Log 2015031801

I purchased a Roughneck plastic container for my truing stand.  It's twice as big for what I need it for and I'm not sure about where I'm store it yet?

Recently, I've had my lower back problem reemerge.  But I've noticed that it gets better when I hike or workout.  It's bizarre that this is the effect considering the stress that I have to put on it to do this.   My guess is that that my entire body has not been getting adequate exercise when I'm at home and I'm loosing muscle mass unevenly, causing some of the lessening strands to stretch around others that have yet to compensate.  All I know is that it works better than 800mg Tylenol.

On the 15th & 16th, I made my initial inspection of Whipple Section - Buckeye Trail's off-road (North Country National Scenic Trail concurrent).  I wanted to do it early next month, but I monitor the severe weather conditions from the desk and weeks of areal flood watches and warnings, coupled with National Forest Service (NFS) campground closures prompted me to do it early.

Whipple's low point is at 604ft along the Little Muskingum River at a position that is roughly 7 miles north of the Ohio River.  The river's level near the SE tip of Buckley Island is 584ft above sea level there and at the mouth of the Little Muskingum in Marietta of Washington County as well.  I wish that I knew how many miles upstream our low point it, but it could be about 7 or 8?  Considering how far in land the Little Muskingum goes before it reaches BT/ NCT, I'm surprised at just how little it gains in that short amount of distance.

The good news is that while along the Little Muskingum, Whipple's sand surface was on a top of a ledge, some 5 to 7ft from the bloated river.  And it would really take a lot for a flooded river to overtake it, like a 200 year flood or more.

Whipple is passable at the moment, in fact, most people can reach average speeds on it.  With that being said, I accounted for 145 deficiencies in Whipple's 13.59 miles of off-road in the Marietta Unit of the Wayne National Forest.  Most of them are downed trees of 18" of less that are resting entirely on the trail's surface.  We have a sawyer course coming up in May and I intend to be there.  But without a sawyer, it would take over 24 days per person to clear those obstructions with a hand saw.  However, my experience with a chainsaw suggests that it won't get much faster.