Blog Posts - Southern Shenandoah Valley Chapter

August 01st, 2024

8/1/2024

Update on North River District Challenge
Another member earned their 90-mile patches for the North River District challenge recently.

Get out and hike these trails. Hikes do not need to be on organized PATC outings.

For more information on our challenge, click on the link below.
https://www.ssvc.org/north-river-district-challenge.html

Congratulations!!

John Kolp
John Kolp has lead hikes for us on the trails in the North River District as well as exploring them on his own to prepare for upcoming chapter adventures. He has helped with trail maintenance including Crawford Knob and Georgia Camp trail. Thank you, John for helping us learn about these trails and keeping them looking great.

Upcoming Meeting:
The Harrisonburg Appalachian Trail Community advisory committee and trail supporters will meet on the evening of Tuesday, August 13. They will report on project progress and upcoming plans.

The meeting will be held in Monty’s Restaurant at Hotel Madison in the Dolly Madison Private Dining Room. Be sure to park in the deck behind the hotel by entering from MLK at the sign saying Hotel Madison Parking. Walk from the deck under the covered walkway to the rear of the hotel. Come down to the ground level and look for the restaurant sign next to the lobby bar. The receptionist will direct you to our meeting location.

From 5:30-6:30 pm, they have planned a social time when people can visit and order beverages and food as appetizers or dinner. The business meeting will start at 6:30 pm and should last approximately an hour.

In order that the restaurant will know how many people to plan for setup and staffing, please RSVP no later than Friday August 9 at noon saying whether you plan to attend both the social hour and business meeting or just the meeting.

***Special thanks to Alaina Henry for representing our chapter at the meeting**

All friends and fellow hikers are welcome to attend.

For more information or to attend, contact Jane Cox ([email protected])

News Update

7/8/2024

Update on North River District Challenge
Two more of our members earned their 90-mile patches for the North River District challenge recently.

Get out and hike these trails. Hikes do not need to be on organized PATC outings.

For more information on our challenge, click on the link below.
https://www.ssvc.org/north-river-district-challenge.html

Congratulations!!

Paul Boisen
Paul has assisted in many of our trail work day trips and has been a valued asset in training others. He expert skills in rock work and crosscut sawing. Paul has helped in our trail maintenance programs with JMU Give and Daikin Applied Staunton.

Pam Heinrich
Pam enjoys exploring new trails and the North River District provided some unique ones to challenge her. After recently completing a hike on Ramsey Draft Trail, she has hiked many of the 90 miles of maintained trails. Fittingly, her first official hike with the club was Shenandoah Mountain and Jerry's Run to the Sexton

Update on SSVC's AT Section
It has been the tradition of our chapter to organize work trips on the section of the Appalachian Trail (AT) from Ivy Creek Overlook to Pinefield Gap. This 2-mile section is located in the Southern District of Shenandoah National Park (SNP).

Special thanks:
For the past several years, Jeff and Jon Bolander have been instrumental in taking care of our section and scheduling group trips for projects on the trail. This began as a Boy Scout project for Jon, and we really enjoyed watching him mature into a fantastic leader. As Jon moves on to college, they have decided that it is time to move on to other endeavors. Our section looks great thanks to all the work from this father and son duo.

Welcome:
Christopher Murray has agreed to help out on this section of the AT. He is an experienced maintainer of some blue blazed trails in SNP. Chris lives in Charlottesville but wants to work with our chapter to schedule trips to work on the trail.

Help Needed:
We are looking for someone to assist Chris. This person would coordinate with him on what work is needed and help schedule work days for the club's schedule. This person would also be a co-maintainer, assisting in trail maintenance/filling in when Chris is unavailable.

Mark Your Calendar
We have two upcoming special events. Be sure to join us.

August 11:
SSVC's Family and Friends Day at Sherando Lake
Invite your family and friends to join us for a day of hiking, swimming and picnicking at Sherando Lake. Feel free to join us at any time during the day. You can also enjoy time at the beach area throughout the day. We have the Williams Branch Picnic Area for the day. There is a large parking area near the shelter. There will be bathrooms available at the picnic area and beach house. More information about planned hikes, activities and picnic information coming soon.

November 8-11:
PATC Fall TrailFest
Plans are in the works for the first PATC Fall TrailFest at Caroline Furnace Lutheran Camp. It will be a weekend packed with hikes, trail maintenance, demonstrations from PATC crews, and fun activities for all ages. The PATC annual meeting will be held on Saturday evening. So plan to come out and enjoy a weekend of fun!

April 1, 2024

4/1/2024

April Special Events
We have several environmental awareness events planned for April. Right in the middle of spring and the month of Earth Day, April is the perfect time for these.

Date: Sat., April 13, 2024
Time: 10 am - 2 pm
Who: Anyone who loves native spring wildflowers
Where: Hone Quarry Picnic Area.
Limit: 30 people

Garlic Mustard at Hone Quarry: Beat It and Eat It!
We are going to beat Garlic mustard by pulling it, and then we are going to eat Garlic mustard pesto! And best of all, we are going to view native wildflowers growing in the Hone Quarry area.

Hone Quarry is a special place on Shenandoah Mountain, alive with all kinds of wildflowers, butterflies, and natural beauty. It even has a beautiful waterfall. The Hone Quarry area is one of Shenandoah Mountain's treasures.

Unfortunately, the invasive Garlic mustard plant is moving into the Hone Quarry area and threatening special wildflowers, like bloodroot, hepatica, and trilliums, that generations of people have come to Hone Quarry to enjoy. This invasive plant out-competes our native plants — both by growing vigorously and by poisoning the soil. It can take over a forest floor in less than a decade, killing not only native plants but also the native butterflies that rely on them. Garlic mustard was brought to this country from Europe by people who wanted to grow it as an herb, not realizing how fast it would spread and how destructive it would be. We can't let it ruin our native biodiversity!

See: Blue Ridge Prism Handout on Garlic Mustard -https://blueridgeprism.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Garlic-Mustard-Fact-Sheet-Blue-Ridge-PRISM.pdf

Fortunately, pulling Garlic mustard is easy and effective, especially in the Spring, before it flowers or produces seed.

