I'll start by saying that I'm not much of a morning person and it's a rare thing for me to get up before 6 unless i'm getting on a flight for an exotic vacation. On Tuesday morning I woke up at 4:30 to drive the 4 hours to NJ so I could work with the crews before the end of the program and it was well worth it.
By 7am I had gotten a panicky text asking me to come to Musconetcong to see the damage that the storm the night before had done to the trail. I arrived just before 10 and found the crew working on putting in checksteps to try to slow down the massive surge of water that runs off of the parking lot. When I say massive, I mean the pictures looked like what may be confused for a cascading waterfall or a small kayakable creek. The good news is that Patrick arrived at the same time to take photos for the county to try to get them to fix the road. Despite the crazy amount of water the structures put in by the crew were doing their job and the trail was looking great. We added some drainage aprons and an additional check step and I think it'll hold up nicely. After working all morning and stopping at the river for lunch we hiked the entire loop and I was blown away but the amount of quality work the crew had accomplished in 5 weeks. Of course the stepping stones were well set, and the crew did a great job at cutting benched tread, a first for a NJ crew, and building 2 switchbacks. I was also shocked to hear that instead of pulling out the crosscut saw the crew had cut timber for 20 check steps using a pulaski, all that crushing rock in past years has created some solid tool swinging skills with this crew.
The next day I met both crews at Hoffman Park (which I'll add to my list of places that make NJ a beautiful state and would surprise those people that hear NJ and think NJ Turnpike) and after some hasty picnic planning with the leaders headed out to Cushetunk. Wow do these crews do a lot of hiking. It was nice hiking over the project that the crew did in 2009 to the current site. Again, I was impressed by how these crew members that usually move large rocks have embraced timber and have set some perfect check steps. I hiked the chainsaw out which proved to be more of an ego builder then a help with the project. I was nicknamed "lumberjack" but only made 2 small cuts so not sure I can take credit for that. My plan to fell a tree was foiled by a finicky saw and a lack of time. Instead I got to dig one drainage dip and lay out the placement for about 5 more (more fun then sawing believe it or not). The only bummer was having to leave early and not getting to see the ridge trail and all of the great work I've heard about there. Hey, the way I see it is it's an excuse to come back and hike without a saw.
It was great working with everyone and I sure wish I could do it more often (but don't think that getting up at 4 on a daily basis would be good for me). I'm excited to hear about your rec trips and look forward to seeing you all again next week for the picnic. You should all be proud of your trail skills, you accomplished a lot and the county trails are proof that will last for years! Nicely done. (pics of musconetcong crew here: https://picasaweb.google.com/117334271898732252242/MusconetcongGorgeNJGreenteam2011?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCM2N6ZGPodrJcQ&feat=directlink cushetunk are coming...)
Rachel
No comments:
Post a Comment