The Pisgah Conservancy

Water always wins… unless the trail is built to guide it elsewhere!
Some of our frequent flyers may have noticed work happening along Grassy Road, the access path to Sycamore Cove Trail. Once the climb leveled out, seeps, wet spots, and deep ruts were encouraging visitors to skirt around the trail, slowly widening its impact over time.

This week our Trail Crew worked with our mini-excavator to tackle long-needed drainage improvements uphill from the new pedestrian bridge. Using the excavator allows the crew to carefully re-shape drains that have been maintained for years by hand or with less nimble equipment.
It may look dramatic at first, but these rolling grade dips are built to last, smooth, gradual changes in slope are one of the best ways to keep water off the trail.

Fun fact: the “Rolling Grade Dip” is also known as the “Coweeta Dip,” is named after the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory in the Nantahala National Forest, where the technique was developed, just over an hour from Pisgah!