This, That Link, and T'Other

Good Morning Fellow NCTr's:

As previously communicated, the Clarion Chapter of the NCTA and the Keystone Trails Association are working on trail-improvement projects this upcoming weekend up around Cook's Forest. I'm planning on heading up there for the day on Saturday to help out and to check out the new piece of equipment the PA chapters have available to use. It is some sort of powered wheelbarrow that will be used (on this project) to transport gravel. If anyone else has an interest in spending the day working with them and wants to carpool to save some gas $ let me know and we can work out the details. The email from Joyce Appel indicates that the crew will take off from the cabins at Cooksburg at 8:00 AM so a very early start from here will be warranted.

Also wanted to let you know that the Wikki Trail Guide for PA http://www.northcountrytrail.org/guide/index.php/Pennsylvania has been updated to reflect the shelter construction and trail extension/rerouting that's been done this season within Wampum's range, not to mention my better understanding of the route at Cemex. The linked maps have been redrawn and some new photos added. The neat thing about the Wikki is that anyone can edit or add information, so if you want to update it (or fix any of the verbage) you are able to. It's a good resource to point people to when they ask us, "So, where does the North Country Trail go through this area?"

The other link is to a report by our NPS Ranger/Volunteer Coordinator Dan Watson talking about North Country Trail volunteer hours, found here http://www.northcountrytrail.org/insight/ He reports a 14% increase in the number of volunteer hours nationally on behalf of the North Country Trail for the past year. I can't verify it, but I'm wagering a full 2% of that is attributable to the time Lee put in on designing, funding, and building that new hiker shelter at Watt's Mill this past spring! Just my gut feeling on that one though.

Have a great week! Tentative plans for chapter trailwork are for next Sunday evening and the following Tuesday morning. I'll send out the details once verified.

Thanks for all you do for the trail,
Dave Brewer
330 531-1623

Trail Therapy 10/28/10

Good Evening Fellow NCTr's:

Lee Fairbanks, Doug Turner, and I headed out to the state line at PA Gamelands 285 this cool, gray afternoon to work on our little reroute project there and the session proved to be both productive and therapeutic. Doug worked down on the relatively (relatively!) level section at the top of the stream valley, grubbing out the rocks, roots, and dirt along the flagline to make a connection to our existing trail. While he was doing that Lee and I worked our way eastward, up a pile of root-infested rocks, digging sidehill and a switchback. The three of us knocked out eighty-some yards of trail in two short hours.

It got therapeutic today as each of us kind of worked our own area of what was being built, crafting the new treadway with what each of us knows about building trail. Not a lot of conversation, just kind of being "in the moment" in the woods.

I can't speak for the other two guys, but for the most part, my thoughts included contemplation of my love/hate relationship with trail rocks. As we decide to build a new section of North Country Trail across a big old pile of discarded strip mine rocks we always agree that it's gonna be "some tough digging." Then when we start digging I think, "Man, this is tough digging!" - as I set aside the pulaski, hazel hoe, and McCloud and have to use the pick-mattock to pry them out of the ground. But then, once I get going, I start realizing the possibilities, like "I can build a little step-like thing here with that big rock," or "These'll be GREAT for that little bit of cribbing I need right here for this sidehill!" or "This will look awesome with that little wall of rocks right there." Trail Rocks - hate 'em - love 'em.

Enough of that - some photos from today are here http://picasaweb.google.com/105725471641034380528/WampumChapter2010TrailWork#

Between family and work obligations I am going to be tied up the rest of this weekend so, tentatively speaking, our next trip out probably won't be until next weekend sometime. I'll get the word out as soon as I know something definite.

Thanks for all you do for the trail!
Dave

Trail Work Plan For Thursday 10/28

Good Afternoon Fellow NCTr's:

We've had a little trail reroute project near the state line at Gamelands 285 on the back burner for several months now - we'll plan on starting on that this Thursday afternoon, October 28th. We're taking the trail off the Game Commission two-track and over into the woods along the top of a hill with a nice view down into a stream valley.

