THE BLAZE

Newsletter of the Mount Rogers Appalachian Trail Club 

Spring 2025

MRATC Spring 2025 Newsletter-1.pdf

MRATC RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES REPORT:  Winter 2025

There were a number of invigorating winter hikes, including a New Year’s Day hike at Hungry Mother State Park, led by Heidi Dixon-White, and a February hike on the AT in Smyth County, led by Felicia Mitchell, to see skunk cabbage blooming. Another hike led by Steve Mason took hikers from Dickey Gap to Slabtown Road, with a chance to see some massive blowdowns between High Point and Trimpi Shelter as well as extensive work done by Doug Levin and sawyer teams to clear the trail. The Friday hikes led by Judith Foster continue to attract a good following. We look forward to spring hiking. Non-members and guests are always welcome. Thanks to all our volunteer hike leaders who plan and lead Club outings and to everyone who joins the hikes. If you think you may be interested in leading a future hike, serving as a co-leader, or sharing an idea for a hike or club outing, please email: mtrogersatc@gmail.com

  TRAILS REPORT  

The trail maintenance crew typically takes a break over the winter months but given the volume of Helene-related damage remaining on our section, has been out on the trail almost every week or whenever the weather has cooperated.  The focus has been our southern section of trail, from the state line to Elk Garden.  Our work began with a detailed assessment, similar to what was done when we first gained access to our northern section of trail back in mid-fall. This has allowed us to target the worst areas first and avoid spending time on sections with little to no storm damage. The varying orientation and topography of the trail has produced many startling contrasts, where relative calm and massive damage sit just around the corner from each other. We have prioritized removing any remaining trail blockages and anywhere the trail has moved from its original path due to brush, limbs and often giant upturned root balls blocking the way. There are still plenty of challenging spots out there but they’ve been reduced dramatically over the past couple of months and we will continue to make progress.  On the whole our section is in surprisingly good shape. Thanks to all who have contributed their time and energy to the recovery effort! 

A contractor is actively working on a replacement for the Fox Creek bridge, just north of the trail on Rt. 603. In the interim, there is a short well- marked trail bypass on the same side of the road. The temporary bridge installed by ATC and the club last quarter to span a new active fork in the waterway will be disassembled in the near future and likely reinstalled near Creek Junction, where a relatively flat rocky drainage became a wide chasm during Helene. 

NATURAL RESOURCES REPORT 

We’re looking forward to the spring season at Natural Resources, when all the ephemerals bloom, just before the trees leaf out.  Mountain spring usually happens in early May, though other factors like climate change can nudge the calendar. This season, we’ll also be watching for the effects of Helene and hoping that the numbers of rare plants we monitor have not been reduced by all the destruction. Felicia Mitchell jumpstarted the season with a hike that spotlighted the blooms of skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus), a member of the Arum family, like jack in the pulpit. Skunk cabbage thrives in very wet areas, like the ones we saw from a bridge over a bog on a recent hike led by Felicia. (See Felicia’s picture of the bloom.) The species name refers to the ‘bad smelling’ bruised, very large, leaves which appear later, after the bloom. At bloom time, we see the colorful spathe, which encloses a spadix that bears tiny yellow flowers. Skunk cabbage is a thermogenic plant. It makes enough heat for the bloom to come up through the snow and attract early, carrion-feeding insects, like blowflies, that pollinate the plant. We’ll start looking for other spring blooms at Grindstone on April 23. Blue Ridge Discovery Center members can join another Grindstone hike on April 27. On May 8, we’ll check our favorite wildflower trail, Elk Garden to Whitetop. Sharon Trumbley and Carol Broderson will then lead that same hike at the Spring Naturalist Rally on Mother’s Day, May 11. On National Trails Day weekend, on June 8, we’ll lead the Community Wildflower Hike. If you want to get involved with rare plant monitoring, email Carol Broderson at mtrogersatc@gmail.com

MRATC MEMBERSHIP REPORT

MRATC memberships are currently at 229. These include individual, family, and public relations members. We have had eight new members during the last three months and since it is annual renewal time, and many annual renewals (about 75%), with some becoming life members. If you haven’t renewed your annual or family membership in 2025 go to Mt. Rogers AT Club / Membership and either print off the Member Information Form and mail it to us at Mt Rogers Appalachian Trail Club, PO Box 789, Damascus, VA 24236, or join online using PayPal or your credit card. Renewals are due by the end of February, although we often wait a few weeks before removing you from our membership and email lists. If you would like to become a new member, the same process works. If you become a member you will receive our weekly Sunday email telling you what is happening with the club for the coming week, along with other club-related information, and our quarterly newsletter, the Blaze, with reports on club activities and a calendar for the next 3 months. Our membership email address is mratcmemb@gmail.com  and we welcome questions about membership.

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy turns 100 this year, and celebrations are being held at several locations, including the one      that was held in Damascus on Friday, March 7^th. The public were invited, and Anne Maio presented a program on Hiker History.  The evening (and especially the cake) was enjoyed by all.  Slim Jim, our Ridge Runner, is hosting a series of hiker classes at the Damascus Trail Center.

Friday Hikers have made the most of winter!

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       As winter gives way to spring, we look forward to continuing our stewardship of the trail, knowing that it will be a long time before the woods heal.  The destruction of the canopy is a hard visual reminder, considering that some of the trees were as old as the Conservancy, but we also know that the change in the amount of sunlight will allow for other things to grow and be observed.  Mother Nature adapts, and so we must also adapt, but the trail still leads from Georgia to Maine and the hikers will come, even when they have to go over and under obstacles, and take some detours around damaged areas.  The ponies are still roaming the high country, the shelters standing strong and the MRATC is proud to be doing our part.

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