The Unturned Stone

A massive thunderstorm boiled up over Pilot Mountain today, stranding the trail crew two miles out in the woods. When the rain hit they took shelter under a nearby cliff. When the lightning started, they wandered out into the middle of the woods. A lesser known fact about lightning is that its attracted to cliffs and outcroppings. When it hits such a place, it tends to run down, which could be deadly to anyone seeking shelter underneath.

Lightning did hit the cliff, arcing through the parking area situated on top of the outcropping. One car’s electrical system was completely toasted and wouldn’t start. Another car had its front hubcaps popped off. A third car had a fist-sized hole blown through a tire. Later, on a treacherous trip down the mountain, it turned out that the anti-lock brakes were damaged as well. A hundred feet further along in the parking lot, the lightning chewed up concrete, spewing chunks into the air. The cliff-top parking lot had been hit before, causing nine cars to be towed out, including one containing a couple riding out the storm. They were shaken, but unharmed. Their car didn’t fare so well.

The National Weather Service’s web site has several useful resources about lightning safety and the science of this fascinating phenomenon.

After finishing up the Osborne Tract, the trail crew joined the residential team at the River and Rock house, helping to keep this large and complex project moving.

On Monday Mike dropped the form under the arch. With help from Greg on the table saw cutting capstones, he was able to finish this wall, the first of many sections of veneer on the house itself.

Work began on the next section of the house, where an enormous boulder protrudes through the exterior wall into an expansive shower. Carmen and Scott set base stones and started the build up of this wall, which will be the tallest on the house, at roughly eight feet. The bathroom boulder is at the left in the picure above. The mortared joints have not yet been struck. Waiting until the mortar has begun to set helps to keep the stones clean.

We are building two very different sets of steps in the back of the house. The first is formal, connecting two levels of patio attached to the house. The other is big and burly, leading from the house down to the pool.

The rocks standing up to the right side of the the formal steps mimic the steps down into the pool, another element that unites the disparate parts of the project into a cohesive whole.

Formal steps would have looked awkward in the midst of this boulder wall. This set of steps is dry laid. Each step ‘tags’ over the one beneath it, ensuring a solid, stable walking surface.

The weather cooperated beautifully and the trail crew finished the Osborne Tract early this week.

This gentle, rolling trail will allow everyone to enjoy this stunning view.

Work continued on the Osborne Tract this week. Despite threatening weather reports, the trail crew made great progress and barring more rain, will finish grading next week. The mini excavator has been the workhorse of this project, cutting the trail through the meadow. We have the greatest office in the world.

Daniel and Miriam create the treadway out of crusher run, raked over geo-textile fabric. The wider area where Miriam stands allows for passing on this accessible trail.

Over the course of the last two months, TUSI has grown to thirteen employees. Ian started earlier this week and the newest recruit, Jody, will begin on the trail crew in early June.

Today was the first time that everyone from both crews met. We feasted on fried green tomato BLT’s at Early Girl Eatery in Asheville and then bowled a few frames at Sky Lanes. Scott, bowling as Wolff, rolled the high game of 187. Greg topped out at 20 miles per hour and Pythons rolled the slowest ball at a lazy 5 mph.
Many thanks to Fred and Wolff for sponsoring this event. It was great to meet everyone: Mike, Mike, Scott, Carmen, Daniel, Miriam, Ian, Jody, Dave and Greg.

We have started work on the actual River and Rock house, though plenty of work remains on the grounds. The first order of business has been to build an arch over the man made stream that runs under the house. This is the first of three such arches; the other two will be built into walls that circle the driveway in the front of the house.
Carmen stands in the spillway of the stream, in front of the plywood form that we will support the stones during construction of the arch.

The arch form is supported by scrap lumber. When the arch is finished, we will knock the scraps free and the form will drop out from under the stones. The setting stones- seen here sitting on the edges of the spillway- serve two important roles: they start the arch at the proper angle and they distribute the weight of the arch into the wall.

The arch emerges. Here Mike considers a possible keystone (later discarded.) We will drop the form next week.

Last week we opened a small residential project, putting up a stone veneer on the foundation of a beautiful artist loft. The many windows overlook gardens and dry laid retaining walls and steps laid by the TUSI years before.
The veneer is eight inches thick, give or take a bit for the rough, natural contours of the mountain stone. Scott and Ian spent much of this week here, laying up this lovely section of wall. Orange juice and coffee represent a well-balanced breakfast. A blue crab orchard stone is planned for the cap, blending the house and the foundation together into a seamless visual whole.

This week we finished the pool wall and coping, before moving onto a series of small patios around the house. Here are more details from the pool wall.

The skimmer box mimics a natural shadow in the boulders set above the edge of the pool.

The underside of the diving board features a lonely figure sitting atop a stack of small stones.

Scott fits the final stones in one of the small patios attached to the house. The unpainted sections of the house will be covered with a stone veneer that will draw its inspiration from the boulder walls around the pool. Ultimately, it should look as if the house grew out of the landscape.

On May 1, The Unturned Stone opened a new project in Pilot Mountain State Park, renovating and adding to the Ledge Spring Trail. This project will take roughly nine months to complete, include three miles of trail and approximately 600 stone steps.

One of our crew, Miriam, drills into a boulder to crea