The Unturned Stone

Since we’ve finished flying in the material, a full crew has been building steps along the Deep Gap Trail at Mount Mitchell State Park.

A short set of steps winds its way through the forest. This section of trail is already completed, except for some finishing touches. We will clean up extra gravel and stone chips and spread organic matter around the trail to minimze erosion and promote native flora growth.

The big gully on the Deep Gap Trail will require 100 or more steps to climb the long steep incline. Ian, Jody and Fred discuss the project at the base of the big flight.

This picture was taken on the last day of flying. Just right of center, a small pile of big stones is visble amongst the trees, showing just how precise the helicopter drops had to be land materials along the trail. Props to Pirate Airlift for their work and thanks for the photograph.

We rarely get to enjoy a garden wall, because we do the wall and then leave and someone else does the garden. We don’t usually get to the see the plants as they grow or watch the garden design emerge. A few days ago we ventured back to Waynesville and got to see how quickly the garden rose up around our walls.

Foxgloves and other flowers flourish in front of the big wall.

The trailhead steps are already surrounded by flowers and grasses. In addition to making the steps more beautiful, the plants help control erosion. The goat path, where we walked and staged our stone, is still visible at the base of the wall, but will soon be grown over with plants. This was the last section finished and has already made a great recovery, in the six weeks since we left the site.

A swallowtail butterfly visits one of the many flowers in the garden.