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Current Week's Information

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Saved by trailsamkm@aol.com
on August 23, 2020 at 7:25:31 am
 

MRATC Activities and Information, Week of Aug. 23 - 29, 2020

 

 

MRATC TRAIL WORK

 

Wed., 8/26: We will be cutting a couple of blowdowns (one is the interesting specimen in the attached photo.) north of Damascus, meeting at the caboose in Damascus at 9 a.m.

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.

 

 

ATC News: Donation to ATC and Conservation Fund for AT corridor conservation

Mountain Valley Pipeline, which abandoned the project of installing a pipeline across AT land in Northern VA, has donated $19.5 million to be used for land conservation along the AT corridor and to assist trail-related community economic development in WV and western VA. Andrew Downs of the ATC VA Regional Office says the funds will be used primarily for the area of the AT between Burke’s Garden and Troutville, where there are about a dozen properties adjacent to the AT that have not yet been acquired, or where AT easements are particularly narrow.

 

Upcoming:  ATC’s Volunteer Leadership Academy

The ATC will offer a series of evening workshops on Zoom, with video plus participant discussion, this fall that will be open to any interested members of AT clubs. In the Organization Management track, workshops will include leadership succession and how to run meetings. In the track that covers engaging new people will be workshops on diversity and volunteer retention. More specific information and how to register for workshops will be sent out when we receive it.

 

 

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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