PA Chapters Christmas Party - December 11

NCT Chapters of Pa. Xmas Party
Saturday, Dec. 11 - Noon - ?
Jennings Environmental Center near Slippery Rock.

Hello all,
Christmas is approaching and I talked to members of the various chapters that were on John Stehle's last NCT hike, and thought we could have our Chapters Xmas Party on a Sunday at Jenning, but Jennings does not want to open the building on Sunday. They will open it up for us Saturday.

So our NCT Chapters of Pa. Xmas Party will be Saturday, Dec. 11. Let's make arrival time Noon - !2:30 and eat at 12:30 PM. We will do potluck so bring whatever you wish. Also, most important bring a gag gift or normal gift to use in a gamelike gift exchange. Having gag gifts and real gifts make it funny and more fun!!!! (Use your judgment on price value but we could say around $10) I am planning games with prizes also.

Please reply back to me, not your chapter email person, because I need to know how many chairs and tables to set up.

Joyce Appel
joyceappel@windstream.net
724-526-5407

Directions:

From 422 or Butler, head north on Route 8 till you get to the Old Stone House on your right. Make a left onto 528 and then another left into Jennings parking lot. (About 12 miles from Butler or 422 to Old Stone House and Jennings)

From Interstate 80, head south on Route 8 till you get to the Old Stone House on your left. Make a right onto 528 and then a left into the Jennings parking lot. (About 14 miles from Interstate 80 to Old Stone House and Jennings)

Staying Out Of The Woods Trail Work

Good Afternoon Fellow NCTr's:

This coming week would be a good one to stay out of the woods (at least, don't wear your reindeer antler-cap if you DO go out) so I thought we'd knock out a small project at the trailhead at Watt's Mill. In the winter time in years past ATVs have skirted the gate posts and driven up the trail to the shelter area and gamelands. My plan is to put in a "kissing gate" type barrier there to discourage trespassing (and eliminate the resultant damage) while still allowing the Garretts access through the gate.

The plan is to meet at the Watt's Mill trailhead at 9:00 AM this Wednesday morning, December 1st, and spend an hour or two installing that barrier. We'll be, of course, digging a couple of three-foot-deep holes and then immediately filling them back in - our area of expertise!

If you'd like to have breakfast before going out, we can meet at Rick's Diner on Old Darlington Road in Darlington at 8:00 or so.

Hope to see you Wednesday morning. Thanks for all you do!
Dave Brewer

Work Recap, A Couple Of Hikes, And a Party

Good Morning Fellow NCTr's:

Fortunately, the rain tapered off and finally stopped around 9:00 yesterday morning giving Lee, Doug, and I a chance to walk the mile of trail from the Possum Hollow Road parking lot down through Gamelands 148 to the Edwards Family farm. T'was a nice morning to be in the woods - nothing major in the way of blowdowns to be taken care of and we took the opportunity to carry out some preemptive strikes against the multifloral rose and poison ivy along this section. John has this section of trail in great shape already, so the pruning and lopping we did involved taking out these twin evils a few feet off of either side of the trail in anticipation of getting a head start on it for next spring. Some pics from yesterday start here http://picasaweb.google.com/105725471641034380528/WampumChapter2010TrailWork#5543106644935115698
Thanks to those guys for coming out.

Wanted to share with you an update on the Pittsburgh Hiking Meetup Group hike scheduled at Gamelands 285 for December 11th. It looks like they have thirty hikers signed up for that day, with another five on the waiting list to join - WOW! "More Feet Means Less Maintenance!" This is awesome! You can check out their event here http://www.meetup.com/pittsburghhikers/calendar/15372396/

Lastly this morning, the Clarion Chapter of the NCTA is holding their December hike on the 5th, on one of my favorite sections of trail - from the fire tower at Cook's Forest S.P. northward thru the park. You can see the details on that here http://www.facebook.com/pages/PA-North-Country-Trail-Association/248795517529#!/event.php?eid=124924850901180

Ok, really last, don't forget to get your reservation for the Wampum Chapter Christmas party in to JoEllen by the 29th of this month. It'll be held at Hitoe's in West Pittsburgh on December 6th and we need to let them know how many are coming.

Have a great day - thanks for all you do for the trail!
Dave Brewer

Plans, Recap, Bridges, Hikes, Photos!

Good Evening Fellow NCTr's:

Here it is! It's a veritable goldmine of information about the North Country Trail in Pennsylvania! This blog entry is worth at least twice the price you're being charged to receive it. Let's start with our trailwork plans for Tuesday, the 23rd.