PATC's Southern Shenandoah Valley Chapter is joining together with Friends of Shenandoah Mountain; Shenandoah Mountain Trail Crew; Virginia Native Plant Society, Shenandoah Chapter; Virginia Master Naturalists - Headwaters Chapter; and the Virginia Wilderness Committee to rid Hone Quarry of this destructive invasive plant and protect the native biodiversity of this special place.

Note: We never pull or dig any native plants in the National Forest. We are allowed to pull Garlic mustard because it is a harmful invasive plant. Everyone will be trained to identify Garlic mustard.

What to bring: Bring daypack with water, snacks, sun hat, sunscreen, raincoat, mosquito repellent, and garden gloves.

What to expect: Our goal for this worktrip is to pull Garlic mustard in several key areas and have fun while we are doing it. We will start by dividing into small groups (each trained and led by a naturalist), to pull in these areas:

Hone Quarry Picnic Area (easy access and short distance, includes area around restroom)
Hone Quarry Campground (walk through the campground and pull)
Forest Road 62 from the low water bridge to the Reservoir (good wildflowers here, too)
Forest Road 62 and Slate Springs Trail from Hone Quarry Reservoir to Hone Quarry Falls (4.3 miles round trip with a wide variety of wildflowers)

After we pull, everyone will have an opportunity to sample some Garlic mustard pesto, made by Judy Bartlett, at the Hone Quarry Picnic Area. Here's a recipe in case you want to make your own: www.phipps.conservatory.org/blog/detail/garlic-mustard-pesto

To join this event: Contact Jean Stephens at [email protected] or 443-986-5649.

Earth Day Staunton 2024
Our chapter will host a table at Earth Day Staunton. We will spread awareness about the PATC, our work on local trails and encourage participants to enjoy the outdoors nearby. Also, we are planning a children's activity as we expect many to stop by the event.

Theme: STOP THE PLASTIC TIDAL WAVE!
Single-Use Plastic Pollution Affects Us All
When: Sat., April 20, 2024, 11am-3pm
Location: Gypsy Hill Park Bandstand, Staunton, VA
Event Description:
Come celebrate Earth Day with a family-friendly, fun-for-all day
Meet local wildlife with programs from The Wildlife Center of Virginia. Touch stream critters. See a Bee Hive. Take home a tree. Look under the hood of some cool electric cars. Learn from the local organizations that work every day for the Earth.
Food Trucks on site. Bring a reusable water bottle.

How can you help?
We need people to help at our table. All you need is knowledge of our chapter/the PATC and a willingness to share. Contact John Kolp to help ([email protected] or 917-288-2622).

Riverfest, Waynesboro
Our chapter will also have a table at Riverfest, Waynesboro

When: SATURDAY APRIL 27, 2024
Theme: The Year of the Eastern Screech-Owl
Time: 10:00 am to 4:30 pm

Event Description: This FREE annual event takes place river-side at Constitution Park South Activities include Reptile World shows, presentations by the Wildlife Center of Virginia, Stream Safari exploration, Fish and Fun Rodeo, canoe rides, kids arts & crafts, interactive exhibits, and more. The day ends with the Great South River Duck Race!

How can you help: We need people to help at our table. All you need is knowledge of our chapter/the PATC and a willingness to share. Contact Michael Groah to help: [email protected]

SSVC's March: Winter Hike Challenge Winner
Mike Smith is the winner of our toboggan for the March Winter Hike Challenge. He joined us on our St. Paddy Day hike to Kennedy Ridge, Green Pond and St. Mary's River Trail. Congratulations and thank you for all your participation in our chapter.

Pictured below, Mike is fourth on the left.

Winter Challenge: Hike Leader, Special Prize
Spring began March 19 and we have completed our final drawing in the winter weather challenge. A special prize of a long sleeve PATC shirt was earned by our hike leader, Howard Davis. With five hikes and an opportunity for an extended outing to Newport News, Howard led the most hikes for us during the winter. Anyone that has hiked with him knows, Howard leads a great hike and is very knowledgeable about trails and nature. It's lot of fun to hike with him!!

Thank you, Howard for everything you do for our club.

Update on North River District Challenge:
Three more of our trail maintainers received their 90-mile patches for the North River District challenge this month. Thank you so much for keeping these trails looking great!

Spring has arrived!! Get out and hike these trails. Hikes do not need to be on organized PATC outings.

Joining the Shenandoah Mountain Trail Crew is a great way to learn about trail maintenance and earn hours toward this challenge. Be sure to watch our schedule for their work trips.

For more information on our challenge, click on the link below.
https://www.ssvc.org/north-river-district-challenge.html

Congratulations to Brian Nixon, Larry Ragland, and Mike Tranum.

March 2024

3/1/2024

Update on North River District Challenge:
Two more of our trail maintainers received their 90-mile patches for the North River District challenge this month. Thank you so much for keeping these trails looking great!

The weather is becoming milder. Get out and hike these trails. Hikes do not need to be on organized PATC outings.

For more information on our challenge, click on the link below.
https://www.ssvc.org/north-river-district-challenge.html

Congratulations!!

Chris Bowlen
Chris Bowlen is a Master Naturalist and a member of the Virginia Native Plant Society. She has a particular interest in removing invasive plants to protect native biodiversity and can be seen pulling garlic mustard and other invasives on trails in PATC’s North River District.

Tom Engle
Tom Engle maintains Dividing Ridge Trail and is a regular participant on Shenandoah Mountain Trail Crew worktrips. Tom is a Master Naturalist and has active in fighting invasive plants in our natural areas on Shenandoah Mountain. He is a certified B Level Crosscut Sawyer who has been very active in Ramsey’s Draft Wilderness.

