WOW, I AM SO GLAD THAT I SIGNED UP FOR HARD CORE!
Sunday, we were given day packs with snacks and water, shuttled from Damascus, VA to a plot of private land adjacent to the section of the AT we would be rerouting, given hard hats and gloves, and assigned to work crews. Then, we hiked a little over a mile into the work site with picks, shovels, axes, rock bars etc. From there each crew began turning a hillside marked with flags into a new switchback on the Appalachian Trail! The transformation included digging to uncover rocks, moving rocks, building rock retaining walls, making staircases out of rocks, chipping rocks too large to move, paving muddy sections with smaller rocks, using rocks to construct water bars...
Did I mention that there is a lot if rock work involved in trail maintenance?
After we dragged our dirty tools back down the mountain, they fed us dinner at a nice picnic area at Watauga Lake and gave out patches, hats, and bags monogrammed with 'Hard Core Work Crew.' Sugared up and filled to the brim, they shuttled us back to the hostel for showers, laundry, and sleep.
Sunday, the day's schedule was very similar to that of the previous day but in a different location: Roan Mountain. Now, the first time I encountered Roan the trail was wicked muddy because the weather decided to be miserably cold, rainy, and windy. This second trip, the trail (and new trail) was wicked muddy, but the weather held out for some amazing views! I helped install rock steps and got completely covered in mud. I helped remove dead tree stumps and got completely covered in mud (also, I learned that I'm pretty good with an axe!). I 'mined' a hillside for small rocks to pave the better half of the new switchback (which incuded crawling under a boulder the size of a car to scoop out the mud-covered gravel and transferring it to a bucket, which was then carted up the hill and dispersed among the eager gravel spreading crews), and... you guessed it... I got completely covered in mud!
I ended the day sweaty, muddy, and absolutely elated about a good day's worth of playing in the mud!
The experience has completely changed the way I look at the trail. At one point in the weekend the whole section of the switchback visible from my work spot appeared lined with hard hats. The volunteers were working almost shoulder to shoulder and I imagined for a minute that their hard hats where the dots of the dotted line that would later represent the new section on a map. Then I thought of the number of hard hats it must have taken to lay all 2200miles of the AT. I know I'm getting a bit philosophical here, but really, a lot of people have moved a lot of rocks and gotten completely covered in mud to make my current journey possible.
Plus: There is a general agreement among the current hiker-volunteers that participating in the maintenance makes you feel like a 'part of the club' because you work and dine with 'hiking legends,' hikers you've heard or read about for their various distinct achievements and/or contributions.
All said and done Hard Core 2012 added 2500ft to the AT and gave its volunteers a truly irreplaceable experience!
Oh, I've included before and after photos of one section.
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