We'll plan on going out Tuesday morning from 9:00 - 11:00 to walk the section we didn't get to check out last week at Gamelands 148 and the Edwards Family Farm. It will be a good opportunity to sneak up on that multifloral rose and poison ivy gone wild out there and get the trail whipped into shape. (There is so much poison ivy in that little clump of trees just off of Edwards Rd. that I think that John is out there putting fertilizer on it). We'll leave from the front of Jata's in Wampum at 9:00 and meet up at the Possum Hollow Road trailhead. Come earlier to Jata's for breakfast if you'd like.

Here's what went on this weekend along the trail:

Tim Ramsey, Jeff Murphy, Tom Scardina, and Lee and Eleanor Fairbanks traveled with me back to the "Big Hill" at Gamelands 285 and the Kirkwood Farm this afternoon and we spent two good hours exploring the hillside for a relatively easy route (to build and to hike) to the top of the hill. Found it! It looks good now and with some revisiting, revising, and tweaking it'll be excellent. We also spent a fair amount of time discussing and debating the relative merits of a couple of different spots to build a bridge to cross Painter's Run. Finally, the wisest one of the crew (Eleanor, naturally) suggested we stop speculating as to how high the water will rise and where it will flow in the spring after the snow melts and actually wait until the snow melts in the spring and see what happens before we make a decision. Another stellar suggestion! Thanks to those folks for coming out to offer their insight into the new section of trail. Can't wait to get started. Some photos from today start here http://picasaweb.google.com/105725471641034380528/WampumChapter2010TrailWork#5542164115208091186

On Saturday, in the far north part of the state, the Allegheny National Forest Chapter had a crew of twenty people put in a bridge over Beaver Run. Looks like they put in a quality bridge in about five hours. Outstanding! Photos of that project are here http://www.facebook.com/pages/PA-North-Country-Trail-Association/248795517529#!/album.php?aid=243980&id=248795517529

And earlier today, the Clarion crew joined John Stehle and his Tour De NCT group for an eight mile hike in Clarion County. Devin Callihan, the Chapter Communications Coordinator has a blog post about their expedition here http://northcountrytrail.org/cla/?p=151 Looks like they had a great turnout, and like us, excellent weather for being on the North Country Trail. I've been kind of waiting for Tammy Veloski's pics from the hike - I'll send them along when I get them (hint) 'cause she always takes good ones.

See, you'd probably pay three times the money anywhere else for all this good stuff on the North Country Trail. Hope to see you Tuesday at Possum Hollow Road. Thanks for all you do for the trail.

Dave Brewer

A Trailwork Joke?

Breaking Through The Old Limestone Roadbed

Good Afternoon Fellow NCTr's:




So, a retail manager, two retired university professors, a minister, and a master carpenter walk into the woods. The bartender looks up from the glass he is polishing and says, "Hey, what is this, some kind of joke?" No, wait. Add breakfast at Jata's, a couple of 4"x4" posts that needed to be planted three feet down, a brand new spud bar, a relic of an old posthole digger (which did a really neat job), lots of sarcasm and absurd comments posing as actual statements of fact, and what you actually end up with is a great morning of laughing and trailwork on the North Country Trail.

My thanks to Jake Erhardt, Doug Turner, Bill Majernik, and Lee Fairbanks for joining me at the Route 18 and Possum Hollow Road trailheads this morning and for their hard work to put in two hiker journal boxes. The boxes have a notebook for hikers to jot down their impressions of and suggestions for the trail, NCT brochures, and an invitation to join the North Country Trail Association (along with some $23 sponsored-applications). On a side note, we could do a fundraiser involving charging people for us to dig three-foot-deep holes and then immediately filling them back in (only for people interested in paying for this kind of service, naturally). We're becoming well-practiced at this.

We also had some time left over this morning to trek on over to Snake Run Road and then Sankey Hill Road to do some repair work on the boxes and sign posts over there. And, we beat the rain home. A great day on the trail! Some photos here starting with one from the Chapter meeting last evening.

Tentative plans for trailwork next week are for Sunday afternoon and Tuesday morning. Details to follow. Thanks for all you do for the trail.



Dave Brewer

Trail Work This Saturday In Ohio

Hi All,


Sandy Beaver Canal Chapter work day is scheduled for Sat. Nov. 20. We will meet at 9:00 AM at the Beaver Creek Family Campground. From Sate Rt. 7 turn east on Carlisle Rd. then right on Leslie Rd. You will find me at the top of the hill. Tools will be provided. Bring water and lunch. We will be finishing the trail to Bear hollow Rd. This will consist mostly of side hilling and blazing the trail.
Concerning extending the trail on beyond Bear Hollow Rd. to Lusk Lock. . . .