Featured Trail in North River District:
Georgia Camp

The western trailhead for Georgia Camp Trail can be reached by crossing US 250 from the parking for Confederate Breastworks Historic Site. There is parking available on this side of US 250 using a short road. Begin your hike, by walking south on the Shenandoah Mountain Trail for approximately 1.3 miles to the start of the Georgia Camp Trail. This part of the Shenandoah Mountain Trail follows a gated road and has a slight and gradual gain in elevation.

Georgia Camp Trail is 4 miles long and follows an old roadbed for most of its route. The eastern end of the trail is also along US 250 and is marked with a sign. The trail is named after Georgia Camp Hollow with a history dating back to the Civil War.
During that time, Georgia Camp Hollow was pasture fields. The units of soldiers from Georgia that were stationed at Confederate Breastworks would use this area to graze their horses and cattle.

If you can arrange a shuttle, Georgia Camp trail can be one of the easiest hikes that you ever take with its gradual downhill slope. It is a pleasant, moderate, and scenic hike that is best suited to fall, winter and early spring when bare trees open up the views.

On Saturday, February 17, the Shenandoah Mountain Trail Crew braved the snow and high temperature of 30 degrees to complete some trail maintenance. Nine crew members joined the effort to cut overgrowth and help clear the Georgia Camp trail.

We hope you decide to check out this trail for yourself.

Shout out to our newest hike leader:
Congratulations to Rob Perry for completing his hike leader training. We enjoyed joining him on his two training hikes on the Riprap/Wildcat Loop and Kennedy Peak Loop. Rob hopes to offer longer, more difficult hikes that may attract some new hikers to our chapter. We look forward to future hikes!

A Comparison of First Aid Courses for Hike Leaders and Trail Maintainers
By Jean Stephens

If you are a hike leader or trail maintainer with crosscut or chainsaw certification, keeping your first aid (and CPR for maintainers) is required. PATC will reimburse hike leaders and trail maintainers for the cost of the class upon successful completion. Here are some options for getting your initial certification or recertification.

The best training is the 20-hour Wilderness First Aid (WFA) course given by MedicSOLO. MedicSOLO goes over most scenarios you might find in the course of a hike or maintaining trip with both in classroom and outdoor scenario practice. It is an intense course which I believe everyone should take at least once to truly get practice and information for what you might come across on the trail. MedicSOLO has just started offering an online version of the class where you learn at your own pace, then do scenarios online with an instructor. SSVC’s Gary Flynn had this to say about the MedicSolo classes: “In WFA, going through two days of hands-on scenarios, repeated practice at procedural patient assessment (very important!), and the final comprehensive written test of the WFA classes made me much more accomplished and competent looking back on it. I had an actual emergency last year I had to deal with and I would not have been effective at all with only one of the evening first aid class.” “If you want to actually be able to handle an incident, take a WFA class.”

On occasion, MedicSOLO will offer CPR classes before the first aid class. Check their schedule to see if CPR may be offered with a WFA class you might wish to attend. To see schedules and register go to: https://www.solowfa.com/

Another option is Nation’s Best CPR. This company provides certification for both the Red Cross and the American Heart Association. The course consists of online learning followed by a two-hour in-person class to review the basics and go over some scenarios (mostly CPR). This course provides the basics of first aid but does not go through scenarios you might find on the trail. Because of the fast nature of the training, you will not retain the information as well as you would through the MedicSOLO class. It is okay as a refresher course. Classes are usually offered in Harrisonburg. To see schedules and register go to:
https://www.nationsbestcpr.com/

Another option is to take classes through a Harrisonburg company called Emergency Prep. They offer both blended classes (online and in-person) or in-person classes. Gary Flynn recently attended an Emergency Prep class and offered these comments comparing another company’s class and Emergency Prep’s class: “Tonight’s instructor was much better at conveying the information in an organized way that stressed the most important points. Particularly in the CPR section, he built a narrative that I believe would be very effective at embedding understanding in students’ minds.” “. . . tonight’s instructor seemed to be aware of the class’s limitations and did a good job of helping students to understand what to remember and how they’d be most effective. There were no tests or hands on practice to speak of for the first aid material.” To see schedules and register for Emergency Prep classes go to:
https://www.eprepcpr.com/

Whichever class you choose to attend, please make sure to keep your certification current so that you are prepared if there is an emergency on your hike or maintaining trip.

SSVC's February: Winter Hike Challenge Winner
Christa Neher is the winner of our toboggan for the February Winter Hike Challenge. She joined us on our Saunders-Monticello Farm Trails hike on February 16. Christa also helps with trail maintenance on our trails in the North River District. Congratulations and thank you for all your participation in our chapter.

Our next and final drawing will be after March 18 as spring begins the next day. All you need to do is join us for a hike or walkabout this month to enter. We will have one winner each month through March and a grand prize winner at the end of winter.

Hope to see everyone on the trail.

Christa is in the middle of this photo from our hike at Saunders-Monticello Farm Trails.

News from January

2/1/2024

Update on North River District Challenge:
We were able to give away several of our 90-mile patches for the North River District challenge this month. Many of the participants completing this month did so through their trail maintenance. Thank you so much for keeping these trails looking great!

We have two opportunities this month to help you with the challenge.
*Saturday February 3rd: Trimble Mountain Trail Hike and Blowdown Removal Demonstration
*Saturday February 17th: Monthly Shenandoah Mountain Trail Crew Work Trip Upper Georgia Camp Trail
Check our February schedule for more information on these events.
You can also get out and hike the trails on your own. Hikes do not need to be on organized PATC outings.

For more information on our challenge, click on the link below.
https://www.ssvc.org/north-river-district-challenge.html

Congratulations !!!

Ron Stoltzfus maintains Buck Mountain Trail and is a certified B level crosscut sawyer. He is also an active member of Shenandoah Mountain Trail Crew. Ron hikes many miles of trail in the North River District each year in preparation for his annual Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim hike.

