A network of well-loved trails in disrepair:
As with many of Pisgah’s trails, especially those at higher elevation, numerous seeps into the trail create major challenges when it comes to maintaining a sustainable trail. These seeps cause boggy areas, mud holes, and trail entrenchment which result in resource damage and an unpleasant hiking experience with wet boots in deep mud.
Over an 18-month period, 5.4 miles (including 1.1 miles of Graveyard Ridge East) of continuous, high-elevation trail received the heavy maintenance and rehabilitation it desperately needed.
Excitingly, this project also marked the first direct trail improvement project completed in the Graveyard Fields complex, standing as an initial step in our restoration of the Graveyard Field trail network at large.
Professional trail builders rehabilitate the trail:
Graveyard Ridge East is a hike-only trail that is more narrow and sinuous than Graveyard Ridge West trail and Ivestor Gap trail, meaning this rehabilitation project required both heavy machine work and a light touch.
Thanks to Black Diamond Trail Designs, effective and consistent drainage was achieved through:
- Removal of berms (soil that has built up on the outside of the trail tread, forming a barrier that prevents water from running off the trail)
- Outsloping (trail tread that is sloped away from the hillside to encourage water to flow off the trail and prevent erosion)
- Installation of armored grade dips (drainage structures that use a reversal in grade to force water off the trail and prevent erosion)
The construction of impressive stone causeways and open stone culverts allow for a more comfortable – and more dry – hiking experience while traversing through boggy areas and the many seeps that spring from the mountainside of this high-elevation trail.
Additionally, a series of stone staircases were constructed to stabilize the trail tread, helping to mitigate past and prevent future rutting and entrenchment on this trail.
Shortly after this project was completed, the area was hit hard by Tropical Storm Fred in August 2021, resulting in a 100-yard landslide on a portion of the recently rehabilitated trail. Thankfully, some contractor equipment was still on site and Black Diamond Trail Designs was able to return quickly to address the damage. They stabilized the site and constructed a new heavy stone stairway to help hikers traverse the landslide area safely.
The end result – A series of complementary trail rehabilitation projects:
With that final touch, this part of the project was completed. Now a beautiful trail that offers a more comfortable hiking experience, Graveyard Ridge East provides awe-inspiring views of Graveyard Fields and the massive flank of Black Balsam in this special corner of the Pisgah high country.
The completion of this project on Graveyard Ridge East is a great achievement for The Pisgah Conservancy. It builds on our completion of work on Ivestor Gap trail in 2020 and work performed by the U.S. Forest Service on upper Graveyard Ridge trail in 2021.
These complementary projects resulted in:
- A better hiking experience
- Newly opened vistas
- Reduced negative impacts to the Dark Prong watershed
- Easier trail maintenance going forward
- Improved access for U.S. Forest Service personnel