The plan is to meet at the Rt. 251 (state line trailhead) at 4:00 PM and work for a couple of hours on this project. I'll bring the tools (sorry, no pie this Thursday) - bring along some water to drink and definitely wear flourescent orange as we're contending with both archery and small-game hunting seasons.

On another subject, as we started off on our hike on Sunday, Julie Meier from Venture Outdoors was telling me about seeing a bear during a hike at Moraine State Park. The details on that are here
http://blog.ventureoutdoors.org/2010/10/26/trick-or-treat-these-unexpected-guests-were-a-real-treat/ Pretty neat!

Thanks for all you do for the North Country Trail and hope to see you Thursday afternoon at Gamelands 285.

Dave Brewer

Pumpkin Pie Hike Recap

Good Evening Fellow NCTr's:

What a fantastic day on the North Country Trail! We couldn't ask for a better weather day, the trail was in good shape, the crowd was large and enthusiastic, and the logistics of the whole situation (parking, transportation and most importantly, pie) worked out great. Thanks to all that came out and hiked, shared with the hikers what we're about, brought pie and other goodies, manned the shelter at Watt's Mill to make sure everyone was taken care of, and transported hikers over to the trailhead. Great team effort!

There are some photos from today posted here http://picasaweb.google.com/105725471641034380528/2010CommunityHikeIndianRock?authkey=Gv1sRgCJGn_6T32sbjLQ#

I was told that we started off at Sterling Road with seventy-two hikers and I know that we had three hikers and two trail runners out ahead of us. We also picked up at least four more people who had hiked in from the Watt's Mill end to meet up with us. Over eighty people on the trail at Gamelands 285 in one afternoon? That's crazy! Crazy cool.

Thanks again to all of those who contributed to building that mile and two-tenths of trail this year to build on what Bob Cody and the SCA crew did last summer. A nice 2.5 mile section of North Country Trail on the ground - on to Darlington!

Dave Brewer

PS - Thank you to Doug and Daphne Turner for bringing me a piece of pumpkin pie out at the trailhead. Don't know who made it but it was delicious.

Newspaper Article - Trail Work Recap 10/20/10

Good Morning Fellow NCTr's:

Well, yesterday's trailwork session at Gamelands 285 didn't turn out exactly as anticipated, with the local press being a no-show, but it was a great day to be out on the North Country Trail anyhow. It turns out that the reporter and photographer had gone out the day before and walked the segment that we are hiking on Sunday, and along with talking with Lee Fairbanks over the previous couple of days, did an excellent story that appeared in this morning's Beaver County Times. You can find that here: http://www.timesonline.com/bct_news/news_details/article/1373/2010/october/20/hiking-the-north-country-trail.html

My thanks to Joyce Appel, Jake Erhardt, Doug Turner, and Lee Fairbanks for making the trip out yesterday with me and working on clearing leaves, roots, and trippers, along with putting in three Carsonite posts to help identify the new trail route. A few pictures from yesterday start here: http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2941031810098879960nxxQkP You'll notice that we had all wasted our time combing our hair for this trip out. Oh well, mine probably needed combed anyways.

Lee and Eleanor Fairbanks walked the section from the old iron bridge back to the shelter at Watt's Mill on Sunday, checking the condition of that segment, and spent some time getting the shelter area and access trail in good shape, so we're covered there. Thank you to them for doing that. This afternoon at 3:00 we'll meet at Sterling Road again and work on grubbing the last part of pathway - the west end of the new segment from the old iron bridge up to Indian Rock - clearing trippers and checking out the sidehill on that end.

It's all coming together for Sunday's hike. Thank you everyone for your contribution to the effort!