. . . we will have time this winter to contact land owners on toward Elkton. and hopefully will have plenty of trail to work on in 2011. I also hope to have trail building options in cooperation with the Stark County Parks and Recreation department in the Magnolia area. Jennie and Ron this is much closer to our homes.

Hope to see a number of you next Sat.

Happy Trails,

Keith Brown

Pathfinders At Work - Trailwork 11-14

Good Evening Fellow NCTr's:

Daniel Boone, Lewis and Clark, and John Fremont had nothing on the Wampum Chapter as explorers.  We spent almost three hours this afternoon at Gamelands 285 and the adjacent Kirkwood Farm exploring the routing possibilities for a new trail section eastward from Indian Rock Hill, across Painter Run, up, up, up a big hill into some very nice old pines, and through the woods along a hilltop out to Hodgson Road.  An excellent outing on a cool (and somewhat rainy) Sunday in November.  The end result of building this new section will be another mile of roadwalk eliminated - all of Sterling Road and about half of Hodgson Road not being the trail route anymore.

My thanks to Bill Majernik, Richard Lutz, Lee and Eleanor Fairbanks, and Doug Turner for making the trip out today to help look at the possibilities and share their input on how this section should be routed - good trail company!  We came up with the general route, now the devil in is the details, including how to bridge a thirty-foot creek crossing, and how to route switchbacks or climbing turns up a 140 foot, very steep hill.  Piece of cake in the end, I'm sure.

** I informally dubbed this trek today the "Tour De Treestands" as we encountered quite a few along the way.  Photos from today start here

I put a light blue line on this map to show our general route of travel today.  If you can look at it in 3-D in Google Earth you can really get an idea of the steep hillsides involved - hence our decision to run along the top of the hill.  Views of the valley to Darlington (and the industry along Cannelton Road) on the left, farm fields and the Gamelands on the right.


View Indian Rock Extension 8/2010 in a larger map

Hope to see you at the Chapter meeting at Hitoe's Monday evening.  Thanks for all you do for the trail!

Dave

Trailwork Tuesday 11-16, And . . . , And . . .

Good Morning Fellow NCTr's:

The trailwork plan for this Tuesday morning, the 16th, in the Wampum area is to install a couple of hiker-journal boxes along the trail, one at the bridge at the Route 18 trailhead, and one at Possum Hollow Road. Both of these are going to require a post so we'll be digging a couple of holes to plant them in. As time permits, we'll then take a walk westwards through Gamelands 148 towards the Edwards farm to survey the condition of the trail there. I haven't been through there since early June so I'm sure that the multifloral rose is thinking it has free reign to do as it pleases. Don't be frightened - we have lots of loppers and I'll bring them all.

We'll take off from the front of Jata's Restaurant in Wampum at 9:00 AM and travel to the bridge over Rt. 18 first, wrapping up at the Gamelands at around 11:00. Come earlier to Jata's for breakfast if you'd like.

A couple of reminders - trailwork/exploration at Gamelands 285 and the Kirkwood Farm at 2:00 this afternoon. We'll be meeting at the Sterling Road trailhead. There is a definite 50% chance of the probability of the possibility that we won't get rained on. We'll make the call at the trailhead this afternoon.

And, the Wampum Chapter monthly meeting is scheduled for 6:00 PM tomorrow (Monday, the 15) at Hitoes Restaurant in West Pittsburgh.

Lastly, I say with shame, that I stand corrected. Last Sunday afternoon I dogged Doug Turner mercilessly because I saw a picture of him at the Clarion Chapter/KTA work weekend walking along, empty-handed, smiling and carefree, as a woman struggled to carry a massive log down the trail. Well, photographic evidence has emerged over the past week indicating that my initial impression of the situation was conceived hastily and was wrongheaded, so I do apologize. Here is what I found -   this and this .

Hey! Wait just a minute. Now that I think about it, these could have been "Photoshopped" to SHOW that he was working. Further investigation is obviously warranted. (There are a ton of good photos in this album. That was quite a project they accomplished up in the northwoods last weekend.)

Thanks for all that you do for the trail! Hope to meet up with you over the next three days.

Dave Brewer

Take A Hike With George Washington

Take a Hike With George Washington

This Thanksgiving vacation take a hike and meet the father of our country. Visit the Old Stone House and join one of the guided hikes to learn about Washington's historic travels through Butler County in 1753. Re-enactors will play the role of Washington and his guide, Christopher Gist.

Where: The Old Stone House, 5 miles south of Slippery Rock, at the junction of Highway 173 and Route 8.

