| Date | Distance | Time | Elevation Gain | Average Moving Time | Year to Date Miles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8/21/2021 | 10 miles | 8 hours 36 minutes | 2,339' | 1.6 mph | 232.7 |
Parking: Garenflo Gap (end of paved section)
Directions: Continue walking up the non-paved portion of the road. Pass through a gate. Turn left on the AT. Hike to Bluff Mountain. Return the same way.
After tropical storm Fred, we were asked to go visit our trail section to look at its condition. This is the first time we've hiked our whole trail. Our section is around 4.2 miles, but there is added distance because we have a road walk to get there. The road is drivable if you have the right vehicle and you don't mind it getting scratched up. The ruts in the road are too deep for normal cars.
We only brought saws and loppers today. Our goal was to check out our whole section and see what it needs, as well as reporting on any issues the trail has. We started out hiking to the Bluff Mountain summit, only occasionally stopping to throw branches off the trail. We've been told the first mile is in the best shape - because it's obviously the easiest to reach. It took us a little under 3 hours to get to the summit. We took a lunch break, and then started working on the way down. There wasn't much blow down to deal with, so we ended up working on clearing stinging nettles. This was desperately needed, as the nettles were closing in on the trail. Basically if you were hiking the trail, you would be constantly brushing up against the nettles. Ow! We did come across some appreciative trail runners and backpackers - wearing shorts, so you know they were getting stung.
In addition, the trail near the summit was crowded by another flowering plant - which was covered in bees. People who live here have told me that the bees get "angry" in August until the first frost. It sounds like bee stings, and being chased by bees is not uncommon. So there we were, trying to trim these flowering plants which were covered in bees. I did buy some bee sting relieve medicine to keep in my pack just in case. We used a saw to whack at the weeds - it works remarkably well. Next time we'll bring a swing blade however, as my back got sore from leaning over so much.
Our trail section had been worked on by the Konnarock Trail Crew for 8 days not long ago. We could tell the huge amount of work they did - creating stairs and restoring tread. I wish we had seen the condition of the trail before they came. There is still a ton more work to do, way more than we can do as maintainers. We'll be trying to go out once a month though to do what we can.
Walking down the gravel road (past where we could drive) to the trail
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