Southern Blue Ridge Hikers

This week we have completed the repair of a mudslide section on Glen Falls Trail in Highlands, NC. Cause by Hurricane Helene, this area has been difficult to pass for some time now due to the exposed sloped bare rock face. Thank you to Cullasaja Women’s Outreach for generously funding this project.

The photo series below take you through a step by step of how this was accomplished. First, the sloped bedrock was chiseled to expose a narrow, flat tread (photo 2). The downhill side was then cribbed and filled (photo 3). 4 timber steps were installed (photo 4), and 3 steps proceeding were carved into the remaining bedrock (photo 5). It was a fun one!

Please help us in welcoming our 2 summer interns - Alex and Carmyn! From Western Carolina University and Warren Wilson College, these students will spend the summer learning hands-on about the management of trail systems and their maintenance and restoration. We are very excited for the extra sets of hands and to share the love of contributing to our public lands. Our primary focus will be Glen Falls Trail, beginning with repairing a mudslide.

Generously funded by Cullasaja Women’s Outreach, Southern Blue Ridge Hikers has been working on a bridge installation on Chattooga River Trail following damage caused by a fallen tree. It has been a couple months of effort, but we are pleased to announce that we have finally completed the bridge and cribbing associated! A huge thank you to Cullasaja Women’s Outreach as well as our dedicated volunteers who put in lots of good work throughout the process. We couldn’t have done it without you! Please enjoy some progress photos below.

A huge thank you to everyone who dedicated their time last week to participate in a volunteer vacation hosted by Southern Blue Ridge Hikers. Volunteers from across the U.S. travelled to Highlands, NC to contribute to the enhancement of a beloved local hiking trail, the Chattooga River Trail. The group focused on drainage repair and benching near Norton Mill Creek, a popular summer destination for swimming. Everyone’s efforts and attitudes were greatly appreciated. We couldn’t have done it without you!

Through the American Hiking Society, SBRH just concluded hosting their first of two volunteer vacations. We had an amazing group of individuals from across the U.S. join us for the common goal of improving a local hiking trail. They did a fantastic job of rebenching and drainage repair on Chattooga River Trail. We were fortunate to have such a driven group to put their efforts into a section that needed lots of love. A big thank you to everyone who donated their time and energy!