Trail Work Dates, Meeting, and Some Pictures

Good Afternoon Fellow NCTr's:

We have several trail work sessions planned for next few days, working to get some things wrapped up before the holidays and gun season both kick in.  The weather was against us in the spring and most of the summer but we're catching some nice breaks this fall - come on out and enjoy the trail - all help is appreciated!  Here's what we have in mind:

Friday, November 18th we'll meet at the Hodgson Rd. trailhead at 1:00 PM and spend a couple of hours doing grub and finesse work on the new section of trail at Mrs. Kirkwood's farm.  We hiked this section last friday evening in the moonlight and it was a wonderful walk (especially with the new blazes reflecting the moonlight!  And, the flash from the game camera we set off along the route was QUITE a surprise!!)  About 100 yards of serious digging remaining and then some small stump and root removal left to do along the rest.  We'll be out for a couple of hours that afternoon - I'll bring the tools.

Saturday morning, November 19th we'll leave from the front of Jata's in Wampum at 9:00 AM and travel to Snake Run Rd. (east) to repair the handrail on the bridge there.  A large tree limb fell on it earlier this summer and cracked that piece in half, but fortunately Ron Rice builds them so that it can easily be repaired with a new piece of lumber.  Weather permitting, we can also reblaze the road walk section from there down to the west trailhead on Snake Run Rd. that morning.  Again, we'll plan to be out a couple of hours.   Come earlier to Jata's for breakfast if you'd like.

Lee sent out a note on this already, but a reminder that the monthly chapter meeting is on Monday evening, November 21st at Hito's, 6:00 PM.  Come a bit earlier if you plan to order dinner.

Lastly, I am behind on posting pics.  Tammy Veloski and her family took a walk at Gamelands 285 a couple of Sundays ago and she sent me some great photos which I took the liberty of posting starting here.  There are also some from our work sessions last week and the aforementioned friday evening hike.

Hope to see you over the next few days - thanks for all you do for the NCT!

Dave Brewer
Trail Work Coordinator

Bridge Work Thursday Morning

Good Evening Fellow NCTr's:

Let me get this out of the way first by saying, yes, after two years of crossing Painter Run by hopping rocks and tight-rope walking across logs without incident, now that we have not one, but two bridges across that stream, today was the day I finally fell in.  Other than that unfortunate incident, what a great day in the woods!  My phone (and more profoundly, my camera) survived the very chilly dunking.

Thanks to David Wright, Lee Fairbanks, John Vlah, and Dennis Garrett for coming out this morning to put in a sixteen-foot bridge over the overflow channel, and I especially appreciate all of Dennis's work on pulling together this complicated and time-intensive double-bridge project.  We also found the time today to do some "alignment tweaking" on the 32' foot bridge installed last week, and also to have lunch at the worksite. 

We now have a very smooth, all-season transition between the trail segments at Gamelands 285 and at the Kirkwood Farm.  Left to do out there is about 100 yards of grubbing on top of the hill above the creek on the farm, about twenty yards of the same near Hodgson Rd., and getting the blazes painted and orange flags pulled down.  If we push on it, and get a weather break in the next week or two, we'll have it wrapped up by the start of deer season.  We'll also work on some wooden signing over the winter to identify the couple of spur trails we've generated along the way (to Indian Rock and the Sterling Rd. parking area) as well as identifying the new trailhead on Hodgson Rd. - we'll plan to have those ready for installation in the spring.

I also wanted to appreciate Jake Erhardt for coming out on Tuesday morning to Mines and Meadows and Gateway.  We were able to get a couple of rough sections of sidehill on the approaches to the Gateway bridge cleaned up that morning.  Tough digging.  Before we started we reaffirmed our agreement that if, while working, anyone found any gold then we'd split evenly among that trail work session's crew.  Unfortunately, the agreement didn't have to be tested as we only found the usual limestone, sandstone, and roots as we grubbed.

Some pics from Tuesday and today start here.   I've updated the Google map of the trail from the state line to Hodgson Rd so you can see where we are - viewable  here.

One more thing - we're going to need more places to build off-road trail starting in the spring.  If you are interested in spending some time working with us on court house duty checking out plat maps and then talking to landowners about the awesome opportunity they have to have the North Country National Scenic Trail cross their property, please let us know.  Opportunities exist between the Kirkwood Farm south of Rt. 51, through the Darlington and New Galilee areas, to the Edwards Farm west of Wampum, and between Sankey Hill Rd. and Hell's Hollow at McConnell's Mill.

