2/17-20/06: Davy Crockett National Forest

February 17-20, 2006
Davy Crockett National Forest - by George Boemerman
Friday morning, the 17th of Feb., Steve Baker, George Boemerman, Bo Bosarge, Ray Fore, and Chuck Lundstedt rendezvoused at the Ratcliff Lake office of the Davy Crockett National Forest with Pearlie Green and Merlinda Schory, the trails maintenance supervisors at the forest, to plan and prepare the weekend's workload.

Pearlie and Merlinda had selected 5 bridges to repair so we drove to those sites to determine the extent of work, plus the tools and materials required. We then drove to the forest's work area and prepositioned the lumber, materials and tools on the work trailers so we'd be ready to go the next morning.

We decided to break into 2 teams, possibly 3 depending on how things worked out, with Steve Baker and Ray Fore as our construction team leaders. Note that Steve Baker briefed us on the trail bridge construction and repair procedures he found in a National Forest publication and they proved quite valuable. Great job, Steve.

That evening Janette Barlow and Terence Donovan of the Trail Tamers arrived, plus 4 AmeriCorps members: Leslie Huvler, Brandon Kiger, Scott Voorhees, and Chad Wilbur. Chuck brought a pickup load of good firewood so we had great campfires, and that night Chuck and Ray prepared gumbo for us.

Saturday morning we awoke to find the forest frozen over. Since we had selected the overflow campsite with its covered pavilion, we were able to prepare and eat breakfast in relative comfort. Then off to the woods we went. Since the bridges were frozen over, we could not walk on them (too slippery) so we had to do most of the work from the sides.

In the afternoon it thawed so we were able to complete laying the bridge treads. By the end of a long day we were able to complete all 5 assigned bridge projects. Again, Saturday night we had a great and welcome campfire. The camp host had prepared it in advance for us. Steve Baker prepared a wonderful and warming dinner of jambalaya. Pearlie Green joined us along with the 4 camp host families who also prepared dishes for all to share. It may have been a bit chilly but it did not dampen our spirits one bit. Around the campfire we planned the next day's work (3 additional bridge repairs) and the next day we finished those.

The entire weekend was damp, cold, sometimes freezing but we all had a good time (we must be a bit nutty) and were able to complete all tasks safely and in the usual Trail Tamer professional fashion. We all noted the spirit, work ethic and teamwork of the AmeriCorps folks. A great group, we would take them on any trip.