April Hoodlums – Excellent Weather Spurs Record Turnout
By Tom Moran
Great weather led to the largest turnout in recent memory for the Hoodlums’ second outing of the season. Nearly 40 Hoodlums met at the site of the old Piney River CCC camp in the North District of SNP to meet their fellow maintainers, divide into crews, hear their assignments for the day, and get tools. Head Hoodlum Tom Troutman led the proceedings, including a round of introductions and the all-important safety briefing. The crews then headed off to tackle their assignments.
Mike Gergely led a crew from Piney Branch Ranger Station to deal with some needed work on his own trail section, Pole Bridge Link Trail. The crew, composed of Doug Gritzinger, Jay McCaffrey, Mark Wrobel, Marty Martin, and Robert Kilby, put in or replaced 10 check dams on the descent from Sugarloaf Trail to the Piney Branch intersection. A borrowed crosscut saw was handy for cutting made-to-size check dams from oak and locust logs. Despite a minor spill when crossing the top of Piney Branch, the team was in good spirits.
A truncated Shed Head crew - District Manager Wayne Limberg, Noel Freeman, and Richard Lee - stayed on at Piney River to continue work on the big shed started last year. At day's end, they had most of the staining done and the interior cleaned and better organized.
Head Hoodlum Tom Troutman led a crew up the Pass Mountain Fire Road to the Pass Mountain Shelter. The crew - Erin Taylor, Kevin Cwalina, and new Hoodlum Brian Blackman - cleared multiple blowdowns on the Pass Mountain trail, the AT to Pass Mountain Shelter Trail and the AT. They used a combination of chainsaw (sawyer Tom Troutman) and pole saw - each crew member got an opportunity to use the battery powered pole saw.
Dave Nebhut led a crew of veteran and first-time Hoodlums to rehabilitate trail structures on the AT north of Mount Marshall. The crew replaced 12 failing check dams and constructed three rock check dams. Dave’s crew included Cindy Ardecki, Chris and Michelle Viggiano, Greg Pearson, Jeff Prater, Michael Durland, and Kim Chau, Justin Corddry and Tom Moran co-led a team of eight on a crosscut expedition down Piney Branch Trail all the way to the park boundary, where they had staged vehicles for the return trip back up to the Piney River CCC camp where the day started. This hike totaled around seven miles and included multiple stream crossings. They fully cleared the upper section, cleared most of the middle section but, after 35 blowdowns, finally had to stop work and hike out as time ran out on the day. More downed trees were left for another day.
The crew members were experienced with the physical nature of the crosscut process and had previously demonstrated their ability to handle substantial effort. The rest of the team included Kent and Julie Bauer, Roger Friend, Bruno Carlot, Rich Lordahl, and Middle Piney Branch maintainer Nicole Bridgland.
Jim Fetig led an experienced crew to the section of the AT near the Elkwallow Wayside and picnic areas. Clogged water bars, check dams, and blowdowns were found and gave the crew plenty to work on. Jim brought his Stihl pole saw and showed how potent a tool it is for smaller trunks and limbs. Marie and Rosemary Seymour, Mike Kennedy, Terry Shaw, Tina Rafalovich, Molly Bolan, and section trail maintainer Elizabeth Moser rounded out the crew.
Continuing an old tradition, most Hoodlums convened after work was done to share a potluck Southwestern Tex/Mex meal. Instead of meeting at the Elkwallow Picnic area, however, these are now held back at the Piney River CCC camp as they now have sheds available to store tables, grills, etc.
Several Hoodlums spent Friday and Saturday night camping at Indian Run Hut where they enjoyed the summer-like warmth and spotted a few shooting stars through the clouds.