Thanks for all you do for the trail!

Dave Brewer
Trail Work Coordinator

Tuesday Trail Work Bad Baseball Analogy

Good Morning Fellow NCTr's:

If trail work was the World Series we'd have swept yesterday!  We were unstoppable, winning games one and two in the morning at home in Wampum, then travelling and taking games three and four in the afternoon. 

Earlier this year someone had pitched the idea of moving a section of the trail up on the bench overlooking the old strip mine at Gateway closer to the edge to get some better views of the valley.  Yesterday morning Jake Erhardt, Doug Turner, Lee Fairbanks, Rick Ostheimer, and I headed up there to take a look at the possibilities.  Turns out that this project was a home run, with the terrain along there being perfect for doing this.  Nice and flat, very little digging to do, and an excellent spot available to stop and take in the view.  We had seventy-five yards of new trail pruned, raked, and grubbed out in a couple of hours.  The last innings (clearing the vista) turned out to be a cliff hanger of sorts, but the team pulled together and got the job done, with nobody sliding down the hillside or falling off a cliff.  We have some paint blazing to do on the new section to finish it off, and on the walk in we discovered some tasks that need to be done down around the Gateway bridge - job security, always something to do.  Some pictures of the morning's work start right here.

The afternoon session had us taking our show on the road, south of Darlington, to Gamelands 285 and Painter Run.  Our manager, Dennis Garrett, had called the bullpen for some relief for this job - putting in a thirty-two-foot-long footbridge over Painter Run below Indian Rock Hill, and we dominated as a result.  Rick Ostheimer, Rick Eiler, David Wright, Herb Adams, Lee Fairbanks, and I joined Dennis in getting the beams across the water and on the sills.  Each of those triple laminated beams weighed around 360 pounds, but many hands made light work and the job went relatively easily.  Once the beams were secured in place we worked on assembling the structure and floorboards and had this game wrapped up in three hours - a GRAND SLAM that topped off the day.  Our existing trail at Gamelands 285 is now connected to our new section on the Kirkwood Farm.  We do have another, shorter bridge to put in over an overflow ditch a few yards away, but this is more of a bridge of convenience than a necessity structure like the 32-footer is.  My understanding is that a grand opening celebration is being planned for the near future at the site of this new bridge - the details to follow.  I've put together a short album of the bridge-building project here, and you can also link to it from the main Wampum Chapter photo album above.

I had no idea, and I don't think Dennis did, of how much thought and work was going to be involved in putting this very long bridge in when we casually agreed earlier this year that he'd manage the project.  I appreciate all the time, thought, and energy he put in on it, and also for Lee's help (The figuring-out, measuring, cutting, hauling, gluing, and nailing) in getting this tough job done.  We also had the assistance of Steve Smith, a North Country Trail volunteer and hiker, and by trade, an engineer.  He had to have spent HOURS doing the calculations and creating drawings, providing for us the the necessary information to build a structurally-sound bridge.  His assistance was INVALUABLE and we really appreciate his help on this. 

Thanks to all for the excellent day on the Wampum section of the North Country Trail, and to everyone for their continual support.

*Sorry about the lame and under-developed baseball analogies - stuck in my head for some reason this morning.

Dave Brewer
Trail Work Coordinator

Sunday Afternoon In the Woods

This Sunday afternoon we'll be heading to the Kirkwood Farm to continue our trail building project there, meeting at the Hodgson Road trailhead above Crawford's at 1:00.  Should be a nice afternoon in the woods above Little Beaver Creek.  Everyone welcome - you don't need to be "the pro" as we need some new-trail-tester-outers and some leaf-color-identifiers, as well as some root-spotters and picture-takers too.  Hope you can make it out.

The second "prong" involves possibly providing some help for our bridge crew that afternoon, as they may need an assist as they work on their project down near Painter Run.  They've (Dennis and Lee) been hard at it all week getting the specs finalized for that span, hauling the material into the site, and getting ready for some preliminary assembly.  They may need some lifting help at some point in their process and we'll be right nearby.  In any event, we can walk down to the run to check out the progress if you'd like.   It's all coming together.

