[at-l] The Cost Of Removing One Blowdown From The AT

[rainmaker@rabun.net (David Mauldin)]

Several weeks ago, a very large, dead Oak tree fell across the AT north =
of Blue Ridge Gap in Georgia.  It fell across a sidehill section of =
trail.  The terrain on the east side of the trail was uphill, and the =
west side was downhill.  To make matters worse,  the tree fell at a =
precarious angle.  Also, this section of trail is in the Southern =
Nantahala Wilderness, where no motorized or power tools can be used for =
trail work.  Only hand tools may be used.

On Thursday, February 27, a group of 7 individuals met at Blue Ridge =
Gap.  These folks were not paid government employees, they are all =
unpaid volunteers with the GA Appalachian Trail Club.  When the group =
met at 9:00 a.m., the temperature was between 10 and 15 degrees (F). =20

The group carried all the tools they'd need about a mile to the =
blowdown.  First, the large tree had to be secured with a griphoist (a =
kind of manually operated winch and cable system) to make it secure =
enough to work with.  After an assessment was made on how the tree was =
to be cut, the griphoist was used to pull the tree off the uphill =
section of trail, directly onto the treadway.   After that, a cut was =
made with a two-person crosscut saw.  The diameter of the tree was about =
36 inches, and this took over an hour of exhaustive work.  After the cut =
was made, the griphoist was again used to move the cut portion of the =
tree off the trail and down the hill.  After the tree was removed, the =
group repaired the treadway, and then "naturalized" the repaired  trail =
section.  Within a few days, no one will be able to tell they were ever =
there.

The actual work took about 4 hours.  All the individuals who did the =
work have jobs and families.  Considering that most of them drove 150 =
miles from Atlanta, the amount of donated time (work time plus round =
trip driving time) for all 7 was approximately 70 hours.   If these =
individuals had been paid $10 per hour (which would have been a bargain, =
considering the weather and dangerous nature of the work), the cost to =
the hiking public would have been $700.   The amount of out-of-pocket =
expenses for the group (mostly gasoline for driving) was approximately =
$100.=20

Approximate value of services performed:  $800.

Cost to the hiking public:  $0.

In addition, probably all 7 received scrapes and bruises and woke up the =
next morning with aches and pains that they didn't have the day before.  =


At least 100 tress fall across the Georgia portion of the AT each year, =
and blowdown removal is only a portion of the total amount of trail work =
performed.  I would estimate that at least 1,000 trees fall across the =
trail each year between Georgia and Maine.  We may wish to consider the =
efforts and expense that volunteers donate so that we all may have a =
pleasant hiking experience.  The trail can do without websites, =
webmasters, information lists, trail angels,  hostels, bureaucrats and =
politicians, but without the unpaid trail volunteers, the trail would be =
unhikable within 3 - 5 years. =20

David Mauldin
www.trailquest.net
"To Walk In The Wilderness Is Freedom"=20




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