Session
Six covers distance~! Mt Chapman to Cosby Knob
Shelter
(This week the crew leaders really got into taking pictures, so we've got a little more material to work with on the blog!)
(This week the crew leaders really got into taking pictures, so we've got a little more material to work with on the blog!)
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| Showing team spirit! Check out SWEAT! |
Crew Leader: Mic Collins
Assistant Crew Leader: Allegra Torres
Crew members: Austin, Kane, Robert, Elizabeth, Elliot, and Katie
July 25th: The crew set off on Friday with high hopes
for covering over ten miles of the A.T. from Mount Chapman to Cosby Knob Shelter with their six-day session.
We parked the van at Cosby campground and hiked 3.5 miles up the Low Gap
Trail to Cosby Knob Shelter where we set up camp and prepared for a day of work
between the shelter and Camel Gap. On the hike in Robert noticed some knee pain and made the difficult decision to turn back instead of continuing on with the crew. Read more about his story here.
July 26th: On day two we were joined early by our Camp
Coordinator, Chloe De Camera, who was anxious to join SWEAT for the first time
this season and show off her trail digging skills. Mic and Allegra gave
an early morning tool talk where they discussed proper tool usage and necessary
safety concerns. The crew then spent the day working towards Camel Gap.
Along the way they cleaned out 38 waterbars, built 2 rock waterbars, and cleared
1.5 miles of corridor.
July 27th: On day three the crew woke up early to pack
up camp and move to a new site of Tricorner Knob Shelter. We hiked an
additional 7.7 miles with weight on our backs, stopping occasionally at
overlooks and views to relish in the beauty of the Smokies.
July 28th: Day four saw the first use of the
cross-cut saw for the SWEAT crew this season. Mic and Allegra discussed
proper use and safety precautions when using the cross-cut saw, then led the
crew through a proper assessment of the tree we would be cutting and the cut we
would be making. Every crew member had a chance to use the saw and after
four separate cuts, three hours of work, and some display of brute strength
rolling the excess logs out of the way, we had cleared the trail of the
dangerous blow down! We spent the rest of the day cleaning water bars
towards Mount Chapman.
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Head to these hills!
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July 29th: On our last day of work the crew was able to work
together on a major mucking/turnpike project. The crew de-mucked several
areas of the trail south of Tricorner (which earned us our crew name: Desperate
For Muckraking ;) then split into groups in order to dig in logs, gather rocks,
create crush, and raise the tread through turnpikes in order to avoid muck in
the future. We ended our day of hard work by adding three steeping stones
as an approach to one of the turnpikes. A great day of work indeed!
July 30th: The crew woke up early in anticipation of our 8.5 mile
hike out. We had breakfast, broke down camp, and enjoyed a fast paced hike down
the Snake Den Ridge Trail and made it back to the van in just under 4
hours.
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| Two of the toughest women I know arm wrestling. |
Week Summary: Session Six of SWEAT covered over ten miles of
trail. We cleaned waterbars, built new water bars, cleared three miles of
corridor, cleared a massive blowdown with the use of a cross-cut, and built
three turnpikes all while having a ton of fun and some great laughs.
Thanks to the volunteers of Desperate for Muckraking, it was truly a
great week! #DFM
Peace out, Appalachian Trail!
By the numbers:
Waterbars cleaned: 84
Waterbars built: 2
Corridor cleared: 3 miles
Turnpikes built: 3
Blowdown cleared: 1
