(235) 5/15,16,17/2026
Appalachian Trail rehabilitation continues
at Agony Grind

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Friday morning 5/15/2026
An eager crew of 14 Volunteers out today

At the worksite, returning Volunteer Leo
gets the rock bars ready

AT supervisor, Rich is here to lend a hand

Howie points to where we get the rocks
for these new steps

Searching the hillside rock pile for the next great rock

Then it's back to the bathtub to build more steps

This is why we call this worksite the bathtub

Jeff bringing in the next step

Looks like Rich was surprised it actually fit

With a step on the line,
this bathtub has room for only one

Howie adjusts the alignment

While Leo does a little shaping,
Tom keeps the rock from moving

Using feathers and wedges to finish the shaping

Marty explains to Leo
just how big a piece we want to break off

The next step is on the move

It's in there,
but there's not much room for anybody else

Howie making a bed of crush for the step to rest on

Jeff making a little end of day adjustment

End of day crew meeting and a surprise visit from Len

A great Saturday morning with a crew of 14 volunteers

Peter looks like he's prepping for a thru-hike

Leo begins by filling in all the nooks and crannies

We are building steps through this crevice
(aka bathtub)

Each step is carefully selected
and if needed, shaped to fit

So each step will fit perfectly

Each step is different,
so we're making them fit as we go

We've decided this is the next step going in

Selecting another carefully split
step from the rock pile

Gently guiding it towards our bathtub

And it's a doozy

We carefully split big rocks
to make steps like these

Many times we add extensions to the highline
to reach the steps further out in the rock pile

This makes it easier to fit into the crevice" class="imageLink">

This makes it easier to fit into the crevice"> We select some rocks with a "V" shape bottom.
This makes it easier to fit into the crevice

But most steps look rectangular like this

Others are a little longer, like this one

But they all ride the highline going to the bathtub

And put generally in place

A little adjustment here, a little tappy tap there,
now it's right

Bummer it's not level

Jeff tilts it up while Russ does a little shaping

We needed to shape both sides of the crevice

Dan lies flat out on his stomach
and tries to break it clear

Setting one step

After discussing what step comes next

Bob found the next step out in the rock pile

With Dan and Leo on the belay

George guides it up and over the rock pile

Russ prepare a base for the incoming step

Jeff grabs it and takes control

And it is slowly nudged into place

Peter gets in there and makes it secure for the night

We continue to build sturdy and sustainable steps

Saturday end of day crew meeting,
discussing how to proceed tomorrow

Saturday Time Lapse video

Sunday morning and we are raring to go to work

I see empty buckets, so Luca,
we need more crush

Howie prepares the base for the next step,
I see a real tight crevice coming up

Luca gets experience doing the tappy tap

Success in his first attempt,
a nice clean break

Now he's learning how to use the hammer drill

Look at that, another successful break

A piece from that break is already being used

We paused to repair the griphoist.
The shear pins need replacing

All fixed,
Luca wants to learn how to operate the griphoist

Work continues in the bathtub.
We are making great progress

Jeff has the next step on the highline

It's a great fit, and level

Adding a little extra crush to make it stable

Looking downhill Friday morning

Looking downhill Sunday afternoon.
We are almost out of the crevice/bathtub

Looking uphill.
Wow 10 new steps this weekend

End of weekend crew meeting,
We will be back in two weeks

Sunday Time Lapse video



© Marty Costello 2013 - 2026