Trails Need Spring Fixup, Too

© 2004 Wytheville Enterprise / Published March 25, 2004 / Reprinted by permission.

By JEAN FARLEY/Staff

Trails need attention just like our roadways. Spring is usually the time we start noticing traffic delays as highway workers fix some of the damage caused by wintry weather. It's also the time that trail workers begin heading into the woods for the same reason.

Amy Roberts digs a ditch for one of many water bars PATH members created last Saturday on the Appalachian Trail near the Mount Rogers U.S. Forest Service headquarters.

Amy Roberts of Bland County and Mark Stanley of Wythe County are two locals who enjoy taking time out of their busy schedules to help maintain part of the Appalachian Trail, the world-famous footpath that stretches more than 2,000 miles from Georgia to Maine. Last Saturday 44 Piedmont Appalachian Trail Hiker club members met at Sugar Grove in Smyth County to volunteer their time to clean, repair and preserve the footpath.

Volunteers originally constructed the Appalachian Trail in the 1920s and 1930s. Starting in 1965, the Appalachian Trail Conference began assigning maintenance responsibilities along the trail's route to various clubs.

Since 1965, PATH members have been donating their time to work on the Appalachian Trail. Volunteers work one weekend a month, eight months out of the year starting in March. During these work weekends members concentrate on a different section of the 58-mile section PATH covers. Trail cleaning, blaze painting, fixing step trail erosion, steps, privy cans, shelters and bridges are some of the projects that are completed during work weekends.

After volunteers are done with the trail maintenance work they all meet at camp (Sugar Grove or other area camps) for a potluck dinner. This social part of the weekend is one of the reasons why many PATH members continue to volunteer their time. Stories of trails traveled are exchanged. Volunteers also make connections with other outdoor enthusiasts for future outdoor trips. Often, AT through-hikers join the volunteers during the PATH potlucks.

Only dead trees found around the Appalachian Trail are used to help maintain the trail. PATH members pay careful attention to the environment surrounding the trail. Here PATH members are using a cargo net to transport a log to a water bar they will create. The water bars installed Saturday will help slow down trail erosion.

PATH maintains a 50-mile section of the AT that runs from Virginia 670 at the South Fork of the Holston River north to Virginia 623 atop picturesque Garden Mountain. PATH also maintains another eight-mile stretch of trail that runs from Virginia 615 north to U.S. 52 near Bland. Other clubs maintain the rest of the trail.

Most members are from the Piedmont area of North Carolina: Chapel Hill, Raleigh, Greensboro, Winston-Salem and Charlotte, and some come from as far away as Washington. Currently there are 205 members, but only about six are from Southwest Virginia. Local PATH members Amy Roberts and Mark Stanley attribute this number to a possible lack of appreciation for the outdoors and not being aware that the club exists. Roberts, a resident of Bland County, is on the board of managers and has been a PATH member for five years. She is a graduate student at Virginia Tech where she studies fence lizards. When she first started volunteering, she was impressed by members who came across a snake and chose to preserve nature by not killing the reptile.

Another role members can take is choosing a section of the trail to monitor and reporting to the trail coordinator on a monthly basis. This information helps determine the projects that need to be accomplished to keep the trail maintained. PATH members think having more local members would especially help with the monitoring.

PATH also contributes to Southwest Virginia in many different ways. In 2002, a PATH member had a heart attack while working on the Appalachian Trail. The rescue squads were not equipped properly, which made the rescue unusually challenging. As a result, PATH raised money to donate to local rescue squads in surrounding counties, including Bland County. This enabled the rescue squad to purchase backcountry rescue equipment. PATH also has potluck meals for private landowners surrounding the Appalachian Trail to keep communication and relations open.

Tools for the club are purchased using membership dues and grants. PATH is a nonprofit organization.

Local PATH members hail from Wythe, Bland, Tazewell, Mercer and Smyth counties.

People travel from all over the world to hike this footpath that travels through 14 states running along the crest of the Appalachian Mountains. If you need an excuse to get outdoors, PATH could be a great solution. Even if you don't need an excuse, you can help out while going on your monthly hike and reporting what needs to be done. Area residents can volunteer to work on the Appalachian Trail. To find out more about becoming a member you can visit PATH on the Web at www.path-at.org. You can also directly contact Mark Stanley through e-mail or telephone: (276) 236-4528.

Jean Farley, who is a PATH member, can be reached at (276)228-6611 or jfarley@wythenews.com.