I have some pics from our work at Cemex near the caves last Tuesday morning posted here if you'd like to take a look.  We improved that section of trail tremendously in just a couple of hours  and we're about ready for the 23rd's Pumpkin Pie Hike.

Thanks for all you do for the trail!

Dave Brewer
Trail Work Coordinator

2011 NCT and NPS Award Recipients

Volunteerism can be considered the lifeblood of the North Country National Scenic Trail - the hours put in by our volunteers on building and maintaining the trail, organizing chapter events and hikes, doing promotional work, managing the finances, and participating in all of the activities required to keep us moving forward - are the critical element of keeping our organization (and the dream and reality of a 4600 mile hiking trail) moving forward.   The North Country Trail Association and National Park Service, through the Volunteers-In-Parks program, recognized several Wampum Chapter members for their contributions of time and effort at this year's National Conference in Dayton, OH and the awards were presented at our September chapter meeting.

Lee

Our Wampum Chapter President, Lee Fairbanks, received this year's National Leadership Award from the NCTA.  The winner of this award is defined as someone who is . . . "A volunteer who has demonstrated exceptional leadership leading to significant local achievements or highly succesful events."  A well-deserved award!

Eleanor

This year's Chapter Honor Award, as nominated and chosen by the Wampum Chapter membership is Eleanor Fairbanks.  As proscribed by the NCTA, this award should be given to an individual " . . . who demonstrates loyalty, commitment, and hard work annually to the local organization's chosen activities."  And a thank you to all chapter members who contributed to this year's selection process. 

Gail and Cathy

Dennis

Doug

Through the Volunteers-In-Parks program, long-time volunteer and major contributor to all of our successes, Gail Blakely was recognized by the National Park Service for 4,000 (!) hours of volunteer service to the North Country Trail.  Gail received a certificate, pin, and letter of thanks and congratulations from President Obama. 

400 Hour awards were presented by the NPS to Lee and Eleanor Fairbanks who received their embroidered NCT shirts.

Being recognized for 200 hours of service was Wampum Chapter Vice President Dennis Garrett. 

And lastly (but certainly not "leastly" as it is highly possible that these hours are understated!) our 100 Hour Award recipients are Jim Houk, Doug Turner, and Cathy Garrett.

Jim

Congratulations to our award winners and thanks to everyone who contributes to our success!

Davis Hollow Cabin Fundraising Event 2011

Diane Winston, Chairman, Davis Hollow Cabin Committee (Contact)

724-654-4918

For Immediate Release:

A dinner and program on the History of the Davis Hollow Cabin will be held on

Friday, October 21, 2011, at the Moraine Outdoor Center, Moraine State Park.

The dinner begins at 6:00 PM followed by the program featuring Mr. Chuck Book’s

presentation of the history of the cabin through the eyes of one of the branches of the family tree.

The fund raising event will highlight the many people who preceded us making it

one of the jewels along the North Country Trail in Moraine State Park and what is

necessary for restoration and maintenance in order to continue to enjoy the experience

of an 18th century cabin home.

Space is limited. Call for reservations by October 19^th. 724-654-4918

Trail Work 10/8 and 10/9 Plus

Good Afternoon Fellow NCTr's:

We have a couple of trailwork sessions planned for this weekend - hope you can make it out.

Saturday, October 8th the plan is to leave from Jata's in Wampum at 9:00 AM and go to Sankey Hill Rd to work on blazing the roadwalk from there to the Hell's Hollow trailhead at McConnell's Mill State Park.  This segment of roadwalk is about 4.5 miles and with "many hands" we knock out a major segment of this in a couple of hours.  Here's a map of that project.  We'll work until 11:00 - I'll bring the supplies.  Please wear flourescent or Dayglo as we'll be working along the roads.  Come earlier to Jata's for breakfast if you'd like.

Side note on the roadwalk blazing - the Eilers, Sher and Rick, have knocked out the segment between Darlington and the Edwards Farm, so that is wrapped up!  A BIG thanks to them for taking that on!!

Sunday, October 9th at 4:00 PM we'll head to the Kirkwood Farm for a couple of hours to continue the grubbing work on our new segment of trail there.  The SCA crew gave us a GREAT start on this and we'll continue on from where they left off.  We'll meet at the new Hodgson Rd. trailhead (right above Crawford's) and walk in from there.  The weather forecast looks great and it should be an excellent autumn afternoon to spend in the woods.  Tools provided, all help is appreciated, no experience necessary (OTJ training provided) so come on out.