Dave Brewer

Trail Work Plans 10/20 And 10/21

Good Morning Fellow NCTr's:

The Community/Pumpkin-Pie Hike being next Sunday I think we should spend another couple of work sessions at Gamelands 285 this week. The entire section of new trail is blue-blazed and walkable, but we have some Carsonite posts to plant and some toe grabbers to remove and general grub work that needs done on the section from the "big hill" out to the double track. Here's the plan - hope you can join us:

Wednesday the 20th we'll meet at the Sterling Road trailhead at 4:00 PM (I work Tuesday night and will be needing all the beauty sleep I can get) and plan to get the Carsonite posts put in. We'll also start the grub work. We'll be out by 6:00 or so as it will be getting dark.

Thursday the 21st we'll again head for Sterling Road and continue the grub work, beginning at 3:00 PM (instead of 4:00). Starting an hour earlier will give us a little better cushion on getting it "acceptable". Don't know if we can get it all done in two days but we'll definitely be able to get the trippers taken out and the worst spots taken care of.

All help is appreciated, so come when you can and leave when you need to. Thanks!

Dave Brewer
330 531-1623

Indian Rock - Connection!*

Good Morning Fellow NCTr's:

On the morning of September 23rd, as five thursday-morning trail crew guys fought their way through the underbrush, exploring a proposed route from the base of Indian Rock hill back out to the Game Commission double track to get out to Sterling Rd., some clown (who had been out plotting and planning with his GPS and marking flags) remarked, "It's only about 500 feet from here to there," in an attempt to sell the idea of the ease and simplicity of building this particular little piece of connecting trail. "We'll run the DR mower out as far as possible, then it's just a little bit of sidehill work to get back up to where we need to connect," he proclaimed. The other four looked skeptical. They were right to be.

However . . . three weeks and approximately forty-five labor hours later, we got it - we're connected as of yesterday morning when Lee and I headed out and finished off the last 40 yards of sidehill. We have a followable, walkable trail from the beginning to the end. The digging team of Fairbanks and Brewer were pretty efficient (probably not as good as Fairbanks and Fairbanks who were out on Sunday afternoon - but we're darn good diggers if I say so myself) in knocking out that last bit on a beautiful, sunny morning. The blazes from the double track to the base of the hill also got painted yesterday. There's a map here of how the whole thing ended up:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=108657039929755040265.00048dac38585c56e767d&ll=40.793401,-80.474505&spn=0.002262,0.004812&t=h&z=18

"Details" (like taking out toe grabbers, end-of-the-section connection grubbing, installing some Carsonite posts, etc) left to do. Piece of cake.

Tomorrow morning we'll head back out to Gamelands 285, Sterling Road trailhead, at 9:00 to work those "details". We missed eating at Jata's in Wampum this week so we thought we'd try out "Rick's Place" in Darlington (on Darlington Road) for breakfast around 8:00 tomorrow and then head for the gamelands. Join us at least for breakfast if you can't make it for the whole morning.

Lastly, if you don't receive the NCTA Blue Blaze Bulletin in your email, here's a link to the issue just sent yesterday http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Blue-Blaze-Bulletin-from-the-North-Country-Trail-Association.html?soid=1101552208337&aid=NKEkWxGkmGc

Hope to see you tomorrow at GL285 - Thanks for all you do for the trail!

Dave Brewer
* Note - That's the 500th time I've sent the words "Indian Rock" out to you all this year. Whew!

Trail Work Plans For October 13 and 15

Good Afternoon Fellow NCTr's:

In the interest of being ready for our Community Hike on Sunday the 24th, we'll spend both of our trail work sessions this week at Gamelands 285 working on finishing the sidehill, doing some stump grubbing, and getting the paint blazing done on the Indian Rock extension.

On Wednesday and Friday mornings plan to meet at 9:00 at the Sterling Road trailhead and we'll spend a couple of hours each day working on these projects. I'll bring the tools, bring water to drink, and don't forget the blaze orange as it is archery season for deer. I have an extra vest if you need to borrow it.

Come when you can - stay as long as you want - all help is appreciated!

