cream down at Cades Cove. The drive back to camp put us at Soak Ash
just in time for a delicious cookout courtesy of our chef extraordinaire,
Meg. Hot dogs, hamburgers, grilled
pineapple, watermelon, baked beans…. the list of amazing food seemed never to
end. A great end to a fantastic week!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KTbZwfTqI9M/VY2WN0H63iI/AAAAAAAAAE0/y3MilTQQv8Q/s1600/img_1607_18990401308_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KTbZwfTqI9M/VY2WN0H63iI/AAAAAAAAAE0/y3MilTQQv8Q/s320/img_1607_18990401308_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Session 2 Volunteers: Tim, Andy, Vinicius (from Brazil!), <br />
Dave, and Jeff</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1440493328502448211.post-12336653183902081882015-06-17T09:43:00.000-07:002015-06-17T09:43:03.762-07:00SWEAT 2015: The Season Begins!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XDTYYj3noB0/VYGfKZqtLDI/AAAAAAAAACQ/ngHFCidR0wU/s1600/18861270205_ce3957b535_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XDTYYj3noB0/VYGfKZqtLDI/AAAAAAAAACQ/ngHFCidR0wU/s320/18861270205_ce3957b535_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Session 1 Crew & Leaders at Newfound Gap</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<h4 align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">SWEAT 2015 has commenced! Let the work (and fun!) begin!</span></h4>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taking a break on Charlie's Bunion.</td></tr>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Day
1</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">:
On the SWEAT Crew's first session in 2015, the volunteers took a break on the
ascent to check out Charlie's Bunion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Afterwards, veteran trail volunteer Randy led the way to our
camp for the week.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yIyQ9iPIeIk/VYGfGttncGI/AAAAAAAAABs/UV9niQkLe9k/s1600/18673511738_a3620112e9_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yIyQ9iPIeIk/VYGfGttncGI/AAAAAAAAABs/UV9niQkLe9k/s320/18673511738_a3620112e9_o.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Restored sidehill trail</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Day
2:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
On our first day of trail work, the crew quickly got to know each other, as
well as the tools they'd be using all week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Andy enjoys working with pulaskis, Sharon, the pick-mattock.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was quickly apparent that Andrew (aka
Redbeard) is an expert rock worker, so his experience was put to use with the assistance
of Kayla, Andy, and Randy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Meanwhile
David, Sharon, John and Morgan worked on restoring about 75 feet of trail near
Laurel Top.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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3:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
Chris, the ATC Trail Specialist, joined our efforts for the day in order to
instruct us on design and installation of diagonal stack rock waterbars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Near the end of the day John had a minor
accident with a folding saw that resulted in him and David hiking out to seek a
medical opinion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Luckily, the doctor let
him return the following day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had a
great dinner—mac and chili—packaged up ahead of time by our camp coordinator,
Meg.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After eating, we told some funny
stories, ha, ha. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Crew Leaders back at camp</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kayla clears a gnarly blowdown</td></tr>
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This was a day for brushing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The whole
team worked together to clear more than a mile of overgrowth, including a few
blowdowns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Back at camp, everyone shared
their ideas for camp recipes (some sounded better than others!).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andy restores some sidehill trail</td></tr>
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5:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
More brushing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our motto changed from
'think like a raindrop' to 'think like a hiker' as we continued clearing
impediments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Meanwhile Redbeard did a
fabulous job cleaning waterbars and using crushed rock to fill in low, muddy
areas.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can we eat yet?</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying a beautiful sunset in the Smokies</td></tr>
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6:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
The hike out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone got up super
early, packed fast, and hiked even quicker to get some great grub back at base
camp.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After cleaning up, the team
received their shirts and went their separate ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Banner SWEAT Crew opener this summer! Great work
everyone on Session 1!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Great work great week!</td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1440493328502448211.post-29361295394519120452014-12-09T15:30:00.000-08:002014-12-09T15:30:00.984-08:00S.W.E.A.T. Highlights Poem<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_2x7eRrKwlpOQ76niyQcaTlPUkahyZ4kTHe4NAiubdKONx2L3JfYrWECbjlOhqt_KvTljwLrXqwaksHIakfAGU8J50JkyMNiBb23ps9dpoXu5qPOQ48AfrZkY4_41Lhz6XaimaPEkpnU/s1600/astcrew14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_2x7eRrKwlpOQ76niyQcaTlPUkahyZ4kTHe4NAiubdKONx2L3JfYrWECbjlOhqt_KvTljwLrXqwaksHIakfAGU8J50JkyMNiBb23ps9dpoXu5qPOQ48AfrZkY4_41Lhz6XaimaPEkpnU/s1600/astcrew14.jpg" height="320" width="255" /></a><br />
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Our recent Assistant S.W.E.A.T. Crew Leader Allegra sent me this little acrostic poem that she says encompasses the mindset of what it means to be elite. <br />
<br />
<b>E</b>- Eat like a bear <br />
<b>L</b>- Live in the moment<br />
<b>I</b>- Indulge in the mud and muck<br />
<b>T</b>- The trail always calls for work<br />
<b>E</b>- Every moment spent in nature is a privilege<br />
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Hope you enjoyed this mid-winter celebration of trail memories! See you next year~! </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Leannahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16998634326578725933noreply@blogger.com