(225) 10/17,18,19/2025
Appalachian Trail rehabilitation
at Agony Grind - Continues

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Friday morning 10/17/25
coldest morning so far, 38° before the sun came up

Back at the worksite,
Jim is at the griphoist and ready to go

Joe starts his day
by carrying buckets of crush

It takes a group effort to get the rock on the line

George gives the familiar 'Hold Hoist'
It's time to lift a rock in the air

Len is going to single-handedly make this step secure

Triple D starts making crush
using the 8 pound sledge

Now, with full sun,
the weather has warmed up nicely

Lets move this dead tree blocking the trail

Dan has found the perfect spot
to harvest mineral soil and big rocks

Paul will guide this big rock along the highline

With the tree out of the way,
it's time to build a crib wall

We use the biggest rocks
at the base of the crib-wall

Moving big rocks is'nt easy.
We don't always get it right the first time

Crew meeting and the end of a beautiful day

Saturday morning
and another great Volunteer turnout

Len already has a rock on the line

Marty gives Katie
a quick overview of the belay

Marci takes a turn working the griphoist

Sometimes we work
in beautiful but tricky locations

Linda helps Len build another crib-wall

Dan's office is really just a big hole in the ground

When the rock has been lifted high enough,
Marty gives the “Hold Hoist" command

With a little help from Marci,
Katie's is now working the griphoist

Claudia making big crush using the double jack

Everyone takes turns making crush,
right now it's Joes turn

Dan just sent out another big rock

Bob guides it to the new crib-wall

With help from Howie, they set it in the crib-wall

The next section just needs the trail to be stabilized

What a great spot for a lunch break

Back at Dan's “office" another big rock is ready to go

We'll keep adding big rocks until it's secure

Claudia taking her turn on the griphoist

This is a 2:30 rock.
AKA last rock on the wire today

After this crib-wall,
the trail make a sharp turn

Then heads up across here

Today's crew meeting with smiles all around.
We had another very productive day

Sunday morning,
we have a crew of 16 volunteers today

Lets take a walk up the rebuilt trail

Sebastian, Jim and Claudia
are working at the crib wall

Amanda and Len start clearing the cobble
out of the upper section

Another old tree is in the way
so Chris removes it using his electric chainsaw

It is pretty big, but Chris made it look easy

Next, cut it in half so we can move it

Dan is spending soooo much time in that hole

He wanted it to feel like his office

Here's Dan and Beau
getting a sling around another big rock

It's all hooked up and ready to go

Jeff coaches Sebastian
on the subtleties of working the belay

Beau takes control as it leaves Dan's “office"

Too good for the crib-wall, it will make a perfect step

Short overview video

Howie has the next one ready

This is a really big crib-wall rock

Using a rope puller to move it into place

Howie has the next big step on the line

Setting it in a bed of crush,
helps the step stay in place

And there it is,
one beautiful step

This time of year, mother nature
keeps us busy clearing the trail

Final crew meeting in a very crowded parking lot

Today's time lapse video
of the new upper section



© Marty Costello 2013 - 2026