Dave Brewer

Wampum Chapter Fall Hike at Gamelands 285

The Wampum Chapter will be leading a hike on Sunday afternoon, October 24th, on our new section of North Country Trail at Pennsylvania Gamelands 285. We'll gather at the Watt's Mill trailhead at 2:00 and shuttle hikers over to Sterling Road, hiking the 2.5 miles along the North Fork of Little Beaver Creek, up and over Indian Rock hill, along the eight-bridge-mile (or so) and back to the new hiker-shelter at Watt's Mill. At the shelter we'll enjoy pumpkin pie, a campfire, and some NCT trail comaradarie.

If you'd like a longer hike that day, you could start earlier and walk the four miles of NCT from the OH/PA state line, starting on Old Blackhawk Road outside of Negley, OH and extending to the shelter at Watt's Mill. We'll get you back to your car. Conversely, if you'd like to just come out to see the shelter along the creek and participate in some North Country Trail fellowship on an autumn afternoon, you're welcome to come on out!

Wear comfortable hiking shoes, dress for the weather, and bring water and a snack if you want for during the hike. Please let us know that you're coming (so we have enough pie!!) by contacting Eleanor Fairbanks at Fairbanks14@comcast.net or by calling 724 847-0589.


View Watts Mill Road Trailhead NCT in a larger map

Hope to see you on the trail on October 24th.

Dave Brewer

Almost Done Digging (This Section)

Good Evening Fellow NCTr's:

Lee Fairbanks and I headed out to Gamelands 285 today - it was a BEAUTIFUL, sunny morning to be out on the North Country Trail. Together we spent a couple of hours crafting another thirty-five yards of excellent sidehill trail, following the route that he and Eleanor had refined last Sunday evening. It looks like we have about another thirty-five yards of digging to do until we hit the flat ground that we already have mowed to get back to the Sterling Road trailhead. Almost done. A few pics from today start here: http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2452145780098879960hLEqsF

We also took the opportunity to walk up to the shale hillside where we had so much trouble with sliding back in August. My concern was what the past four days of rainfall had done to what we had built. No problem! The cribbing and reinforcing that we did out there a few Sundays ago took care of it. Nice job everyone.

Have a great weekend. We'll tentatively plan on heading out next Wednesday morning in Wampum and Friday morning at Gamelands 285. I'll send along the details later this weekend. Thanks for all you do for the trail.

Dave Brewer

Western PA Trails Symposium

Evening Fellow NCTr's:

Thought I'd pass along news of this event, the Western PA Trail Symposium, scheduled for Friday, October 22nd in Cranberry, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Environmental Council. The specifics on this are here http://www.pecpa.org/trailssymposium2010

Due to the support and the plain-old, hard work by the members and friends of the Wampum Chapter of the NCTA, and of the community in general, I've been asked to participate in a small way in the day's program. That's pretty cool and I'm looking forward to the opportunity to share all of the great things going on with the North Country Trail in Beaver and Lawrence counties. We'll also be able to set up an information booth at the site to be able to further communicate all of our great works.

Specific thanks goes to Andrew Bashaw for making me aware of this chance to get out in front of more potential supporters, and also to Julie Watson, who spent a year with us giving us some great tools to use to get our message out.

Dave Brewer

Haunted Recap - Thursday 10/7 Trail Work Plan

Good Evening Fellow NCTr's:

It doesn't rain on trailwork, even haunted trailwork, as Lee Fairbanks, Doug Turner, and I made our way out to Cemex this morning to check out some reroute options near the old house between Fletcher Hill Road and Sankey Hill Road. The undergrowth was wet enough to soak us, and there was a chill in the air for sure, but no rain to wash out the day's exploration expedition and we were able to take a look at several different options for the trail there.

We went up the driveway to the old house and found that we can easily accomplish the main objective of the day, which was to cut that sharp right-hand turn in the trail and hopefully eliminate some confusion. We checked out the house, and although none of the three of us are experts (me especially!) we figured it was probably built pre-WWII and was a pretty nice home for its time, in a pretty nice location. Makes me wonder about the family(ies) that lived there, kids raised, picnics in the yard, birthdays and holidays celebrated inside, . . . where those people are now and about their memories of that place.

