Day Two on Spike

We got to Tennessee two days ago. We started working on the trail yesterday. The weather was great. It was sunny and warm. The forest is very pretty and there is a sparking stream that crosses the trail. We started off the day by learning about the tools. They all have cool names. There’s the McCloud, the mattock, the rouge hoe, the Pulaski, and the fire rake. We also learned about duff. It’s the leaves and organic matter that covers the forest floor. “Duff is not the stuff.” A lot of what we did yesterday was clearing off the duff and digging down to the next layer of soil. We definitely spent a good time moving rocks as well. Big rocks. Really big rocks. It felt good to get dirty and sweaty.

Today it’s raining and we’re trapped inside. We cleaned and sharpened tools and watched a video about hiking and trail building. It was good but I’m eager to get outside again.

This is a haiku I wrote:

The mattock is sharp
The duff is thick and leafy
Today I build trails.

~ Sam