In The Clouds

Thursday February 21,2008 – In the Clouds

We had four very hardy traildogs today as we began the finish work on the last half-mile of trail. The cold front came in while were there prying all the loose boulders that were threatening the lower part of the trail below the switchbacks. Within an hour of our arrival the temperature dropped about 15 degrees and the clouds dropped down on the mountain as it began to rain. The area we were working was freshly dug red clay and within minutes was a really muddy goop. We decided there would be a better day to try and finish this section.

We will have a workday tomorrow Friday February 22 with a start time of 9:00 am. We will rally at the parking area on top of the mountain at the end of the picnic area. We will be working the entrance to the rail instead of the switchback sloop.

Pack a lunch and fluids and join us.

Come when you can and leave when you want but join us.

I have attached a couple of pictures of the dig team at he point where the trail was completed.

Jerry

The Summit

February 20, 2008 - The Summit

The very determined US Forest Service team and eight tough traildogs were able to push the trail to the summit today at 3:00 pm. When it appeared we were stymied at the last switchback because of a stubborn layer of shale rock the US Forest Service team found a way to get the trail the last 250 feet. It will take a few more days of finish work by the traildogs but the trail is open all the way to the Vista.

The LOViT now stretches from Denby Bay through Tompkins Bend/Shangri La to Joplin/Mountain Harbor and now up to the Hickory Nut Mountain Vista or just over sixteen miles of hiking and mountain biking trail. Amazingly this dig team of the US Forest Service, The Corps of Engineers and the Traildog volunteers constructed over five miles of trail in 23 days in the toughest terrain we have experienced since we began construction three years ago.

We will be working again tomorrow to complete the finish work on the last portion of the trail. We will now meet at the top of the mountain at the end of the picnic area to hike down to the construction site.

Rain is forecast for tomorrow and our standard rule is if it is raining we will not be on the trail. We will start at 9:00 am.

Pack a lunch & fluids and come join us on the new trail.

As always come when you can and leave when you want.

I have attached a picture of the dig team at the final switchback.

Congratulations to the whole team for a great job.

Jerry

Where Eagles Dare

Tuesday February 19, 2008 – Where Eagles Dare

The lead team of the US Forest Service, Tom , Joey, and Josh completed the next to last switchback today and are moving up to the last turn hopefully tomorrow. A team of professionals who continue to astound us as their two machines have now clawed their way to the very brink of the south face of the mountain. I have attached a photo of the team so you can appreciate their tenacity.

It is so steep here that the volunteers were moved down the trail because the machines were directly above them and there was concern that some of the larger boulders may roll down to the lover level. The view from this last switchback literally looks like a spot where only eagles would dare to roost.

A special word of thanks to the US Forest team for offering three of the trail dogs a training class on proper utilization of chain saws on the trail. Randy is a true professional with a great sense of humor. We all came away from the class with a great deal of really useful information and a clear understanding of the safest procedures in chain saw utilization.

Tomorrow will be a beautiful day with warm temps. We will have a special friend join us tomorrow from the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Celia Story. Celia has been a supporter of the Vista trail sense the beginning and is a hands on reporter that has to come to the site to develop her great stories.

We will meet at the same place on Hickory Nut Mountain rd to morrow at 8:30 am.
Bring a lunch and plenty fluids and join us for these final days of scaling Ole Hickory Nut Mt.

Come when can and leave when you want.

Jerry

Tracks on the Mountain

Traildogs Monday Feb 18, 2008

An inviting day on the south slopes of Hickory Nut Mt. Today we enjoyed crystal clear skies and the mountain protecting us from the brisk breeze from the Northwest. Saturday we had over two inches of rain in the area providing an opportunity to analyze any drainage problems on the trail. We were pleasantly surprised that despite these heavy rains the trail was only muddy in a couple of places and overall the rain settled the fresh tread with little or no real drainage problems.

As we hiked in from the rally point to was interesting to see the tracks of the local residents who crossed the wet tread. Raccoon and either dog or coyote tracks were evident in several locations. We also found one fresh cougar track at a wet spot where water was flowing down the mountain, so our old friend is still around.

Tomorrow the US Forest service will attempt to push the tread farther up the slope as we target trying to reach the summit by Friday. As the crow flys its only about 250 feet to the summit but the tread will be more like 650 feet of steep difficult digging with two switchbacks, clearly a challenge.

Three of us will be in class at the USFS Womble Work Center in a chain saw safety class until 11:00 am or so then we will be back on the trail about noon. If you can join us on the trail and would like to come in the morning the USFS machine team will be there and you can support them until we arrive.

Pack a lunch and fluids and come when you can and leave when you want.

Jerry

February 15, 2008 Trail Update

February 15, 2008 Trail Update – Misty Day On the Mountain

Traildogs
Everyday as we drive up the old mountain road to the rally point we marvel at the beauty of the Hickory Nut Mt. Valley that flows off the right side of the road. On clear days the morning mist veils the rising sun giving the valley the look of the beautiful valleys of the Great Smoky Mountains. Some twenty miles to the east you can just see the purple peaks of West Mountain rising to the west of Hot Springs. This scene always gives us the little boast of energy we need to start our morning dig.

Friday was a misty day at a cool 45 degrees as we hiked in and up to our tool cache. Looking directly south we can see that we have driven the trail higher than Broken Rock Mountain that is the southern border of the valley. We have six traildogs today all seasoned members of the “Mountain Brigade” who quickly assess the stretch of trail ahead as it rises into the steepest grades of the Mountain. Your first impression is someone sneaked in during the night and dumped a load softball sized gravel on the newly dug trail. We, however, find a way to massage a proper tread and angle of repose out of this rock slide.

The Forest Service lead team continues to astound us as they push further and further up the steep grade. We are now just a stones throw from the summit where the newly dug trail stopped two weeks ago. The team is using great care to push the tread up this challenging slope as they thread their way though large trees and huge rock outcroppings. They are currently searching for the best location to make the next switchback turn to start the final climb to the summit.

An interesting side note one of the traildogs found a bleached white deer antler with shards of camouflage clothing clinging to it. We spent lunch musing about who won that forgotten battle.

Monday February 18, 2008 will start our last week of having the US Forest Service team leading the dig with the two machines. The summit looks possible by Friday but it will take some good weather and an exceptional effort by the machine operators and the volunteers to complete the dig.

Pack a lunch and plenty of fluids and join us starting at 8:30 am at the same rally point on Hickory Nut Mt. Road.

Come when you can and leave when you want.

Jerry