Park Visitor Praises Trail Improvements

Phillip F. from Avondale Estates, Georgia made a comment via the Friends website today:

Hadn't visited the Fiery Gizzard / Dog Hole / Small Wilds trails in years. Was there last weekend, and the new blazes and bridges are great!! Thank you!!

Congratulations and compliments to the summer trail crew and the Friends volunteer workers for these and other improvements to the park trails.

Summer Trail Crew Update

From Ranger George Shinn at Savage Gulf:

The summer trail crew has been very busy the last couple weeks. Under Roger Hobbs great leadership these young men completed clearing all trail system at Savage Gulf before the Fourth of July. The next week after three days of rest, half the team with park staff went back into Collins Gulf and placed another sixty water bars on the switchbacks to create stairs on the trail towards Horsepound Falls. They also dug new tread on a few more areas also while they were down there.

The other half of team under supervision of park maintenance Eugene Parson completed a stone staircase below Collins West campground. Moving four tons of rock is hard work. Then, the week of July 14 through 18 the group went to Stone Door to build stairs below Alum Gap and clean up trash at Greeter Falls and The Blue Hole. They are doing an outstanding job. We really appreciate the good help and I know these young men have enjoyed the opportunity.

Thank you and please come hike our trails and see the good work that you are supporting.

Summer Trail Crew Update

From Ranger George Shinn:

Well, we are very excited about the summer trail crew here at Savage Gulf. They have done an outstanding job so far and have completed much more than we anticipated in only two weeks.

The group of five local young men Shawn King, Cody Meeks, Logan Kilgore, Cody Nunley, and leader Roger Hobbs all from Grundy County; began Monday June 16th. They hiked into Collins Gulf with park staff and Mark Stanfil (state TYCC coordinator) to look at the jobsite and made a plan to repair this section of trail. After discussion and lunch they began to carry waterbars to locations for installation.

On Tuesday, park staff gave instruction on tool care, first aid, and group finished the mass of state paperwork needed to begin employment. The team went straight to work and by the end of day had all thirty waterbars in place.

Wednesday, park staff helped as they moved trail above original spur trail to Horsepound Falls that had washed out.

Thursday and Friday the team worked alone with some help from seasonal John Miller (who took pictures and took group out to lunch) they finished laying in all thirty waterbars and redigging two long sections of trail. We were not ready for such quick work, so park staff bought more lumber and cut out thirty more waterbars to complete job needed.

Monday June 23 and Tuesday June 24 the team carried thirty more waterbars to site and dug in. This is amazing as this is a rough, beautiful trail dropping down into the gorge some 900 feet very quickly in rocky terrain. These young men are truly giving their all.

Wednesday through the rest of this week we started them on basic trail maintenance on Savage Gulf trail system. Weedeaters and loppers, they are a human bush hog and doing an awesome job. They completed in three days, the Savage side connector from Hobbs to Sawmill campground. The Historic Stage Road and South Rim Trail and Collins Gulf Trail to Sawmill. That's 18 miles of extremely difficult trail cleared!

The whole park staff at Savage is amazed at the work attitude of this team. We are impressed. They are completing work that would have taken us weeks to accomplish in a fraction of the time. We are very grateful. It has allowed for our trails to get some much needed care and attention.

Our ever-changing plan at this point is to have team complete clearing our trail system by the end of next week. Then, we will return to Collins Gulf to lay down a stone staircase below Collins West campground towards Suter Falls in a rough/steep section. If all goes well, the group will move on to Stone Door to do similar work below Alum Gap using 6X6 waterbars to repair washed out sections of trail. We haven't thought past these projects yet, we lose the team at the end of July. Although, they work so quickly, I'm already searching for other sections of trail in Savage that need some love, just in case.

Thank you Friends of South Cumberland! Your goodwill touches the park and is reaching into the community.

Posted by Ron Castle for George