We also climbed up and down the hillsides around the area and thrashed our way through the brush and multifloral looking for some alternatives for the trail route so as to get out of the streambed that the trail becomes in wet times of the year. Had some success, and also some not-so-successful ideas, but it was an interesting morning and we now have a better knowledge of the lay of the land out there. A good morning on the NCT - thanks to Lee and Doug for coming out! Some photos from today start here: http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2607097540098879960FLzLve

On Thursday morning, October 7th, we'll meet at the Sterling Road trailhead at Gamelands 285 at 9:00 AM and plan on working for a couple of hours on building new trail away from Indian Rock and back towards the trailhead. Lee and Eleanor spent some time working out there on Sunday afternoon and we'll continue on from where they left off. I thank them for their efforts on keeping us going on that section. As usual, I'll bring the tools, bring along some water to drink. Come when you can and stay as long as you are able as all help is appreciated!

I have an idea in my head to go to Watt's Mill afterward to do the white paint blazes on the access trail to the shelter so we can take the orange marking flags down. It is supposed to be a nice autumn day, perfect for painting, so if you'd like to help out with that I'd welcome you. Probably won't take much longer than an hour to do that.

Thanks for all you do for the North Country Trail - hope to see you Thursday morning at Sterling Road.

Dave Brewer

Haunted Trail Work Tuesday 10/5/10

Good Morning Fellow NCTr's:

Ahhhh . . . October. Cooler temperatures, changing leaves, cornstalks, football, and . . . haunted houses. Speaking of haunted houses, we have one along our section of trail at Cemex. It really doesn't seem haunted on a hot, humid, July morning when you are running the DR mower there. But this time of year, just around twilight (or after dark on a full-moon hike) - well, it is kinda spooky out there. I've done a bit of looking over my shoulder as I've hiked on past. Lots of strange noises come from that old, abandoned house that sits 30 yards off the trail.

So, what better thing to work on this month than to move the trail a little closer to it. Actually, we need to make an adjustment in that area because the NCT follows a double-track that leads to an intersection with some other double tracks, making a sharp right hand turn there, which has lead to some confusion about the trail routing. If we head up the overgrown driveway of that house I think we can cut the corner and make the trail easier to follow. Might have some multi floral to battle to get it done though.

We'll leave from Jata's in Wampum at 9:00 on Tuesday morning, the 5th, and go to the Fletcher Hill Road trailhead. We'll work with flagging tape, loppers, and pruners and come up with a way to get a reasonable reroute on the ground. The plan is to be out for couple of hours. I'll bring the materials and tools - hope you can join us. This will be an interesting project.

Thanks,
Dave Brewer

Our Friday Morning Business Meeting

Good Afternoon Fellow NCTr's:

My thanks to Doug Turner and Lee Fairbanks for coming out to Gamelands 285 yesterday morning for trail work, and to Josh Nard, from the Student Conservation Association in Pittsburgh, for joining us there. We had scheduled a meeting with Josh to talk about his offer of bringing a crew from the SCA out to help us with trail building next April, and thought that we could find some time to talk when we were done digging. The way it worked out is that we talked about the offer while Josh handled a pick mattock to help us to dig new sidehill trail for two hours. THAT's my kind of business meeting.

I didn't get a chance to walk off the yardage dug when we finished up, but we went FAR, and I think we're on track to have a nice piece of trail finished off for the community hike scheduled for the 24th. We put some thought and effort into staying up out of the wet areas along the little stream that runs down through there. More work now, but a better result in the end. Thanks again to those guys for their input on the routing and their hard labor to make that feasible. A few pics from the day start here http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2875102540098879960uTmsii

I'll get a schedule out for what's going on with trail work next week sometime later this weekend. Archery season for deer starts tomorrow in PA, so break out that flourescent orange if you are heading out to the woods. Thanks for all you do for the NCT.

Dave Brewer