Drainage Workshop - September 1999

Last revised: March 08, 2007

Appalachian Trail Drainage Workshop - September 18, 1999
On September 18, 1999, Morgan Sommerville of the Appalachian Trail Conference led a workshop on trail drainage techniques. The basic premise of the workshop - it is much easier to prevent erosion on the Appalachian Trail than to rehabilitate or relocate the Trail. When new sections of the A.T. are built, proper outslopes and dips are included to keep water from running down the Trail, but on older sections more intensive techniques must be used. These include installing rock or wood waterbars or drainage ditches, and in wet or badly eroded areas may include other methods to harden the Trail. Participants in the workshop came from both the Carolina Mountain Club and the Tennessee Eastman Hiking and Canoeing Club.

Click on the small image or description to see a larger image:

	Morgan Sommerville conducting the "classroom" portion of the workshop in Iron Mountain Gap. Morgan reviewed trail drainage techniques before we hiked in to the work site (45KB).
	Ed Oliver and other workshop participants digging a trench for a log waterbar (54KB).
	Taking a lunch break after learning how to construct log waterbars and other drainage structures (47KB).
	Workshop participants back at Iron Mountain Gap at the end of a productive and informative workshop (51KB).