Roger and Jan Orndorff maintain the most remote section of Shenandoah Mountain Trail (SMT). Each time they work on their section, they hike around 10 miles. Their section is in perfect shape. Both are certified B level crosscut sawyers and have removed many blowdowns in Ramsey’s Draft Wilderness. Roger has led Daikin company volunteers on worktrips in Ramsey’s Draft 4 days in the last couple of years. In addition to all this, Roger and Jan pulled many bags of Garlic mustard along the SMT and hauled it out this year. Roger and Jan live in Highland County. Roger is a docent at the Highland Museum in McDowell and has a particular interest in the history of the SMT.

Judy Bartlett and Liz Montgomery help maintain trails in Braley Pond and are involved in many of our work trips with the Shenandoah Mountain Trail Crew.

Here they are helping to clear a blowdown!

Christy Bradburn and Brian Koerner do most of their work on the Hone Quarry Ridge Loop, but occasionally help on other trails, when requested especially with their skills in using a chainsaw.

Rob Perry likes to hike Ramsey Draft area with his dogs and has also helped organize his co-workers from Daikin company to donate their time for maintenance.

Christa Neher is active in maintaining trails on the Hone Quarry Loop. Christa has worked many hours to get the trail reestablished after prescribed burns in the area.

Tim Hupp and Gary Flynn have helped on many sections of our trails. Tim has maintained sections of the Shenandoah Mountain Trail for many years and continues to be an advocate for this area through his work with the Great Eastern Trail. Gary organizes trail maintenance workshops and is in charge of the Trimble Mountain Trail.

Pictured below with other North River Trail Maintainers: Tim Hupp (first on the left) and Gary Flynn (second on the right).

Shenandoah Mountain Trail Crew:
The Shenandoah Mountain Trail Crew recently started scheduling regular monthly work trips to provide additional support for PATC North River District maintainers and trails. A team of trail maintainers, led by Judy Bartlett, is organizing these monthly work trips to address things like erosion, trail slippage, invasive plants, brushing, and signage. An email message went out last month asking NRD maintainers where they could use a few extra helping hands. Trails without an assigned maintainer are being inspected for potential work. The worktrips will be announced as they are scheduled in the monthly SSVC hike schedule along with contact information. Training will be provided and all PATC members are welcome.

PATC North River District and Shenandoah Mountain are located in the George Washington National Forest west of Harrisonburg and Staunton. PATC currently maintains about ninety-five miles of trails there. They offer a change of experience and surroundings to the much more crowded Shenandoah National Park, requiring neither an entrance fee nor back country camping registration or fee. Much of the area is included in the proposed Shenandoah Mountain National Scenic Area, now awaiting approval in Congress, and offers a wealth of recreational opportunities in an area with diverse wildlife. For more information about the area, visit the Friends of Shenandoah Mountain web page at https://www.friendsofshenandoahmountain.org/

To learn more about the Shenandoah Mountain Trail Crew, the trails they maintain, and to sign up for SMTC activity notifications, visit
https://www.ssvc.org/north-river-district--shenandoah-mountain-trail-crew.html

SSVC's January: Winter Hike Challenge Winner
Tony Hedlesky is the winner of our toboggan for the January Winter Hike Challenge. Tony joined us on our Chimney Hollow Trail hike on January 21. Tony can wear his hat on his Appalachian Trail thru-hike that he plans to begin near the end of February.

Our next drawing will be at the end of February.
All you need to do is join us for a hike or walkabout this month to enter. We will have one winner each month through March and a grand prize winner at the end of winter.

Hope to see everyone on the trail.

The Results are In !! Hiking Survey
Thanks to everyone that participated in our hiking survey. The results have been shared with our hike leaders as we prepare for future hikes. We appreciate your feedback and suggestions. Here are some of the results:

* the most popular length of hike is between 4-7 miles
* the most popular difficulty of trail is those with typical 10-12% moderate grade followed closely by a rolling trail
*the most popular speed of hiking is a moderate pace between 2.1 and 2.5 mph
*more people preferred to take a little break every 30 minutes or so
*we love hiking in Shenandoah National Park's south district
*the most popular day for hiking was Saturday, but it was a close competition for all days
*most everyone likes to start hiking in the morning with times in/around 9:00 am
*thank you to those that are willing to help carpool :-)
*lots of us live in the Harrisonburg area
*we had a few new people interested in leading hikes for us. Yay!!!
* Some of your suggested hikes appeared on our February schedule

If you would like to see the complete survey results or if you have other suggestions for hikes, please email us at [email protected]

Information On Walk In Italy
Russ Eanes joined us on our December walkabout in Staunton. He asked if we might be able to advertise a walk he is leading in Italy this spring.

Here is a link to the walk on Pilgrim Paths.
https://pilgrimpaths.com/groups/2024/rieti-to-assisi-group-walk-with-russ-eanes-spring-2024/

Here's a short write-up from Russ:
Join me April 27-May 9, on a trekking tour from Rieti to Assisi, a wonderful introduction to the Way of St. Francis, a new pilgrim pathway in Italy.
This tour is designed as an excellent introduction to this beautiful and spiritual pathway. Encompassing hilltop towns, thrilling views and charming villages and cities, it winds its way from the Rieti Valley into Umbria, the "Green Heart of Italy," ending up in Assisi, the birthplace of St. Francis.
Over thirteen days of walking, discover some of the best delights that Italy has to offer. Lodging, breakfasts and dinners are all included in this package, along with an expert Italian tour guide, luggage transfer and a support van, and stories of St. Francis, told by Russ Eanes, author of Pilgrim Pathways to Assisi.

Warmly,
Russ Eanes: [email protected]

New Year's Challenge

1/2/2024

SSVC's December: Winter Hike Challenge Winner
Diana is the winner of our toboggan for the December Winter Hike Challenge. Diana joined us on our AT-Pocosin hike on December 22. Great way to start winter!!

Our next drawing will be at the end of January.
All you need to do is join us for a hike or walkabout this month to enter. We will have one winner each month through March and a grand prize winner at the end of winter.

Hope to see everyone on the trail.

PATC 2024 Challenge
The PATC is having a hiking challenge for 2024. The purpose of this challenge is to encourage our members to volunteer for the Club as well as to get outdoors and hike. This is also a terrific opportunity to cross some of those New Year’s resolutions off your list! If you joined us or did your own hike on New Year's Day, you already have one hike checked off.

