MRATC Activities and Information, Week of Jan. 3 – 9, 2021

MRATC TRAIL WORK

Our regular trail work season has ended, as of the end of November. We will go out only if there is a problem that needs attention and will resume regular trail maintenance in March.

Trail Section Maintainers:  As one section maintainer to the rest of you all – you might want to check your section (with a handsaw), if you haven’t been on it since the Christmas snowstorm. (Mine was full of blowdowns and rhododendron jungles.)

MRATC HIKES

MRATC is not scheduling and publicizing group hikes in advance, due to COVID, but 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). The ATC recommends keeping group size small and not carpooling.

The Friday hiking group is not holding group hikes now due to the COVID surge.

MRATC MEETINGS

A poll of the MRATC Board found that nothing needs a meeting in January, so the Jan. 13^th 7 p.m. Zoom meeting is canceled. The Board will handle by email the business of approving the November minutes and approving the slate to be elected by the membership at the Annual Meeting.

The next MRATC meeting will be the traditional Annual Membership Meeting, this year on Sat., Feb. 27^th at 7 p.m., when we will go over plans for the upcoming year and vote on the slate of club officers. The Annual Meeting will be held on Zoom, eliminating the traditional potluck. (You can eat your own potluck while joining the Zoom meeting, if you want to.) Zoom login information and an agenda will be sent out in a Sunday email about two weeks before the meeting.

TRAIL CENTER UPDATE FROM THE TRAIL CENTER SUPERVISOR:

• o    Construction for the Damascus Trail Center is scheduled to be complete in early 2021
• o    The DTC Supervisor is working with ATC staff to develop an exhibitory plan which includes
• §  the request for exhibitory proposals from consulting firms
• §  an exhibitory budget which will help identify funding needs
• §  exhibitory themes and designs  that include the ATC/ AT, surrounding landscape, and regional assets,
• §  and timeline for completing all exhibits
•  

Link to December issue of the ATC’s The Register:

http://us2.forward-to-friend.com/forward/show?u=64f18e8ab0289e37511640181&id=0c005133c6 

Off-road vehicles on Whitetop Mtn. The ATC and MRNRA have reports of off-road vehicle activity on Whitetop Mtn. If you are hiking there and see such activity, report the day and time you saw it to the MRNRA during business hours:  276-783-5196.

Grayson Highlands St. Park and adjacent area map (Avenza maps app) free download available:  https://www.avenzamaps.com/maps/1204147/grayson-highlands-state-park.

Virginia AT license plates:  $15 of the $25 annual fee goes to the ATC VA Regional Office to support the AT – including the new Damascus Trail Center. If you would like to order one, go to this section of the DMV website:

https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/vehicles/#splates/category.asp?category=S 

Outstanding AT hike videos: A member of the Tidewater AT Club who knows a couple who are section hiking and have made and posted a series of videos, passed along the notice of the You Tube posting, so we all can enjoy them. They are wonderful videos! Go to You Tube and search for “Campfire Confidential” to select a few to watch.

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 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

•Visit the ATC's website for information and hikes in AT Communities up and down the AT, listed by state.

In our area, the AT Communities are Damascus, Abingdon, and Marion/Smyth County. 

https://appalachiantrail.org/explore/communities

TRAIL UPDATES

Grayson Highlands State Park Backpackers' pkg. lot reservations:https://www.reserveamerica.com/explore/grayson-highlands-state-park/VA/140172/35528/campsite-booking

•The 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 AT reroute on Comers Creek Rd. (Rte. 650) around the failing AT bridge at Comers Creek Falls was marked with signs and blaze posts and will be the official route of the AT in that area until a new bridge is built. 

Bears:  In 2019 and 2020, there were fewer reports of bears taking hikers' food than in 2018, but bears 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. 

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