Trail Maintenance, Appalachian Trail, Garenfo Gap to Bluff Mountain

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
8/28/2021	10.5 miles	7 hours 50 minutes	2,315'	1.9 mph	255.3

Map: ATC Tennessee-North Carolina, Maps 3 and 4

Parking: Garenflo Gap, end of paved section

Directions: Continue walking up the non-paved portion of the road. At gate, there are 2 branches for the AT towards the right of the gate. Take the leftmost branch. Hike to Bluff Mountain. Return the same way.

We did trail maintenance last weekend on our trail, but we weren't able to finish clearing the worst part, where the trail is being engulfed in stinging nettles, and bee covered flowers. It was a high of 90 degrees today in Hot Springs. Probably not the best weather to do trail maintenance. But it wasn't raining today! This time we brought a swing blade and a hazel hoe. We hiked to the summit, throwing branches off the trail. I took several breaks on the way up, to make sure I didn't overheat. As we got higher, the temperatures got cooler. We took a short lunch break, and then started clearing out flowers and nettles on the way down. We brought Krummholz along, and I ended up taking my backpack off and having him lie down next to it. It's something that he's been learning how to do. Then I can work a section safely, without worrying about him getting close to the hoe or swing blade. Luckily our section has several streams, so having access to water is not an issue! Today, I only brought 1 liter of water, as well as a water filter, so I could reduce the weight I carry.

The last photo of the group looks like the trail before we cleared it. 4 foot tall stinging nettles, which are not so fun to walk through! We only clear the uphill side of the trail. We've been taught that people tend to hike on the lower side of the trail, and this can cause the trail to fail. Clearing only on the uphill side of the trail will encourage hikers to hike higher up.  The good news is that we've cleared the worst of it. Our trail will be so much more pleasant to hike on now. Feeling accomplished.