How to Complete the Challenge
In order to complete the challenge, you must complete 25 hikes from the listed hikes and volunteer 50 hours in any capacity for the Club.

Hikes Aspect
There are 52 hikes listed in the challenge. We have listed twenty (20) parks or trails that are in our geographical areas, as well as six (6) specific days to hike and twenty six(26) “other hikes”. You must choose 25 of the 52 hikes to listed to complete the challenge.
Volunteer Aspect:
You can volunteer 50 hours with the Club in any capacity.

There will be one (1) Grand Prize Winner, randomly selected to receive a $50.00 gift card from REI Co-op and one of our popular PATC T-shirts!

How to Sign Up for the Challenge:
•Sign up for the challenge here:
https://forms.office.com/r/W9KWjp9RNb.
•Keep track of your hikes and/or hours. This is self-checking/honor system.
• When you are finished, please complete the Finisher’s Form here: https://forms.office.com/r/8rJdH6UmG3

**Please direct any questions about the challenge to Kristine Villatoro, Supervisor of Outreach, at [email protected]

Link to the list of hikes: patc_2024_challenge.pdf

New Year's Day Hikes: Trails at Braley Pond

12/26/2023

Hike Options:
On New Year's Day, we will celebrate by hiking trails in the Braley Pond area. The two hikes that we plan to offer are the Braley Pond Loop and the Bald Ridge overlook.

The Braley Pond Loop passes along the edge of the pond, through a mature forest, and by wildlife clearings. In the spring, wildflowers are abundant in this area. You may also take time to do some birding, look for a beaver lodge and water lilies, or even spot some frogs and salamanders.

For a longer hike, take Bald Ridge Trail to the crest of the ridge for an outstanding scenic overlook of Hankey Mountain, Crawford Mountain, Elliott Knob, and the Deerfield Valley. This up-and-back hike is 7 miles with an elevation gain of 1400 feet.

For more information on each hike, click on this link:
https://www.friendsofshenandoahmountain.org/braley-pond-loop.html

Trail Maintainers:
Judy Bartlett and Liz Montgomery maintain the Braley Pond Loop and Bear Draft Trail. They both live in Staunton and are fairly new to the area and to trail maintenance. In this short time, they have become active contributors.

Judy is chainsaw-certified and has attended PATC’s workshop on how to make rolling grade dips. Together Judy and Liz have been supporting North River trail maintainers by cutting out blowdowns on trails along the Rt-250 corridor. Judy also helped organize the Mile-a-Minute pull on Hankey Mountain and, on top of all that, she just got certified as a Virginia Master Naturalist.

Thank you for all your help, Judy and Liz!!

Hiking Challenges:
We have two hiking challenges that these hikes will help you with.

1) Winter Hiking Challenge: Winter officially starts on December 21 and ends March 18. During those winter months, we are challenging you to get out and join us. Each hike that you join will enter you into our monthly drawing for one of our PATC toboggans. We have one to give away for each month and one Grand Prize winner of a long-sleeve PATC shirt. Watch for our January calendar and join us.

2) North River Ranger District 90 Challenge: There are three ways to complete this challenge: hiking, doing trail maintenance, or completing a combination of both hiking and trail maintenance that adds up to 90. This is an on-going challenge with no time limit. Throughout the year, we hope to focus on these trails to help you complete this challenge. For more information, click on this link:
https://www.ssvc.org/north-river-district-challenge.html

December 2023

12/1/2023

SSVC’s 2023 Annual Meeting
SSVC’s Annual Meeting was held on Friday, November 17 at the Weyers Cave Community Center. We had approximately 25 members attend the potluck dinner and meeting. We currently have $483 in our checking account. We will spend this money down and close out the account over the next year or so. All reimbursements will be made through PATC after the SSVC account is closed. A yearly review of activities was given. Lynn Cameron gave the Conservation Committee’s report on the status of the Shenandoah Mountain National Scenic Area Proposal. Jeff Bolander gave a brief report on the status of the Chapter’s trail section. A vote was held on allowing leashed dogs on SSVC hikes at the discretion of the hike leader. The vote passed. Each hike leader will decide whether they want to allow dogs. Dogs must be on a 6’ or less leash and be compatible with other dogs. Only those hikes that state that dogs are allowed will allow dogs to join. A vote was also held on whether to post our hikes on Meet Up. The group voted not to post on Meet Up.

Several of our members received recognition by the Chapter at the Annual PATC meeting on November 14. They were: Honorary Life Member – James Fye; Hawksbill Award – John Kolp; Service Awards – Jana Newman, Lavern Beachy, Kate Hoffmeyer, Jim Todd, Russell Fitzgerald, Mike Waterman, Karen
Waterman, Jeff Bolander, Gary Flynn, Angela Lawrence, Howard Davis (Charlottesville member who opens his hikes to our chapter). Congratulations to all those who received awards. We also want to thank all the hike leaders and trail maintainers who volunteer for us.

In the absence of all members of the Nominating Committee, Malcolm Cameron presented the slate of officers for 2024-25. The new SSVC officers are:
President -- Pam Heinrich
Vice President -- Angela Lawrence
Secretary -- Jean Stephens
Treasurer -- Nancy Hall
The current incumbents will continue in other leadership roles:
Hike Leader Coordinator -- Jana Newman
Outreach Coordinator -- John Kolp
SSVC AT Trail Section -- Jeff Bolander
Conservation/Advocacy -- Lynn and Malcolm Cameron

After the meeting adjourned, Meg Moore of Harrisonburg shared her experiences on the Appalachian Trail. Meg did not complete a thru-hike but did hike a significant portion of the trail and had a lot of fun reminiscences and lessons learned from her “Life on the Trail”.

Award Winners

Honorary Life Member Award Winner-James Fye
Chapter President, Jean Stephens proudly nominated James Fye for the Honorary Life Member Award. This award is typically given to a member who have contributed to the Club over a significant period, been involved with multiple areas of the Club and have shown outstanding volunteer performance.

