SNP North District Hoodlums Cut Their Way Into 2025
Tom Moran, Tom Troutman, and Wayne Limberg
After a 1-week postponement due to government funding uncertainty, SNP’s North District Hoodlums finally made their much-anticipated spring debut Saturday March 22. We had a robust turnout of 28, including a number making their first Hoodlums outing. Brisk, windy conditions, to be expected for March, met the crews as they came together at 9 A.M. for introductions and a safety briefing.
The crew assignments reflected the most critical needs in the district – a heavy weighting towards clearing trails of winter blowdowns was indicated. Despite vigorous winter clearing activities, recent wind and rain had once again made certain trails in the district less than hospitable to trail users.
Beahms Gap South AT Crew– Newly minted crew chief Marie Seymour took a crew back to the AT on Pass Mountain to finish rehab work started at the end of last year. Head Hoodlum Tom Troutman and DM Wayne Limberg had worked with a crew of JMU students on that section earlier in March. Marie's crew was a mix of new recruits and old hands and included Jason Gresh, Roger Friend, Richard Lordahl, Rosemary Seymour, Wayne Limberg, and first timer Robert Martin. Using Coronas and clippers, they removed 10 blowdowns ranging from vine and branch tangles to 12-inch logs reported by GPS Rangers. The crew also put in six new waterbars and rolling dips and repaired an existing dozen.
Thornton River Crews– The scouting reports were on the mark – the Thornton River Trail, which is about six miles in length from Skyline Drive to the park boundary near Sperryville, was a blowdown mess, not passable without making detours around the fallen trees. Nearly all of this trail is Wilderness, meaning power tools are not an option. In order to have a shot at clearing the trail, the crews needed to make most effective use of their time and resources. This meant pre-staging two vehicles at the very limited boundary parking area before the morning briefings.
Equipping two crews of five persons, each with a crosscut saw, smaller hand saws, wedges etc, meant either crew could leapfrog ahead while keeping the saws working. The six mile distance was not a problem, but the 28 blowdowns posed challenges throughout the day for the nearly all-veteran crews. First-timer Greg Pearson must have been wondering what he had gotten himself into. How many stream crossings?! The crews, led by Justin Corddry and Tom Moran, worked quickly (but safely!) to grind through the blockages and ultimately finished the task in time for the pot-luck back at the Piney River CCC camp. Other crew members were Greg Foster, Joe Phillips, Kent and Julie Bauer, Mark Wrobel, Ron Perlik, and Tony Hedlesky.
Beahms Gap North AT Crew – Jim Fetig’s chainsaw crew also started at Beahms Gap, but hiked north clearing the distance to the Thornton River Trail intersection. They removed 11 blowdowns in all, though backed off from tackling a dangerous leaner out of safety concerns. Plugged in the center of the trail, a large trunk standing nearly straight up, this was one to give a wide berth. Ken Ferrebee, David Johnson, and newcomer Jay McCaffrey rounded out Jim’s crew. Perhaps to make up for the one they passed on, the crew drove to the lower Pass Mountain Trail head on Rt. 211 and cleared one more before calling it a day.
Indian Run Hut Crew – Each SNP District has a dedicated place where trail maintenance crews can sleep-over after or before a day of work. In the North District, this place is the Indian Run Hut. Having such a refuge comes at a cost however – the road passes through a dying, vine-choked forest, necessitating frequent blowdown removal and weeding to keep egress open. The hut itself, the clearing around it, and the privy also require steady effort to keep the encroaching vegetation at bay.
Dave Nebhut, Cindy Ardecki, and Noel Freeman worked their way down to the hut, clearing the access road as they went. Once there, they rebuilt a wooden deck that provides the essential role of covering up the old privy pit.
AT North Sections – Tom Troutman’s crew was a mix of very experienced trail maintainers and one new person. They cleared multiple blowdowns on two different sections of the AT, including one that could have been a lesson for a chainsaw class. It had spring poles and every type of bind you can get. The tree had lost its footing among boulders and crashed across the trail onto another large tree that caused the falling one to split and set two major branches on either side of the large standing tree. This caused side bind in two different directions. Once it was freed from the standing tree, the trunk was at a strong enough angle to cause a lot of end bind. The crew spent almost two hours clearing that blowdown and it took 13 carefully planned cuts. Other blowdowns were cleared without difficulty.
After work was complete the crews gathered again at the site of the old Piney River CCC camp where the potluck dinner theme was traditional Irish fare in recognition of the recent St. Patrick’s Day observation. Dropping temperatures and a stout breeze kept the celebrants from lingering too long!