Couple of other things:  Jim Nocera's photography hike is on the schedule for Saturday, Oct. 15 and the Annual Pumpkin Pie Hike is planned for Sunday, October 23rd at Cemex.  Details to follow on both of these.  Event Calendar

Lastly, Lee, Eleanor, and I hiked with a father/daughter team visiting from eastern PA last Saturday (in the rain, lol).   This hike was one of the events associated with the KTA Fall Weekend event held at Camp Lutherlyn.  A couple of pics from our five-miler are here.  I think we made a good impression with our segment of NCT at Cemex.

Thanks for all you do for the trail,

Dave Brewer
Trail Work Coordinator

Blaze Painting and Trail Building This Week

It's a small world, but I wouldn't want to have to paint it.

Steven Wright

Good Afternoon Fellow NCTr's:

Steven makes a good point, but we are absolutely WHIPPING through the roadwalk blazing/reblazing project we started on Sunday. Have some pictures from those projects posted starting here https://picasaweb.google.com/105725471641034380528/WampumChapter2011#5656417370823564434

I figure we knocked out about four miles on Sunday afternoon in and around Darlington, and another 1.6 miles in Wampum this morning. My thanks to Doug Turner, Jake Erhardt, The Eilers - Rick, Sher, and Candice, Dennis Garrett, and Lee and Eleanor Fairbanks for coming out to work on this project. Many hands DID make light work. We'll continue on as scheduling and the weather permits. About seven miles left to do, I think, give or take.

Speaking of "Many hands," we've confirmed that the SCA crew will be coming to the Kirkwood Farm this Thursday, the 29th, to spend the day helping us grub out and define our new section of trail there. If you can come out and lend a hand that'd be great! If you can stop by and say, "Howdy and Thanks" that'd be great too! They should be arriving at around 9:30 that morning at the trailhead on Hodgson Rd., right above Crawford's Camping Park.

Thanks for all you do for the North Country Trail! Hope to see you Thursday!!

Dave Brewer

Trail Work Coordinator

A Busy Week Ahead

Good Afternoon Fellow NCTr's:

We have a heavily-scheduled week ahead of us - hoping you can make it out for some or all of these:

Sunday, September 25th we'll be meeting in Darlington at 1:00 PM and plan to spend two or three hours paint blazing as much of the roadwalk between Rt. 51 and the Edwards Farm at I376 as we can. We'll gather at the Greersburg Academy that afternoon and plan out our attack on this ambitious project. Paint, brushes, stencils, etc. will be provided. You don't have to be the "Expert Painter" to contribute to this project so come on out on Sunday. Those telephone poles with blue blazes on them will definitely improve the hiking experience for those trying to work their way from Darlington Twp to the Wampum area. The forecast looks favorable and the Steelers don't play until that night - perfect!

On Tuesday, September 27 we're planning to leave from Jata's Diner in Wampum at 9:00 AM and going to the boat launch parking area on River Road to work on reblazing the road walk from the trailhead near there, under the Wampum bridge, and into town. We have several hikes on this stretch of trail planned over the next month or so and it'll be good to get it whipped into shape. We'll be out for two hours that morning. Again, painting and clearing supplies provided. Come earlier to Jata's for breakfast if you'd like.

THE BIG NEWS

It is on Thursday, the 29th that we are receiving our second trailwork gift of the year. Josh Nard, Program Director for the Student Conservation Association in Pittsburgh, is bringing a crew out to Beaver County for the day to help us with the Kirkwood Farm trail extension project. They'll be arriving at approximately 9:30 AM and we'll meet at the Hodgson Road trailhead (above Crawford's) to walk in and begin work. The project will involve grubbing, grading, and refining the pathway that we've flagged and then cleared with the mower. They'll be working from the point where the spring SCA crew (our first gift of the year) left off and working their way back towards Hodgson Road. I'd encourage you to come out and work with these young people, or at least make the trip out to thank them for their help. All of our past experiences with the SCA crews and their advisors have been extremely positive - the work they do is superb and their work ethic is excellent. We have put a lot of new, quality trail on the ground over the past three years thanks to SCA's help. Tools (AND LUNCH!) provided - bring drinking water and dress for the weather. Here's a map of the project http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=200253697770480530268.00048dac38585c56e767d&msa=0&ll=40.795391,-80.467343&spn=0.016017,0.0421