When: Saturday November 27th. Doors open 9:30 a.m. Hikes take place on the hour.

Cost: Admission is $5 per person, $12 per family.

Reservations: Reserve a hiking time by calling Jennifer Melnick at Slippery Rock University, 724-738-4964.

More info? Call Rod Gasch 724-290-2129




TAKE A HIKE WITH
WASHINGTON ON NOV. 27
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. — How about a walk in the woods with the father of our country? You can do just that on Saturday morning, Nov. 27 -- enjoy fresh air and great scenery while commemorating George Washington’s travels through Butler Country in 1753.
The hike, sponsored by Historic Harmony’s Harmony Museum, Slippery Rock University’s Old Stone House and Washington’s Trail 1753, starts and ends at the Old Stone House, a restored 18th century stage coach inn five miles south of Slippery Rock and 12 miles north of Butler at the junction of Pa. Routes 8, 528 and 173. Plenty of parking is available.
Back in November 1753, Washington was a 21-year-old volunteer newly commissioned a major by Virginia Lt. Gov. Robert Dinwiddie. He traveled through Pennsylvania Indian country carrying Dinwiddie’s ultimatum demanding withdrawal of the French then building forts on land claimed by England and the Virginia Colony. The French response: the British should stay out of from New France. That ultimatum delivered by Washington, and the military intelligence he obtained during his mission, were instrumental in starting the French and Indian War in southwest Pennsylvania the following spring and summer of 1754.
Besides the 45 minute hike, this year’s commemoration includes refreshments, touring the historic Old Stone House, and a chance to discuss the mission with the young Washington and his frontiersman guide Christopher Gist -- re-enactors Brian Cunning of Washington, Pa. and Rich Baker of Claysville, Pa. The Old Stone House opens at 9:30 a.m., with guided hikes planned for 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and noon. Leading each hike will be a Slippery Rock University history student who will read from the journals of Washington and Gist and explain the significance of Washington’s sometimes hazardous journey.
To reserve a hiking slot, call Jennifer Melnick at Slippery Rock University, 724-738-4964. Admission is $5 per person, $12 per family. Each hiking group will be limited in size, so event organizers recommend strongly that participants reserve their start times. The hike will cover about a mile of rocky terrain that is close by the original Venango Path followed in part by Washington. Hikers are advised to wear appropriate footwear as well as clothing suitable for the day’s weather conditions.

####
11/2/2010
CONTACTS:
John Ruch, Harmony Museum, 724-452-7341
Hike Volunteer Rod Gasch, 724-290-2129

Trail Work Sunday 11-14-10

Good Afternoon Fellow NCTr's:

Last Sunday, as we finished up our project at the state line, I asked (as I usually do when we knock out another item on the "to do" list) "Ok, what do you want to do next?" Eleanor Fairbanks suggested we go exploring for a trail route at the Kirkwood Farm, beside Gamelands 285 along the North Fork of Little Beaver Creek. A stellar suggestion! We are planning to start building our new section of trail there in April so we need to begin the process of determining the best route through there now. The leaves are down and we can see the terrain and have some decent views through the woods.

The plan is to meet this Sunday, the 14th, at 2:00 PM at the Sterling Road trailhead at the Gamelands and spend a couple of hours exploring. No heavy lifting, just some hiking, bushwacking, and exchanging ideas on good routes. No experience necessary - all input and opinions are appreciated, so hope you can join us.

Dave Brewer

I Thought I Saw A Ghost

Good Afternoon Fellow NCTr's:

It was such a gorgeous morning on the North Country Trail, the bright sun burning through the morning mist around Sankey Hill and the old haunted house site, that as Jake Erhardt, Lee Fairbanks, Doug Turner, Bob Cody, and I worked on the little reroute up the old driveway and across the yard, the supernatural was the last thing on my mind. Yet, suddenly, a dark-clad, silent figure was in our midst. Kind of startled me at first. Then I noticed the curly hair and the expensive GPS unit he was holding in his hands. Quite as surprised as if it HAD been a ghost, I welcomed Richard Lutz to the Tuesday morning work session. HA! Another cool happening on the NCT - Richard, the guy who had got this whole thing going in the Wampum area back out working with us. Just like old times.

Appreciated everyone's contribution this morning. Good company on a pleasant morning in the woods, and the reroute worked out well. This time of the year is perfect for a hike out at the Cemex section - the leaves are petty much gone and the views of the hillsides and PA countryside in general are very nice.

In other news, I learned of a group hike taking place at Gamelands285/Watt's Mill in December - you can check it out here http://www.meetup.com/pittsburghhikers/calendar/15372396/ Twenty people (as of right now) heading out to hike the NCT. Good stuff.

