Putting It On The (High)line

The Monongahela National Forest lies within the Alleghany Mountains of West Virginia and protects over 900,000 acres of federally owned land, 100,000 of which is designated wilderness. Red spruce, balsam fir, and mountain ash trees thrive here, and if you know where to look, you can find pristine stands of old growth forest deep within the mountains. The Monongahela was established following massive deforestation during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which in part contributed to the drastic reduction of white tailed deer in the area. The deer were almost completely eradicated, but gradually returned to healthy population size after the forest was protected.

Conservation Legacy’s Appalachian Conservation Corps (ACC) began work in the Monongahela in the Spring of 2018, kickstarting a 2-year-long partnership between ACC and USFS. ACC crews have already worked over 3,000 hours on the project.

The goal is to repair the infrastructure of multiple trails within the forest, primarily along Tea Creek, which were severely damaged by flooding. This area was given “ERFO” (Emergency Relief for Federally Owned Roads Program) funding through the Department of Transportation. Crews are re-routing unsustainable sections, building new tread, constructing bridges, and implementing highline rigging to do large-scale rockwork.

In early July of 2018 I met up with ACC Crew 114. They were doing rockwork to repair a washout on a trail with the help of a griphoist to move large boulders, redirecting an unsustainable section, and generally getting really, really muddy.

After work, they hung out around a modest campfire and talked about everything from dungeons and dragons, to James Brown, to whether a bear might be attracted by the deer they’d cooked earlier (which was caught and processed by Program Director and ACC Founder Zach Foster).

“When we do this work, we use griphoists to move large rocks that would be difficult to move without mechanical assistance,” explained ACC’s Operations Coordinator Robbie Pullen. “We anchor the pulley to one tree and run the highline out past where the rock is that we want to move. We then attach the rocks to the highline, and when it is pulled tight, the boulder is lifted into the air.”

Rain, biting insects, humidity, and multiple daily river crossings didn’t phase the crew. They spent the rest of the hitch smashing rocks with sledgehammers, hauling boulders to reinforce the washout, and getting well acquainted with the swampy West Virginia summer. ACC Crews will continue to work in the Monongahela for the next several years, and if you visit the Monongahela for a hike, it’s likely that you’ll step over some of their hard work at some point.

Click photos for larger size.