Date: 2007-05-21
From: Braemar Castle Hostel, Hampton, TN

To: Braemar Castle Hostel, Hampton, TN
Miles today: 0.0

Today, most of the crew went to work on the second and third sections of new trail, but they needed a few people to help put in a bog bridge on the first section, so I volunteered. First, though, we had to carry the bridge in. It was in two pieces, an 8 foot and a 12 foot section, and I helped carry the 12 foot section up the steep hill, then along the narrow trail to where it was going. It was heavy! Some other people carried in locust logs to be the supports. Locust is used because it rots very slowly, and we had to bring it in because there were none near the site.I was working with Paul, from the TEHC, who was leading us, and Grasshopper and Clearwater. First, we had to clear out all the mud and dig holes for the locust logs. The logs had to be level, so the bridges would sit right, and they had to also be at the right height, so we spent a lot of time making little adjustments by filling in the holes with rocks or digging them out more. Once we had the logs where we wanted (all four of them) we drove two 3 foot lengths of rebar through each one to hold it in place. It was hard work swinging the 8 lb sledgehammer over and over. We all took turns, but Paul put us to shame every time he took the hammer.Next, the bridges got attached to the locust with a pair of 8 inch nails at each end. Those went in easy through the 2 x 4's of the bridge, but the last few inches into the locust were a lot harder. Again, Paul put us to shame when it was his turn. I guess it helps that he's done this before. The finishing touch was a wire mesh over the top to help keep traction even when the boards get muddy. However, that had to be attached with little u-shaped nails, driven every 4 inches along the bridge and every 2 inches across it. That adds up to a whole lot of nails and a whole lot of hammering.Finally, we were done, but it had taken almost all day to put in just 20 feet of bridge. There was still time for one more thing: blaze painting. They opened up the new trail on the first two sections (the third one wasn't finished, but they hadn't even expected us to get to it at all), piled brush over the old trail, and then it was time to blaze the trail. Everyone who wanted to got a chance to paint a blaze, and I certainly wanted to. We used a 2 inch foam brush and white latex paint, and when I was done with my blaze, it was beautiful. Painting the blaze really enforced the feeling that I'd built the trail.When we'd all gotten off the mountain, we went to Kincora for dinner, cooked by Baltimore Jack and a crew of others. It was spaghetti, and there was a ton of it. There was even ice cream for dessert, and I ate until I could barely move. It was delicious.After dinner, Bob handed out ride assignments, based on who was going in what direction.   I can't imagine trying to figure out the logistics of getting 50-80 hikers to where they needed to go, but he did it. Unfortunately, my ride wasn't planning on leaving until noon, and was then going to stop and do trail magic. I asked around, and found a ride with Mad Hatter, leaving at 7:30 for Vermont, with a stop in Waynesboro. He had room, and it wasn't out of his way. I want to go 5 miles past Duncannon tomorrow night, so I can make it to my box in Port Clinton before the post office closes for Memorial Day weekend.Back at the hostel, I watched the second half of the Sox-Yanks game on the TV. They lost, but it couldn't put a damper on a wonderful weekend. It was great to have four full days without a pack, two full days without hiking boots, and I still have most of tomorrow to rest. Even more, it felt good to put something back into the trail. With just a little maintenance, that trail will still be there in 50 years or even more, and the bridge will last just about forever. I worked hard, and it feels good to have given something back.The BrainCrawfish from the mud - Click picture to see full sizeWorking on the bridge-2 - Click picture to see full sizeSalamander-1 - Click picture to see full sizeSome kind of worm - Click picture to see full sizeThe finished bridge-1 - Click picture to see full sizeThe finished bridge-3 - Click picture to see full sizeThe chain gang-1 - Click picture to see full sizeThe chain gang-2 - Click picture to see full sizePainting a blaze-2 - Click picture to see full sizePainting a blaze-3 - Click picture to see full sizeCrammed in a truck (7 or 8 of us) - Click picture to see full size