James has been very active as a hike leader, trail maintainer and shelter maintainer. For many years he maintained the Boones Run Trail and Shelter on Massanutten Mountain. He worked with Paul Boisen on a major rock moving project on the Boones Run Trail to divert water off the trail. He also worked extremely hard to organize volunteers to open the Crawford Knob Trail two years ago for which he received nomination for the Myron Avery Award. He now maintains that trail on a regular basis. Not only does James work on his own trails, but he participates in Chapter work trips and trips offered in the North River Ranger District and Lee District of the George Washington National
Forest. He is also willing to lend a hand to anyone who needs help on their trail section. Earlier this year, he volunteered on many of the road cleanup days in Shenandoah National Park (SNP) to remove debris from the winter storms. He also participated this year in several work trips on the Appalachian Trail with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. James also assists with outreach and invasive species removal projects. He has helped both years of the Show Your Love for Shenandoah volunteer day with leading volunteers in trail maintenance projects. He helped man the PATC booth at the Elkton AT Trail Community Day celebration. He was among the PATC's group to lead a hike in SNP on National Public Lands Day. He has assisted with invasive species removal projects at both Mutton Hollow and Schairer Trail Center and with the Mile-a-Minute Pull in the George Washington National Forest. He has replaced a water heater and assisted other plumbing issues at several PATC-owned cabins. James has also served on the Nominating Committee for SSVC.

Many of our members seem to fade away as they age. James only seems to get stronger and work harder. James represents the spirit of volunteerism and is well deserving of the Honorary Life Member Award.

Southern Shenandoah Valley Chapter: Hawksbill Award Winner
Our chapter's winner of the Hawksbill Award this year was John Kolp. The Hawksbill award recipient is a member who has shown outstanding volunteer performance over the last year. John has been a member of PATC for six years. During that time he has been a valued asset to our chapter. John has been a dedicated hike leader, participated in trail maintenance, and is our chapter’s Outreach Coordinator. He has managed all outreach tables that SSVC had this year, such as Earth Day Staunton and Riverfest. He is continually updating our table presentations to keep them fresh. As a hike leader, John has created a series of outstanding walkabouts through the City of Staunton to tell about Staunton history. These are great hikes for the winter months and they have had outstanding attendance from chapter members. This year, John also took on the task of chairperson for the Nominating Committee to search for new chapter leaders. It is thanks to John and members like him that SSVC remains an active and interesting part of the community.

Cabin District - SNP District: Hawksbill Award Winner
SSVC Members Millie and James Davis won the Hawksbill Award for the Cabin District-SNP District. They were nominated by Glen Tsaparas, Cabin Supervisor. In the nomination, Glen stated the following about Millie and James:
Both Millie and James Davis have done an excellent job in maintaining the Calf Mountain Shelter in Shenandoah National Park. This facility receives extensive overnight use since it is the first shelter north of the south boundary. The shelter is remote and not easy to access, requiring a lengthy drive and walk to the shelter. They made numerous maintenance trips servicing the moldering privy and cleaning the tent pads and privy interior. Millie restained the shelter and participated in repainting the roof. They also maintain the lengthy access trail from the AT to the shelter. Both Millie and James are dedicated to keeping the facility in exceptional condition and are truly deserving of this recognition.

North River District: Hawksbill Award Winner
Larry Ragland has done outstanding work as a trail maintainer this year and much more. In addition to doing a great job of maintaining his remote trail in Ramseys Draft Wilderness, he has taken on a second trail - Falls Hollow Trail on Elliott Knob. Larry has joined in on several of our Shenandoah Mountain Trail Crew worktrips when we are using crosscut saws and rope pullers. He is a certified B level crosscut sawyer. Larry carries tools on all his hikes and works on many other trail in North River District. Larry excels at introducing friends and neighbors to trail work by inviting them to accompany him on a work day. This has brought positive attention to PATC's efforts in the Shenandoah Valley. In addition to all this, Larry is a musician who performs at local wineries, breweries and restaurants on weekends. He can often be seen wearing his PATC cap and letting the audience know about PATC. If trail maintainers are present, he thanks them for their trail work and sings their favorite song. He even performed at PATC's annual picnic in Vienna. He is an outstanding leader in his quiet way.

Charlottesville Chapter: Hawksbill Award Winner
Howard Davis was the winner of the Hawksbill Award for the Charlottesville Chapter. Howard leads many hikes for the PATC and invites both the Charlottesville Chapter and SSVC members. Howard is a great story teller and avid bird watcher. It is great fun to take a hike with him! He also volunteered in the PATC group of leaders to lead a hike in SNP on National Public Lands Day. Howard maintains a section of the AT near Hightop in the southern district of Shenandoah National Park. On top of all the work on his trail, Howard volunteered to trim vegetation on the section south of his when that maintainer was out with an injury. Serving as a boy scout leader for many years, Howard is an expert camper and backpacker and has offered extended trips involving both of these. If you are considering trying out these types of adventures, Howard is the person to go with. Congratulations and thanks to Howard for all he does for both of our chapters and the PATC.

Hiking News

Our Newest Hike Leader:
Shout out to Brian Denny for completing the requirements to become our newest hike leader. Brian and his wife Heather are active members in our chapter, joining on many of our hikes and helping out on maintaining the trails. Brian's choice of hikes to co-lead were High Knob Fired Tower and Fridley Gap. His last hike helped us celebrate Opt-Outside Day to wear off our Thanksgiving feast. Heather and Brian are joining together to offer a great waterfall hike in December. Be sure to check our schedule. We look forward to hiking with Brian on many future hikes.

Meet our leaders:

President: Pam Heinrich
Pam's first hike with SSVC was to visit the site of Sexton Cabin on Jerrys Run Trail in 2015. She enjoyed hiking and learning from the group and wanted to become more involved. Pam leads hikes, maintains a section of the Appalachian Trail in the south district of Shenandoah National Park, and participates in outreach efforts. Serving as vice president, she assisted with emails, Facebook, website updates and other efforts to encourage others to join. Pam enjoys hiking sections of the Appalachian Trail, exploring Virginia and visiting national park sites. She gives credit to the many PATC friends for making her a more confident and stronger hiker and to her husband, Russell for going along with her spirit of adventure. When not hiking, Pam also enjoys cycling and riding her scooter.

