[at-l] AT damage

[Owen <jrowen@ibm.net>]

Things  are quiet today, everyone must be out hiking.  It was a good day
for it.  We went for a short walk on the AT today and it turned into an
obstacle course.  We started at Rt. 50 (Ashby Gap) and went south to
Dick's Dome and back.  There was only about three inches of snow, but
the recent storms left a few other souvenirs.  The half mile of trail on
each side of the Sky Meadows trail intersection had been hit by wind
shear and ice and the top branches of nearly all the trees had been
broken off and were all over the ridge - and the AT.  It was a game of
giant pickup sticks. The blazing isn't very good in some places and we
found our way through there by following someone else's tracks (there
was no trail).  
 
Between The Sky Meadows Trail and Dick's Dome there were 18 blowdowns
that will take a chainsaw (or a LOT of work with a hand saw) to clear. 
Most of them require detours through the greenbrier, raspberries and
poison ivy.  (But we're thruhikers, we LOVE pain!!!)

We cleared what we could as we were walking, but it'll take more than
two people to make it passable for anyone with a pack.  At least three
other groups turned back when things got really bad.  We should have.  

Y'all have a good week.  

Walk softly,
Jim and Ginny Owen
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