A cold and icy start to the Cadillac Crew’s season
By Karen Brown, Eddie Becton, Martha Becton et. al.
What does a trail crew do when the thermometer dips below freezing and the ground is covered with ice and snow? They build trails!
Though morning temps hovered around 10 degrees, the Cadillac Crew started its January weekend snug in the lovingly-restored
Mountain Home Bed & Breakfast of Front Royal, lucky guests of owners Lisa and Scott.
Mountain Home’s listings on both the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places made the Crew’s weekend an exceptional treat with its mid-1800s architecture and Greek Revival details. While the front part of the Main House was built in 1847, part of the foundation dates to the 1780s. Mountain Home’s rich history can be explored as a guest or through the B&B’s website.
After a hearty breakfast we were off to Tuckers Lane parking lot and AT trailhead to work on a beautiful section recommended by District Managers
Jon Rindt and
Maston Gray. Jon and section maintainer
George Jones joined us for the day as welcomed additions. The trail had been scouted by George and crew leader
Dan Feer and
Tysha Robinson. They spotted decaying steps and lots of washed-out tread—our specialty!
Equipped with hand warmers and microspikes to combat the cold and icy trail, crew members Dan Feer, George Jones,
Eddie Becton,
Martha Becton,
Karen Brown,
Maria de la Torre,
Alice DeCarlo,
Kirsten Elowsky,
Ellen Feer,
Robert Fina,
Jonathan Kauffman,
James Martin,
Don Oellerich,
Cat Randall,
Jon Rindt,
Tysha Robinson,
Alisa Schaefer,
Ellen Shaw,
Dan Wooley, and
Mark Wrobel broke into small groups. Some worked on rolling grade dips to improve tread drainage and trail maintainability. To boost hiker safety, others replaced log stairs and the rest on a very short section of new trail around dangerous log stairs.
The first task for all of us was simply getting to the ground below the ice and snow. Ellen Feer spent hours at the trailhead clearing the hazardous ice covering the bridge and stone steps while the rest of us got to work digging through the ice and snow on the trail. Even this much exertion could not keep our toes from getting cold, so imagine how we welcomed the hot chocolate and marshmallows Kirsten provided at lunchtime!
The low afternoon sun cast long shadows on freshly-finished rolling grade dips, scattered saw dust from removed dead trees and cut logs, newly-built wooden steps, and finishing touches on the bypass. Gratefully we carpooled back to hot baths, happy hour, a delicious dinner, and toasty beds.
Sunday was a little warmer, so we tackled a few more erosion issues. More rolling grade dips coming up! A steep section needed steps, but appropriate rocks were not to be found. Robert, sawyer, and Karen, swamper, selected a standing dead locust tree along the trail with good wood for steps. Before felling it, Robert squared the sides, cut notches for pegs, and cut it to length. Once down, pegs were cut from the stump to secure the step. The Crew installed the stairs with amazing results.
It was a wonderful winter weekend to welcome new member Maria, appreciate second-timers James and Jonathan and reconnect with old friends. Join us next month. Send a note to
ccrewpatc@gmail.com to find out how.
