Week Six Has Come and Gone!

Sitting by the fire in TN.

Crew 2's overnight accomodations (Overmountain Shelter).

Swing!

Roan Mtn in black and white.

A happy reunion at Overmountain Shelter.

Overmountain Shelter.

Hat fungus..

The hike to Roan Mountain is a scenic one.

The crew enjoys the afternoon/evening while Ted documents.

I don't know.

Too pooped to care.

Time to dive in on this project!

The pavillion at Sherando Lake all lit up.

Safety Robot...

Orange fang, look out for him on the Trail!

Crew 1 group shot at Humpback Rocks.

Dig.

The end of week 6; wow, we can't believe it! Our crews both had a great week to end the 1st half of the season with. Crew 1 was able to get some unbelievable work accomplished with the Old Dominion Appalachian Trail Club at Humpback Rocks. And, the crew enjoyed the luxurious accommodations at Sherando Lake, swimming and hanging out in front of the fire (what a change from last week!).

Crew 2 meanwhile had a great week on Roan Mountain with the Tennessee Eastman Hiking Club. With great views and easy digging, this project will indeed be something to look forward to for the remaining weeks!

See you in a few weeks!

Kerry

Hot, Hot, Heat...

The only way to live (in the heat).

Hello.

Sledgehammerin' on Matt's Creek Rehab.

Beautiful!

They look cute and cuddly but don't let them fool you, Gypsy Moths are no friend of ours!

Spreading leaves in addition to the green leaves dropped by the Gypsy Moths.

Crew 2 gathers on the Foot Bridge after a week on Matt's Creek.

Crew 1 shows off newly completed trail at the Pine Swamp Relocation.

We're here to wash your dishes...

If you live on the east coast, you probably know about the heat wave this week. Heat, heat and more heat was the theme for week #5 with crew 1 on the Pine Swamp Relocation and crew 2 on the Matt's Creek Rehabilitation project. Luckily, both crews were able to find some cool water to get in a dip or two after the days work making this a bit more bearable (as we hope you did too!).

We're hoping for a little cool down for the end of the first half of the season and it's looking promising with highs in the low eighties for week 6.

Cheers,

Kerry

Adam approves this message.

Week 4 has come and gone...

Sunset in the James River Face Wilderness

A little mud never hurt anyone

Hanging at base camp after a days work

Assistant crew leader Dannon McKinnon walks in the mist to the worksite

Crew #1 poses on the Copper Ridge Bald project

Volunteers on a hike to "Devils Marbleyard" after a day of work

A Volunteer digs in at Copper Ridge Bald

If it was alive we could use if to haul crush & fill!

Prepping a log step on the Matt's Creek project

The crew getting ready to depart the Matt's Creek project at weeks end

Again, my apologies for the lack of posts in the recent weeks. The crew has been busy with crew #1 completing the Copper Ridge Bald project and crew #2 getting some serious work completed on the Justus Creek Relocation in Georgia. In addition, crew #2 started week 1 of 3 at the Matt's Creek Rehabilitation project in the James River Face Wilderness, a project that requires a 1-2 hour backpack in to the camp/worksite.

Both crews have had some great experiences (like sitting on a dinosaur) and some not so great experiences (getting a truck stuck on a muddy forest service road) but in the end it seems like everyone looks back with fond memories of each week.

We really cannot believe that week 4 has already come and gone! If you haven't made it out you better hurry!

Until next week,

Kerry

Week 1 End and Week 2!!

Gotta keep the troops fed!

Ted and Dannon slinging a rock in GA.

Crew 1 enjoying some live music courtesy of Old Dominion Appalachian Trail Club.

T-shirts! We love free t-shirts!!

There's no I in log, I mean team...

Trailwork being filmed for a feature in GA news (I'll have details when the feature is posted).

Volunteers Dave and Justin show off their mad rock skillz.

Bob shaping rock with "Peanut Butter and Jelly" (long story)...

Alright! So I missed a final report on Week 1….Anyway, here's some stats from the week:

Volunteer Hours: 952
Log Steps: 40
Log Cribbing: 60 ft.
Tread Definition: 510 ft.

So, on to Week 2!

Christine and the rest of Crew 1 arrived back in camp today after a successful week with the Old Dominion Appalachian Trail Club working on the Humpback Mountain Rehabilitation. Aside from doing some great work including shaping stone and building rock steps, the crew was treated to a live performance of the "Old Crusty Mistrals," the ODATC band. Christine reports the OCM's played a variety of favorites including "On the Trail Again," "Poison Ivy," and "Icky, Yucky, Sushi."

Ted and crew are taking a couple of restful days at the "R Ranch," a set of cabins in the mountains near their worksite in Georgia. Plans are to rest up and then hit a home game with the Braves in Atlanta. And we should mention that the crew was filmed for a feature in an Atlanta newscast to be featured in a few weeks (we'll let you know when the video is posted).

Till next week…

Kerry

Day Three.

Alright! Day three!

So, crews were out in the beautiful sunshine today doing the good work of the Trail. They dug, chopped, crushed and were able to get some major work done. And, while everyone else was doing the standard stuff and group of us were doing some unusual tasks that Konnarock isn't quite as well known for like....

Griphoisting a couch (in the ditch next to the Trail)...

And taking a break while doing it...

Or wrangling (is that a word?!) some horses on VA 603...




But, as I said we did do some "normal trail work...."



Stream side cribbing project during...




Stream side cribbing project after...




Until tomorrow!


Kerry

Day Two.

The cake says it all.

Handing out Deans 25 year service award.

Theo digs in to set a rock step.

Davis Path Shelter before.

Davis Path Shelter during.

Davis Path Shelter....now platform.

Along with the dinner festivities on Thursday night, the crew celebrated Konnarock's longest Volunteer, Dean Sims 25th year of Volunteering. Dean was awarded a 25 year service award from the ATC in addition to an award for working over 7000 hours!! for the United States Forest Service. The crew is truely grateful for Dean's work over the years and look forward to his involvement for years to come.

Meanwhile, the crews got off to a rainy start yesterday but by midmorning the clouds had parted and crews got to work on their respective projects (while drying out). Crew 1 was able to finish their project for the week by the second day (dismanteling the Davis Path Shelter)! Christine and crew will now head off to do trail rehab for the remainder of the week. Crew 2 is still plugging away at the Route 859 project and anticipates completion by the weeks end.

Cheers,

Kerry

Day One.

Meet Doug, meet Doug's Jug..

All smiles.

Well, not from today but pretty cool anyway.

Day one has come and gone here at Konnarock Base Camp. After a gigantic meal of fried chicken, sides and desert courtesy of the Mount Rogers AT Club and the Piedmont Appalachian Trail Hikers (PATH), several folks are ready for bed. However, a core group of Volunteers, new and old, are having fun telling stories of the day and of times past. A great time to be at camp indeed.
Enjoy the photos,

Kerry