Wash Outs

[Mother Natures Son]

From Pine Grove State Park (PA) up until the Allentown area, the heavy rain storms we have had lately have pounded the trail. It seems the storms have followed the trail. Have anyone noticed any damaged so far? We are to get more heavy rain the rest of the week.

[peakbagger]

That would apply to all of New England. Thru hikers are getting free miles this year due to trail closures.

[Traveler]

Lots of water damage along sections of the AT and other trails that have taken a beating, leaving behind washed out trail bridges, eroded soil, significant standing water trapped by debris dams, and loose rocks in the treadway that makes for unstable walking and other surprises. It will take maintainers a while to reach a lot of these problem areas, given the weather issues, a lot of the volunteers who turn out to help clear trails are facing problems in their own properties and communities that need help, so its reasonable to expect trail clearing to be lower on the priority list in some of the harder hit areas.

That said, not every blowdown requires a Sawyer or a team of people to move out of the way. In times like these all of us essentially become maintainers by removing blowdowns that can be moved by hand and removing debris dams so water can drain off the treadway. If brush cannot be dragged off the trail into the woods, positioning it so hikers can pass will do a lot to get back to normal. Blowdowns or other flooding damage requiring trail manager attention, get photographs (with coordinates if possible) of the problem and when you have access to email get that information to the organization that maintains the trail you are on. That small step alone can save a lot of effort and speed the clearing of trails.

[Seatbelt]

And yet, someone is attempting an FKT. SOBO.
https://fastestknowntime.com/tracking