On Sunday morning, October 2nd, the Wampum Chapter will be leading a hike for Keystone Trails Association members at Cemex, from Sankey Hill Road down to the boat launch on River Rd. The KTA is having their Fall Weekend Event at Camp Lutherlyn, near Butler, and our hike is one of the activities on their program. If you'd like to help out with leading or walking sweep on this hike shoot me an email and I can let you know the "wheres" and "whens." Should be an excellent opportunity to show off one of our segments of the NCT to some out-of-town hikers.

Lastly, ("At last," you say) my thanks to Jake Erhardt and Lee Fairbanks for making the trip out to Mines and Meadows and Gamelands 148 (taunting the rain clouds) this morning. The trail through the ATV park is in good shape and showing no signs of abuse, and we were able to clean up the treadway and drainage channel near a culvert pipe out at 148. We also had the opportunity to bounce around a couple of trail name suggestions - like Dave "Camera Killer" Brewer, Jake "The Pack Mule" Erhardt, and I was thinking for Lee - "Rock Ferret". We'll work on these though. Couple of pics from today are here.

Thanks for all you do for the trail - hope to see you this week!

Dave Brewer
Trail Work Coordinator

Mines and Meadows Trailwork Friday 9/23

Good Morning Fellow NCTr's:

The trailwork plan for this Friday morning, Sept 23, is to go to Mines and Meadows to walk our trail segment there to check our ATV "deterrers" and general trail conditions, and then to make some repairs to a culvert pipe just over the border in Gamelands 148. We'll be leaving from the front of Jata's in Wampum at 9:00 AM and travelling to the upper parking/camping area at Mines and Meadows - go past the first camping area, as you first enter the park, and continue on up the roadway, over the narrow concrete bridge to the second. We'll plan to be out for a couple of hours. Come to Jata's earlier for breakfast if you'd like.

In other news, Tammy Veloski and her son Kyle spent some time this past week at Watt's Mill re planting a signpost that had fallen into disrepair, as well as doing a maintenance walk through Gamelands 285 near Indian Rock Hill. Appreciate their efforts out there to keep the trail in good hiking condition.

And, last Friday afternoon, I ran into a couple from Calcutta, OH who were hiking the trail at Gamelands 285 from the OH/PA line to a point a couple of miles in and back out. Jim and Judy said that they were frequent visitors to the trail and they wanted me to convey their appreciation to everyone from the chapter involved in building and maintaining the NCT there. Satisfied customers!

I have some pictures posted here - a couple that I took and some that Tammy shared with me from her and Kyle's trip out

https://picasaweb.google.com/105725471641034380528/WampumChapter2011#5653240587090578642

Thanks for all you do for the trail!

Dave Brewer
Trail Work Coordinator

Two Big Things*

* And a couple of little ones

Good Morning Fellow NCTr's:

Two big things - one a reminder and the other one something to make you aware of:

Our September Chapter meeting is this coming Monday evening (the 19th) at the hiker shelter at Watt's Mill - hoping you can make it out for the camp fire, hot dog roast, and pot luck. We have some awards from the NCTA National Conference to pass out, as well as conduct the monthly business. Dennis Garrett tells me that he'll be out there around 5:00 that afternoon so come early to enjoy that beautiful site along the North Fork of Little Beaver Creek. To coordinate the menu contributions please contact the Fairbanks at Fairbanks14@comcast.net and the Garretts at dcgcag@gmail.com. Should be a nice evening of North Country Trail comaradarie. How to get there? Here's a map.

Secondly, please set aside Sunday afternoon, September 25th, to come out and help paint Darlington. Well, not actually the town, but the blue paint blazes through town. The plan is to meet at 1:00 PM that day at the Greersburg Academy and then work for a few hours doing the paint blazing thru that area on telephone poles and sign posts. The NCT follows six miles of roadwalk between PA Rt. 51, through Darlington and New Galilee, to the Edwards Family Farm. With enough crew, paint, organization, and by utilizing a car-shuttle system we can probably knock out a big part of this project in one afternoon. The long-range weather forecasts looks fine, and the Steelers don't play until later that night, so here's a perfect opportunity to spend time helping our hikers get through this part of our trail range. Paint and brushes provided and no experience necessary - bring drinking water and a snack if you'd like. Also suggest wearing flourescent orange or day-glo if you have it as we'll be (obviously) working along the roadways.

