Our second crew outing at this location started by getting our gravel supply delivered. The gravel delivery was a donation from Sterling Forest,with Barb Kohlberger being our advocate. Barb was assisted by Bob Klum signing off on the delivery outside park boundaries. Of course Pete Kohlberger, a member of the A.T. management committee, had his hand in the gravel delivery as well. This weekend’s outing was during our areas first heat wave. It was well over 90 degrees each day with Saturday being the hottest. The crew took no chances and everyone brought plenty of water and took many breaks. We are going to rehabilitate all bog bridge sections. Some will get one new plank, some will get two new planks and a few existing sections will get new supports. All sections will get new gravel footings and the supports will be properly aligned and level. All three days looked similar. By that I mean each day we dug new support holes, added gravel, repaired the planking, then repeat again and again. On Sunday the crew worked in a production line fashion. A few crew members starting the support holes, they laid out the exact location, cut the roots, and began digging the holes. Then more crew members finished digging the holes and added the gravel. Next other crew members set the supports and planking, replacing any damaged planks as necessary. We really got a lot accomplished this weekend, we improved over 40 bog bridge sections.
On both Saturday and Sunday our crew provided cold water for any hiker, with the bulk of the hikers A.T. thru-hikers. All hikers thank us for our trail rehab efforts and for the fresh cold water. And we certainly enjoyed hearing stories from their hike.
We have left Black Mt. for a little while and will return later in the year, but for now we are on another section of the Appalachian Trail in Kloiber Field refurbishing some old and installing some new bog bridging. Kloiber Field is west of W. Mombasha Rd. in Monroe NY. There will be no high-line nor rope-puller moving big rocks on this project. Here we will be replacing old and decayed bog bridge supports, planking and adding an additional 130 feet of new bog bridging A bog bridge is a form of puncheon having a single or double-plank tread surface resting directly on supports or sleepers. We define bog bridges as a series of connected, short-span bridges close to the ground where the plank of the bog bridge rests on supports or sleepers. A sleeper is placed in a shallow trench at right angles to the trail centerline. A second sleeper is prepared and placed in another trench 3 to 4 feet away. The plank is nailed to the sleepers with two 6” 60-penny galvanized nails driven through previously drilled pilot holes.
We are in Kloiber Field now because we could only work here when the ground was as dry as it was going to get. Buy definition bog bridging is a foot bridge over areas that are normally wet, but at times can be dryish. We were waiting for this dryish time to work on the bog bridging. The current bridging was constructed using 6” x 6” PT lumber for the supports or sleepers and oak boards for the planking. We will be using 12” round Black Locust logs for the supports and two 6” x 2” rough hewn Black Locust planks. Black Locust is a plentiful renewable resource that is well suited for all outdoor wood uses. Naturally occurring flavonoids preserve the wood and keep it durable. Black Locust is a safe, environmentally friendly alternative to Pressure Treated and Tropical Hardwoods, is chemical free and regrows rapidly. Above all Black Locust is one of the hardest and most structurally sound species of wood available.
A few of us visited the site a week before to brush cut a path and 2 staging areas. This area is covered with poison ivy, buy trimming the trail back we hoped to minimize our crews exposure to the nasty weed.
This bog bridging project is expected to take us another outing to complete, so come on out and join in.
Like most of the Appalachian Trail, it is always evolving and changing. Work crews, like LDTC, all along the A.T. constantly relocate and rehabilitate portions of the trail to protect nature and to enhance the Appalachian Trail hiking experience. This particular bog-bridge replacement project was requested because the bridging in this area has become dangerous and in serious need of repair. New sections are needed to extend the walkway through more muddy areas.
This project will take a lot of effort and as always, it will all done by volunteers.
Speaking of volunteers, not everyone could make it all 3 days and that’s OK with us. Some volunteers came for 3 days some for 2 and others could only make it to 1. Don’t feel that you have to commit to the entire weekend, any help is appreciated and being a volunteer you can come and go as you see fit.
During this 3 day work trip. the weather was Hot . Friday was very hot, Saturday a little Hotter and Sunday Hot again. Lots of hot sun, high humidity, a very light breeze.
If this looks like the kind of activity you want to be part of, please come on out and join in, we're a community of volunteers who build, protect and maintain hiking trails. We invite you to join us. You’ll be glad you did.