Vice President: Angela Lawrence
Angela Lawrence became a member of PATC shortly after moving to the Valley in 2019. She completed hike leader training and began leading hikes in 2021. She also took over maintenance of Cliff Trail in 2021 until her move. After taking a cross-country trip to visit family and friends while hiking and exploring national parks this spring, Angela moved to Maryland for a short-term contract, but continues membership and involvement with the group and hopes to move back to the area soon.
When she's not hiking, she enjoys spending time with her 4 grandchildren, bicycling, camping, gardening and other outdoor activities. Her career is in public administration/town management.

Secretary: Jean Stephens
Serving as our president for the past 4 years, Jean has been involved in many activities with PATC. Just to name a few, she leads many types of hikes, helps maintain a section of the AT in the south district of SNP, and organizes social outings such as our Family/Friends Day and Annual Meeting. Our chapter is one of the most active thanks to her leadership. Jean began participating when she moved back to Staunton to help her mother. Jean's parents, Bill and Doris True were founding members of our chapter over 35 years ago. Shenandoah Mountain Trail is a special place for Jean, and recently she added on the responsibility of leading maintenance for part of this trail. Jean also volunteers in Shenandoah National Park with invasive species control. Through her efforts to treat hemlock and ash trees, she has seen much of the park most of us never have. Jean is also known by many in the chapter as the wildflower expert and is often asked by many to help identify flowers seen on the trail.

Thank you for all you do for our chapter!

Treasurer: Nancy Hall
Nancy has faithfully served as our chapter's treasure for many years. We appreciated her continued help. Nancy enjoys joining us on hikes and work trips especially on our North River District trails. She prefers being on a more remote trail and often participated on our efforts to clear Crawford Knob trail. Nancy also likes to take extended trips such as hiking long sections of the Pacific Crest Trail. She likes searching out trails that provide a more wilderness adventure. We can't wait to hear where her next adventure will take her.

Hike Leader Coordinator -- Jana Newman
Jana serves as our hike leader coordinator. Every month, she emails our hike leaders and organizes our hike schedule. We appreciate her extra help each month. Here is what Jana said about herself and PATC:

I relocated from the hills of Colorado to the hills of Virginia late last year and immediately began an internet search for a local hiking club. I was thrilled to find the active and very welcoming PATC-SSVC. Sometimes I want
a challenge and other times - well,
I don’t. So I really enjoy the variety of skill level, duration, and variety of hikes that are offered. My favorite hike is the hike that I get to do.

Outreach Coordinator -- John Kolp
John Kolp, originally from New Orleans, spent his entire working life in New York City, retiring to Staunton five years ago with his wife Cyndy. He survived that dense and intense place by frequently hiking on the 2,200 miles of marked and maintained trails that are within 100 miles of Manhattan. As an active member of the Adirondack Mountain Club, the Appalachian Mountain Club, the Sierra Club, and the Catskill 3500 Club he either led or was a participant on hundreds of hikes. For the Sierra Club's National Outings Program, he organized canoe, bike, and Service trips in the East and explored the National Parks out West on more than a dozen backpack trips. Within weeks of moving to Staunton, he joined the Old Dominion Appalachian Trail Club and PATC's Southern Shenandoah Valley Chapter to continue his happy healthy habit of active membership in hiking clubs!

SSVC AT Trail Section -- Jeff Bolander
Jeff Bolander and his son, Jon take care of our chapter’s section of the AT from Pinefield Gap to Ivy Creek Overlook in the south district of SNP. They began helping in November 2018 as one way for Jon to gain outdoor experience and developing his leadership. Together, they have kept check on this section, coordinated group workdays, and completed much work independently. Our section is fantastic thanks to their efforts. In addition to trail maintenance, Jon was actively involved in Boy Scouts and was awarded Scouting’s highest rank and promoted to Eagle Scout in 2020. Besides hiking and trail work, Jeff and Jon love other outdoor activities including kayaking and climbing. Jeff stated working on the AT together has been a fulfilling and rewarding experience, especially when they are thanked by fellow hikers for keeping the trail in great shape.

Conservation/Advocacy -- Lynn and Malcolm Cameron
Lynn and Malcolm Cameron are PATC North River District Managers. They love working with their 43 dedicated trail maintainers and the Shenandoah Mountain Trail Crew. This year North River volunteers logged 4,950 hours. Together they accomplished a lot.

Conservation - Lynn is the Conservation Chair for SSVC and Malcolm is also heavily involved. Their main conservation activity is working toward passage of the Shenandoah Mountain Act, which will permanently protect 92,000 acres of some of the greatest biodiversity and most outstanding hiking trails in the GWNF. This bill was reintroduced by both of Virginia’s US Senators in July. We hope it will get folded into the farm bill.

October 2023

10/2/2023

Save The Date
Our SSVC Annual Meeting and potluck dinner will be held on Friday, November 17 at 6:00 p.m. This is an election year for chapter officers, so we encourage everyone to attend to vote.
Everyone will be asked to bring a dish to share. We are still working out the details so stay tuned for more information
soon.

PATC’s Annual Meeting will be virtual again this year. It will be held on Tuesday, November 14 at 7:00 p.m. Details will be shared as we get closer to the date.

Updates From PATC
PATC has been working hard this year to update their website. They will soon be in the testing phases for many areas. Trail maintainers and hike leaders should soon see an updated reporting form in the testing phase. Please do not submit any further reports until we are given the okay. The new website should save the club money and be more efficient for all of us to use.

Another exciting update will be a Train the Trainer Trail Maintainers Certification Workshop. PATC is working with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy to create a trail maintainer workshop that teaches consistent trail maintenance practices over the Appalachian Trail. They will be giving workshops soon to those who would like to be trainers to other trail maintainers. They have promised to come to our area for the training, so if you are interested in becoming a trainer, watch for announcements of training the trainer events.

