Thanks to a generous contribution by TEHCC members Bruce and Mary Cunningham, we were able to have a crew work for a second straight year on improving the Appalachian Trail in Laurel Fork Gorge. This is a high use area with lots of loose rock, which makes building and maintaining a stable treadway difficult. Continue reading “Laurel Fork Gorge Rock Steps (1998)”
Laurel Fork Bridge Near Bitter End (1997)
Fifteen of us ignored the weather forecast and the drizzle to build a bridge. We knew beforehand that the bridge over Laurel Fork, Trail south of Bitter End, was rickety and needed to be replaced. Our timing was good as when we reached the bridge on Saturday morning, we found that it had collapsed! Several Club members had drilled the holes and generally prepared the bridge for installation earlier in the week, so once we got the material to the site, it went up pretty quickly. Continue reading “Laurel Fork Bridge Near Bitter End (1997)”
Overmountain Shelter (1993-1997)
The Overmountain Shelter is located near Yellow Mountain Gap (4,682 feet) on the Appalachian Trail. The shelter’s name is derived from the Overmountain Men, who passed through the Gap on their way from Sycamore Shoals (now called Elizabethton), Tennessee to defeat the British Army at Kings Mountain, South Carolina during the Revolutionary War. That defeat freed the American South from British domination, and was a turning point in the war. Continue reading “Overmountain Shelter (1993-1997)”