Rausch Gap Shelter Restoration Project
Hey, folks, I know that Tenn. Viking has posted this on the home page, but I'd like to take this opportunity to personally invite everyone to join the Blue Mtn. Eagle Climbing Club this summer as we attempt to restore the Rausch Gap Shelter to its former glory. Some of you may remember that, in years past, this shelter had been nicknamed "the Halfway Hilton", but over the last 40 years, exposure to the elements has caused structural damage that must be repaired this year. This is an involved project with many different phases, so that even if you're not a master carpenter or log builder, there's still PLENTY to do.
This site is on Pa. State Game Lands #211, so all applicable Game Commission regulations apply. While we do not yet have permission for overnight camping at the site, we DO have permission to drive in and out, which will save us a lot of time and effort. (There are several FREE "primitive" campsites on the nearby Greenland tract of State Forest land which can be used for overnight use, but these need to be reserved at the District Forester's Office in Cressona, Pa. before you use them.)
For more information, contact Shelterbuilder through a PM here, or log on to BMECC's website www.bmecc.org to check the upcoming schedule and for alternate contact information.
Hope to see you out there!
Project update - wanna help us move forward ???
During the last 2 weeks, I've been racing around like crazy, trying to figure out a new direction in which to take this project (now that the original project isn't possible). I keep coming back to the belief that I can't really improve on the ORIGINAL CONCEPT behind this shelter (although there ARE certain features that need to be changed in order to protect the structure from the weather)...so I've decided to simply replace the damaged logs (really, they were used utility poles that were old when we got them) with new logs, but keep the rest of the structure FUNDAMENTALLY UNCHANGED except for a wider roof.
I've contacted the local Dirstict Forester, who has agreed to let us purchase 2 dozen Larch trees which we will turn into "replacement logs"...but we've gotta get 'em cut down first!! So....
If anyone would like to come out and help us to get this process started, we'd appreciate the extra help. We're going to get together on Saturday, June 25th in the Game Lands parking lot off of Gold Mine Rd. (between Pa. Rt. 443 and the town of Tower City) around 9 AM (the State Forest tract is about 9 miles from the parking lot). If you're proficient in felling, that's great, but after the trees are felled, they need to be limbed and cut to length, and THIS work can be done with just a bow saw. We may even have to move some of the trees after they're prepped (to get them out of the "felling zone"), and that'll mean using log carriers and teams of 6 to 10. Bring lunch, water, a chainsaw (and/or bow saw) and gas oil and tools FOR YOUR SAW, work gloves...and all appropriate safety gear for chainsaw work. If you have any other log tools (log carriers, peevees, etc.), bring 'em along. PM me here for more info or for detailed directions.
One word of warning -- felling trees is a dangerous occupation (possibly the most dangerous work out there). As anyone who has had any certification training knows, trees don't always fall the way that the sawyer thinks they will, so the felling zone is NO place for fooling around. ("No fooling while felling") Please leave the kids, the pets, and the booze at home, because once the tree starts to fall, it doesn't stop until it hits the ground...and anyone in the way goes with it.
Thanks.