Day Nine

Since it was a rainy day today I decided to spend the day working in the wood shop. Greg was very helpful and set me up with a router and some oak that would stand up to exposure from the weather. I made four signs to put along the trail. Two of these were large and intended for the two ends of the trail; displaying the full names of where the trail was headed. One says Bulkhead and has a picture and an arrow. The other says Balancing Rock with an arrow. The other two signs are for midway points and just have arrows with destination symbols on them. To finish all four I went up stairs in the shop and treated the signs with an oil based stain. The stain provides sealing to prohibit breakdown by UV rays and moisture. After I wiped the excess stain off I found that the letters were darker as the stain pooled there. This makes them pop without using bright colors that might not seem fitting for the trail. Tomorrow I plan to bring them up and mount them at specific places on the trail. I am still deliberating between using nails or screws to secure the signs as I am not sure which will provide the best security and limit damage to the trees. A bit of research tonight is in order!

I am glad that I did not go up today because of the rain and it also gave me a little break from hiking. I should be able to complete the trail work tomorrow. On Friday I will blaze the trail and do a couple of final passes to polish up any areas that may require work. Over the weekend I will review my project proposal to ensure that I will complete all tasks as planned. I appreciate the help that I received from Greg today in the selection of wood and the opportunity to discuss the signs and stains. It was great to have the availability of the wood shop and tools to expedite the production of the signs. Everyone at Proctor has been extremely supportive of my project and that has helped me get through some of the tougher days...the days when it was a bit more difficult to start the daily climb.

I am realizing that while I am primarily on my own most days, the entire project has really involved quite a few people. There are the obvious people that are my mentors and sponsors for the project but there are also many people that have provided subtle feedback and encouragement. My classmates ask me "how is it going". Faculty make inquiries and tell me about the difficulties they have had when trying to get from the Bulkhead to Balancing Rock in the past. Mike stopped by the other day when he saw me returning from the mountain and let me know that he and Buzz had run the trail over the weekend. I am experiencing first hand the impact that small gestures of interest and caring can make and am grateful. More tomorrow!