Last Call: Hoodlums Close Out 2024
By Tom Moran, Michael Gergely, Jim Fetig & Wayne Limberg
SNP’s North District Hoodlums made their final group outing of the season Saturday November 16, though smaller, targeted efforts will continue throughout the winter as weather permits. Four of the five crews met at Piney River CCC camp, but not before facing a substantial obstacle – a large, impassable blowdown blocking Skyline Drive. Temptation was great for the well-equipped crews to jump out and remediate the problem, but fortunately park staff arrived quickly and cleared the tree. The morning was cold and wind was stout, but as the crews moved into the protected woods the warm sun and protective trees made the working conditions ideal for the season.
AT South Marshall
Hoodlum veterans Cindy Ardecki, sporting her new Certified Trail Maintainer hard hat, and Dave Nebhut led a crew on the AT north from Gravel Springs to South Marshall. The crew included Roger Friend, Chris Viggiano, Ethan Glicke, and Mark Wrobel. They rebuilt three rock waterbars that were no longer moving water off the trail and focused the bulk of their efforts on clearing and extending the outlets of the many water-diversion structures on that heavily used stretch of the AT. Their reward for climbing up South Marshall was a beautiful late autumn view.
Pass Mountain Trail
Trail Co-maintainer Marie Seymour recently discovered several substantial blowdowns downhill from the Pass Mountain Shelter, but was it enough to warrant a Hoodlums crew effort? The question was resolved when a hiker posted pictures and locations of a number of new ones, raising the priority from “maybe” to “must address.” Marie and crew leader Tom Moran took a crew including David Pierce, Gerard Weatherby, John Bichell, Marie’s mom Rosemary Seymour, and Steven Parsley on a trek that started at the Panorama parking area and finished at the Route 211 trail terminus. Utilizing a 42” crosscut saw and other hand tools, the crew found and cleared 27 blowdowns over the 4+ mile trip.
Piney Ridge Trail
Tom Troutman led a small but veteran crew down Piney Ridge trail focused on preparing the trail for winter - trimming vegetation, cleaning waterbars and check dams, clearing small and medium blowdowns. All clearing was done with hand tools. Elizabeth Moser, Tina Rafalovich and Jim Fetig rounded out the crew.
AT Pass Mountain
Mike Gergely led a crew of five to the AT on Pass Mountain to continue rehab work started last month. While the primary goal was to put in new steps and waterbars, the crew ended up spending the majority of the time dealing with several blowdowns from the recent windstorms. Fortunately, Michael Durland brought along his brand new folding Silky saw which saw plenty of use cutting through the fallen logs and branches. Keith Bullock, Molly Bolan and Roger Fast rounded out the crew.
Piney River CCC Shed
The Shed Heads--Wayne Limberg, Justin Corddry, Richard Lee, Terry Shaw and Tony Hedlesky--wrapped up work on the 1934 CCC shed at Piney River that they had been working on since last spring. Now it's on to finishing the job of the larger shed.
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