Adirondacks Day 2

  We thought we were going to do lopping and raking. Ha!

What you need to understand is that there are all kinds of rules in the Adirondack Park for trail work. So even Mary, our leader, did not know exactly what we were going to be doing. Finally the guy from the DEC arrived to show us our tasks for the day. We walked in about a mile to the work site. This is a trail underpass that goes beneath I-87, the Northway.

We got to a location where a previous crew had created a benched edge and a rock edge. This will be filled with gravel and mineral soil later by a prison work crew to create a treadway. (Don't even ask why the trail has to stay in this muddy former road rather than be up in the woods on higher ground. It just does. We don't get to choose.

However, the problem is that the crew that did all this work made the turnpike too wide. Our task was to move all the rocks about a foot closer to the cut edge.

So, sure, let's send about the oldest trail crew there is in to do rock work in the mud. There were eight of us working.

But I'm here to tell you that we got it done. Much narrower now. We did this for about 80-100 feet total.

And we created edging for a new piece of turnpike across a stream culvert.

The mosquitoes were about as brutal as I've experienced. The temperature was high, and the mud was sucky. Literally. But we finished that job. Tomorrow we are going to build four rock water bars. And we have to find and dig up the rocks to use too. That may take all day. Then Saturday and Sunday may be easier. We're going to hike to the top of the mountain one of the days to get the view this section is noted for.

We were pretty done in by three. At least there are showers at the campground. I have been muddier in my life, but not for quite a while! Five of us are staying here. After dinner we did a campfire.

I was pretty beat when we got back here, but now that it's cooled down, I feel better. I think I'm up for another day of muddy rocks!

See Day 1