MRATC Activities and Information, Week of Aug. 16 - 22, 2020
MRATC TRAIL WORK
This Wednesday, 8/19, the plan will be to meet at the Damascus caboose at 9am and address blowdowns north of the Stairs.
If interested in participating, e-mail mratcinfo@gmail.com. Limit of 4 participants.
MRATC HIKES
If a club member wishes to lead a hike, reply to this email and it can be listed in the Sunday email and on the club’s website the week of the hike (www.mratc.org under the Sidebar, Current Week’s Information).
Friday group hikes.Contact Judith Foster 276 623 2408, jaf@centurylink.net for information. Also contact her if you would like to be dropped from her weekly hike email list.
Want a T-shirt of iconic McAfee Knob and help improve McAfee Knob Trailhead?
Here is your chance to place an order by August 22, 2020 to purchase a t-shirt and help the Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club (RATC) and Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) raise funds to purchase a property adjacent to McAfee Knob Trailhead. Copy/paste this link into your browser for additional information: www.bonfire.com/mcafeeknob.
Current MRATC information is also posted on Facebook: Mt. Rogers Appalachian Trail Club (MRATC), on Twitter: twitter.com @Mt_rogersATC, and on Instagram.com: mountrogersATclub.
AT Community Update:
Three AT Communities recently hosted webinars about their trail communities. You can watch and listen to the videorecordings by pasting these links into your browser:
Roan Mountain: https://youtu.be/UeZXOZPtQaw
Unicoi: https://youtu.be/MpawM6TGwjY
Damascus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5VvZmg-tm4&t=7s
•The ATC has added Damascus and Abingdon to its Wild East website.
https://wildeast.appalachiantrail.org/explore/communities/damascus-va/
Abingdon has joined Damascus on the ATC's Wild East website with great photos. Take a look!
https://wildeast.appalachiantrail.org/explore/communities/abingdon-va/
Marion/Smyth County will be added. Eventually, all 50 AT communities will be featured on Wild East.
Damascus Trail Center update: August, 2020 - roofing has begun. Interior work scheduled for September. Expected completion date for the Center is late October, 2020.
TRAIL UPDATES
Grayson Highlands State Park reopened the Backpackers' pkg. lot on June 15th. Reservations required. https://www.reserveamerica.com/explore/grayson-highlands-state-park/VA/140172/35528/campsite-booking
•As of 4-26-2019 bridge at Comers Creek Falls is closed - the Forest Service has closed the bridge on the AT at Comers Creek Falls due to safety concerns that include a crack in a support beam. The planned AT reroute on Comers Creek Rd. (Rte. 650) around the failing AT bridge at Comers Creek Falls was marked with signs and blaze posts on 9/18/2019 and will be the official route of the AT in that area until a new bridge is built.
Bears: In 2019, there were few reports of bears taking hikers' food, but they could come back to try to get food from hikers, especially if they are cooking. Hikers are urged to use the metal bearboxes for overnight food storage near Saunders Shelter, Lost Mtn. Shelter, Thomas Knob Shelter, near Rhododendron Gap, Wise Shelter, Old Orchard Shelter, the Scales, Hurricane Mtn. Shelter, and Trimpi Shelter.
Overmountain Shelter near Roan Mtn., TN has been found to be structurally unsound and has been closed.
Links for the Konnarock and Hardcore Crews Blog/Photo Album for May 2018 project on Wilburn Ridge:
Konnarock Crew and Hardcore Blog: http://konnarockcrew.blogspot.com/2018/06/week-3-may-18-22-2018_12.html
Photo album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/atconservancy/albums/72157668009655087
Konnarock Crew's work project photos - below is a link to Konnarock Crew's work project photos between Thomas Knob and Rhododendron Gap. Cut and paste to your browser window to view.
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/16DXCXHtT83N-wVYU0afwKBnZ51vIQ6Io
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