And, Venture Outdoors has a new newsletter out, which can be seen here https://app.e2ma.net/app/view:CampaignPublic/id:29238.6849491427/rid:750332608178ed085ad85b2d01227715

Next trailwork plans are tentatively set for next Sunday afternoon (the 14th) and Tuesday morning (the 16th). Details to follow later this week.

Thanks for all you do for the trail!

Dave Brewer

NCT Weekend Wrap Up

Good Evening Fellow NCTr's:

For those of you keeping score, you can mark another item on the Wampum Chapter's "to do" list for this trailwork season as DONE as Tom Scardina, Doug Turner, and Lee and Eleanor Fairbanks headed out with me today and finished up the 200 yard relo of the trail near the state line at GL285. It is grubbed, pruned, and blazed - ready to hike - and a darn nice little piece of trail (if I say so myself). Appreciate that crew coming out on a beautiful Sunday afternoon to get that done. Some pics from today's session are here (starting on the second line) http://picasaweb.google.com/105725471641034380528/WampumChapter2010TrailWork#

Besides the way we worked together to get that knocked out, the other enjoyable part of the day was the number of hikers we encountered. As we got going on our project a man and his dog, followed a short time later by a couple of young girls hiked on past, back down to the trailhead to their vehicle. Then, a bit later on, as we were working along the hilltop, we thought we heard voices on the trail down below us. Eventually a family of five, including three young boys, walked on up the trail and we had a chance to talk with them. They were looking for the "Indian Rock" as described in the Beaver County Times article so we directed them six miles eastward. Later on, after we finished up our trailwork session and I headed down to the shelter to check on its status, I encountered another family, this time of four, hiking back down to Watt's Mill to their vehicle. They had walked about a mile up the trail to the two large rocks the trail goes past and had also visited the shelter area. Beaver County Times article again. Pretty good traffic day for the North Country Trail!

Speaking of LARGE ROCKS - I had the opportunity to go to Cook's Forest on Saturday to work with the NCTA/KTA trail crew. I was proud to see Wampum well-represented, with Doug Turner and Tim and Ceci Ramsey also making the trip. They had a great turnout for their service weekend and it was nice to meet up with and have the opportunity to work with some people I was already acquainted with, and also to meet some trailwork newcomers - one a kayaker from Canonsburg, another a backpacker who had travelled from Philadelphia, and some BOC members from my old stomping grounds of Saxonburg and Sarver -amongst many others.

In fact, they had enough crew on hand on Saturday to tackle three seperate projects, one involving putting in well over a hundred yards of log and gravel turnpike in a very wet area north of the park, another crew working on fixing some trail on the eastern end of the fire tower hill, and the third crew (which I was with) worked on upgrading the North Country Trail on the hillside below the fire tower and above the Clarion River. We repaired sidehill, pruned back overgrowth, took out rocks and root trippers, and (here is where the BIG ROCK tie in comes into play) built a couple of stone staircases under the direction of Paul Henry and Tim Ramsey. Those guys are rockwork pros (or maniacs, I can't decide which yet) and they planned (and dug) out some great staircases. The hikers that were walking on through on Saturday expressed their appreciation for all of the hard work.

I took some photos of the crew and work done on Saturday and they can be found here http://picasaweb.google.com/105725471641034380528/KTATrailwork11610# and Tammy Veloski also sent me a link to the pictures that she took, which are here http://butleroutdoorclubphotojournal.shutterfly.com/1347 I must be getting the "photographers eye" 'cause I took some of the same ones she did, just not as well.

Thanks for all you do for the trail - hope to see you Tuesday morning in Wampum or out at the haunted house.

Dave Brewer

Finally - Sunday Trail Work 11-7-10

Good Evening Fellow NCTr's:

The weather forecast is looking good for Sunday afternoon - let's head to Gamelands 285 to do a couple of hours of work on our reroute near the state line. It is a nice little diversion from the Game Commission double track that will move the trail over along the top of a hill with a nice view (especially at this time of the year) down into a deep stream valley.

The plan: Since sundown will be at around 5:00 PM we'll meet at 2:00 Sunday afternoon (the 7th) at the state line trailhead on Route 251 (Blackhawk Road) and plan to be out for two hours or so. I'll bring the tools, bring along some water to drink. If you can't make it at 2:00 come when you can - we'll be about half a mile up the trail. No experience necessary - OTJ training can be provided by our team of amateur trail builders.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=108657039929755040265.0004498a6086c175b4998&t=h&z=13

Hope to see you on the trail Sunday afternoon!

Dave Brewer