Hoodlums Battle October Traffic Jams and Crowds
By Wayne Limberg
Saturday, October 18 had all the makings of a perfect day for trail work as the North District Hoodlums gathered at Piney River Ranger Station. The day brought bright skies, mild temps, and striking fall colors. Head Hoodlum
Tom Troutman was out of town for the birth of his first grandchild, so AT District Manager
Wayne Limberg gave the safety briefing and assigned the two dozen participants to crews. The government shutdown made it touch-and-go as to whether the Hoodlums would be working in SNP but earlier in the week the park superintendent, Tracy Stakely, gave them the go ahead to work on the AT in the park.
Never one to turn away free help, Wayne took
Richard Lee,
Randy Butler,
Kevin Cwalina, and
Erin Taylor to Compton Gap to work on his AT section and got the first shock of the day. The parking lot was full and the road shoulder was already lined with cars. Skyline Drive hosted a steady flow of cars, including a 20+ caravan of Tesla drivers. In 20+ years working his section, Wayne had never seen so many hikers. The flow was so constant that the crew had to stop working every five to ten minutes to let hikers pass. Many were curious about what the crew was doing, which Wayne shamelessly turned into a recruiting moment. Despite the interruptions, the crew managed to install three new waterbars, rehab half a dozen rolling grade dips and several stairs, and remove a blowdown.
Jim Fetig's crew of
Daniel Sieh,
Leon Fernandes,
Meghaen Anderson,
Jay McCaffrey, and
Nicole Bridgland encountered similar numbers of hikers on the other side of Compton. The crew replaced some old dysfunctional waterbars and grade dips at the top of Jim’s section with rolling grade dips that met PATC's Certified Trail Maintainer standards. In the process, Jim taught the first six modules of the CTM course and recruited a new Hoodlum and a new member for the Hoodlum's Eager Beaver crosscut saw team. No good deed goes unpunished - Both Jim's and Wayne's crews found themselves trapped in a traffic jam at Jenkins Gap on the way back to Piney River and the Hoodlum potluck.
Dave Nebhut,
Rosemarie Seymour, and
Edgar Howell sat in some of the same traffic when they wrapped up their work on the AT south of Jenkins Gap. The flow of hikers was lighter than on Compton, which allowed Dave's crew to replace one non-functioning waterbar with a rolling grade dip and another with a new waterbar. The crew also rehabbed three checkdams and side-hilled about 20 yards where the trail had slipped down hill and was on top of a crib wall.
Meanwhile,
Mike Gergely led
Chris and
Michelle Viggiano,
Cindy Ardecki,
Jennifer Gergely, and
Rosemary Seymour to fill, as Wayne put it, a "really big hole" on the AT on North Marshall. While not exactly a hole, the crew did find a long stretch of gullying caused by spring and summer rains. The crew went straight to work rehabbing or replacing 10 water control structures as well as side-hilling and repairing tread rehabilitation to fill in and shore up the gullied section of trail. Despite it being well into fall, the crew saw numerous signs of wildlife, including red-backed salamanders, a white-spotted slimy salamander, and a pristine eastern woodrat skull (leading to an explanation that "woodrat" isn't just another name for squirrels).
Last but by no means least,
Justin Corddry,
Roger Friend, and new ND maintainer
Kyle Brost journeyed down to Elkwallow Wayside with a trusty crosscut saw to take out blowdowns on the AT north and south of the wayside, including an especially gnarly one that had been reported earlier by the ridgerunners.
In keeping with tradition, the Hoodlums gathered back at Piney River at the end of the day for a potluck dinner. It being October, the theme was German: brats and wurst. Anyone interested in joining the Hoodlums should contact Tom Troutman at headhoodlum@patc.hoodlums.org. All are welcome.