Reflections on Grayson Highlands
By Heather Denny

What do wild ponies, a sunrise, a dulcimer, and fungus all have in common? Answer: They were all part of a magical trip to Grayson Highlands State Park led by Howard Davis in September. Sixteen people from all over the state joined in this four-night tent camping adventure. Grayson Highlands State Park is located in the southwestern corner of Virginia. The park contains Virginia's highest peak (Mt. Rogers)
and part of the Appalachian Trail.

Each day multiple hiking options were available to accommodate varying interests and abilities. In the evenings, there were opportunities to share snacks, stories from the day, and games surrounded by the warmth of a campfire. Several participants shared their musical talents, including Sue Davis, who gave a dulcimer demonstration.

For me the trip was a wonderful way to incorporate travel, hiking, being in nature, meeting new people, and developing friendships. Many thanks to Howard Davis for his exceptional planning, communication, and leadership. I plan to join him on other trips in the future and hope to see some of you there as well!

Friends and Family Day at Sherando Lake
By Pam Heinrich

Our Family and Friends Day was held on Saturday, September 16 at Sherando Lake. This was our third year of hosting a day of hiking, food and fellowship for friends and family members to join us. We also hope that this more relaxed day may be a way to welcome new members and
for trail maintainers to meet each other. Sherando Lake is an excellent location for this event. There is a great picnic shelter, many hikes nearby, and a beautiful lake for fun in the water.

We rented the Williams Branch Picnic Shelter and the Glenwood-Pedlar rangers graciously arranged free entrance for our members. The day began with a hike to White Rock Falls led by John Kolp. Hike participants met a White Rock Gap parking and completed the loop to the falls using the Slacks and White Rock Falls Trails. The water level was very low, but the group marveled at the geology of the rocks as they descended the trail near the falls. Hikes continued as Millie Davis, along with her husband James met hikers at the picnic area to complete the Blue Loop trail, which led them to Torrey Ridge for part of their hike. The final hike was led by James Arnold and Pam Heinrich. Many new hikers joined the group on a tour around Sherando Lake.

All the hikes ended just in time to begin our picnic together. SSCV provided the hot dogs, hamburgers and veggie burgers. Our chefs were president, Jean Stephens and vice president,
Pam Heinrich. Everyone brought a side dish or dessert to share and we had lots of yummy food. Everyone enjoyed the opportunity to socialize and we decided that we should have more events just like this one.

North River Ranger District 90 Challenge
We are still holding our NRRD 90 Challenge – hike 90 miles or work 90 hours in the North River Ranger District and get a patch. A couple of our hikes this month will help you with this challenge. Details are on our website at:
http://www.ssvc.org/north-river-district-challenge.html

One final note
A cooler and lid for a bowl were left at the picnic. If one
these belongs to you, please contact Jean Stephens at
[email protected] to make arrangements to
get them returned.

May Newsletter

5/15/2023

Welcome to our May newsletter. We hope everyone has been out enjoying the spring weather and especially the wildflowers. It’s a busy time for trail maintainers with grass growing and invasives trying to take over.

NRRD 90 Challenge
While you are out enjoying your hikes and trail maintenance, make sure to take some time to hike in the GWNF’s North River Ranger District and earn some miles/hours towards your patch. Jeff Monroe of the Charlottesville Chapter earned his patch in February. (Jeff, I apologize for not putting this into an earlier
newsletter.) Heather and Brian Denny earned their patch in March. Congratulations to Jeff, Heather, and Brian! To learn about the requirements for the NRRD 90 patch, check out the link here: http://www.ssvc.org/north-river-district-challenge.html

Thank You!
Thank you to Jana George, a new member from Highland County, who has taken over putting togetherthe hike schedule for us each month. She is doing a fantastic job! Remember that we are always open to suggestions for hikes.
Email Jean ([email protected]) or
Pam ([email protected]) with
your suggested hike and we will try to find a hike leader to lead.

New Hike Leaders
Congratulations to Gary Flynn for completing his hike leader training requirements. Several of you may have hiked with Gary over the last two months as he was completing his mentored hike requirements. He is now fully certified and ready to lead on his own.

James Arnold is also working on his hike leader requirements and should be finished soon.

Thank you to Gary and James for taking the time to become hike leaders.

Help Wanted
Web Design: We are looking for someone with IT skills who can help us update our website. If anyone
out there has web design knowledge, please contact Jean or Pam at [email protected].

Hike Leader Assistance:
Hey hikers! We're putting a call out for someone with hike leader training to represent the PATC in partnership with the local James Madison University (JMU) chapter of Kesem to volunteer to lead a group of camp participants on a hike at or close to Camp Blue Ridge. Kesem is a nonprofit organization that supports children facing a parent's cancer. Every summer Kesem hosts children (ages 6-18) at overnight camps across the country. The JMU chapter of Kesem hosts their camp at Camp Blue Ridge in Montebello, Virginia from July 30th to August 4th.

If you are available that week to help lead a hike at Camp Blue Ridge, please get in touch with us at [email protected].

Trail Magic Day
We have had to cancel our Trail Magic Day in conjunction with the Harrisonburg AT Community because of lack of volunteer assistance. It is uncertain if we will reschedule at this time.

Get to Know PATC
Are you curious about what PATC is all about? Did you know that PATC members are able to attend monthly PATC Council meetings? PATC Council meets virtually the second Tuesday of every month, except July and November. If you would like to sit in on a meeting to see what goes on and learn a little more about PATC happenings, contact Jean Stephens at
[email protected]. Jean can share the link to the meeting when it is available.

Hike Leader Training
There will be an in-person Hike Leader Training on June 24, location to be announced. If you are interested in becoming a hike leader, registration will be available on the PATC website (patc.net) soon. Hike leaders must take either the online or in-person training, take a basic first aid course and lead two mentored hikes. We would love to have you join us as a hike leader!