Mt Rogers NRA, Washington & Jefferson National Forest, VA

Dates

Sep 27th - Oct 3rd 2009

Service Project

Trail Maintenance

Free Days

Peak hiking, fishing, photography

Accommodations

Backpack Camping -- three mile backpack to camp

Trip Rating

Strenuous : 3 mile backpack. Hiking, digging, lifting, carrying, bending

Leaders

Ruth Rosenstein
Nerissa Roth

Equipment

High, wild, and lovely, Mount Rogers National Recreation Area (NRA) is unique in Virginia. Often called the "rooftop of Virginia," all of the state above 5,000 feet in elevation is in this area where the three counties of Grayson, Washington, and Smyth meet. As a result, this is a land of contrast and surprise unlike anything else in the state. Visitors compare it to a Canadian-type climate with its spruce-fir remnant forest. Others imagine a chunk of Montana Big Sky country transported to the Blue Ridge Mountain range when they experience the recreation area's high, timbered ridges that suddenly open to grassy alpine meadows in the thin, crisp air. Our trip will be in the Little Wilson Creek Wilderness, one of three wilderness areas in the NRA.

Adjoining Grayson Highlands State Park, Little Wilson Creek Wilderness is within the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area. Elevations range from 3,220' near the southern border to 4,857' near the northern boundary. The vegetation is primarily upland hardwoods with sugar maple, beech, yellow birch, and some stands of red spruce and Fraser fir. Deer and bear, grouse and quail, and numerous small mammals and birds are found here. Both Big Wilson and Little Wilson Creeks contain native trout.

Our work project will include turnpike construction (a turnpike is a section of raised trail in a meadow), and waterbar and checkdam construction. We'll backpack approximately 3 miles and set up base camp. This trip is suitable for beginners in good shape who want to learn about trail maintenance as well as seasoned hands. This will be just our second trip ever in Virginia – come Give Something Back in one of the largest and unique recreation areas in the East!