Volunteers repair washed-out Soapstone stream crossings

Feet no longer get wet at the stream crossing heading east from the dead end at Audubon Terrace.

by Marlene Berlin

The Soapstone Valley Trail stream crossings, which took a beating during the August deluges, are now a surprising delight to cross. Someone’s been working to repair the crossings. But who?

Alex Sanders, the district manager of the DC branch of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, said this was the work of Devin Rhinerson and Tod Kutla, overseers of this trail, and 21 Accenture volunteers.

“PATC collaborates with Accenture regularly,” Sanders told us in an email. “Their employees often volunteer with us on scheduled work crews. Monday, October 9, was Accenture’s Day of Service, and we were happy to work with them on Soapstone Valley Trail. They did a great job. Now let’s hope we don’t get another major storm that washes all of the work away!”

Unfortunately, rain later that week washed out their work on the stream crossing a short distance from the trailhead off Broad Branch Road.

The October 9th repairs at this crossing were washed away a few days later.

But the tree trunks and rocks shoring up the new mud bank created by the summer deluges held firm.

Thank you Devin, Tod and volunteers from Accenture for maintaining our trails.