Here's a map of what we have in mind, the mile segments in different colors http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=200253697770480530268.0004ad0dd09364571cc3b&msa=0&ll=40.82654,-80.405159&spn=0.064038,0.1684

*As to the smaller things - Trail Work planned for Friday the 23rd at Mines and Meadows in the morning, Tuesday the 27th at Gateway in the AM, and Sunday, October 2nd at Gamelands 285 for the afternoon. I have them on the Event Calendar, and will be sending out reminders with the details as we get closer to those days.

Thanks for all you do for the NCT - hope to see you out for some or all of these!

Dave Brewer
Trail Work Coordinator

Shindig At The Shelter Monday 9/19/11

Good Afternoon Fellow NCTr's:

Our September Wampum Chapter meeting is planned for Monday the 19th at the hiker shelter at Watt's Mill. On the agenda is a campfire and hot dog roast/pot luck dinner, presentation of awards to chapter members from the Dayton National Conference, our monthly business meeting, and some good old North Country Trail Comaradarie. The meeting is scheduled for 6:00 PM but come earlier to enjoy a nice late-summer evening in a beautiful setting along the North Fork of Little Beaver Creek. Bring a friend along and introduce them to one of the premier locations along our section of NCT.

Hot dogs and condiments are being provided - all additional contributions to the dinner menu are welcome. To coordinate the dinner effort please contact Eleanor Fairbanks at Fairbanks14@comcast.net and Maa Garrett at  Dcgcag@gmail.com to let them know what you have in mind.

One other thing to consider is that this past spring's high water washed away all of the seating (cut logs) that we had in place out there so you may want to bring along lawn chairs for campfire comfort. People downstream somewhere in Ohio are enjoying sitting on those logs this summer, I imagine.

Map of Watt's Mill Area

Hope you can make it out to Watt's Mill next Monday evening!

Upcoming Dates - Trailwork and Meetings

Some upcoming dates and activities to make you aware of:

Monday, September 5th is the deadline for nominations for the Chapter Honor Award. I've received several already, but if there is someone you'd like the committee to consider, please get your thoughts to me this weekend. The criteria state that the honoree is a volunteer who demonstrates loyalty, commitment, and hard work annually to the local organization’s chosen activities.


On Tuesday morning, September 6th, we have trailwork planned at Cemex. We'll take off from Jata's in Wampum at 9:00 AM and head for the River Road trailhead and work our way uphill (the walk out will be all downhill!) to finish off our cleanup from the logging disruption. We'll be out for two hours - Tools provided. Come earlier to Jata's for breakfast if you'd like.

Tuesday evening, the 6th, the 2013 National Conference Planning Committee is meeting in Slippery Rock at 6:30. The meeting place is at Ginger Hill Tavern, 278 S. Main St., Slippery Rock (near the Sheetz). There are some materials available for review beforehand, so if you are interested in being involved with this and didn't receive them please contact Joyce Appel at joyceappel@windstream.net  Everyone is welcome to get involved in this LARGE event. Come around 6:00 if you are planning to order dinner.

Thursday, September 8th, we have trail building planned on our new segment at the Kirkwood Farm. We'll meet at 4:00 PM at the new Hodgson Rd. trailhead (right above Crawford's Camping Park) and spend a couple of hours with the DR mower and saw continuing our clearing work. My thanks to John Rarick for joining me this past Wednesday morning as we got a start on this project, clearing about half the distance we need to go.

A reminder that our monthly Wampum Chapter meeting will be held at the shelter at Watt's Mill on Monday, September 19th. Cook out, potluck, campfire, NCT comaradarie . . . plan on coming out. Details to follow.

Lastly, Jim Nocera is putting plans together for a Photography Hike on October 15th, and Lee and Eleanor are working out the details on the annual Pumpkin Pie Hike for later in the month, but we're in need of a volunteer with an idea for a destination and itinerary for our September chapter hike. Jim Houk and Dave Wright did a great job with the last two and their efforts are appreciated. If someone would like to take the lead on this I'd be willing to work to help to get the word out on it. If you have an idea for a "Let's Go!" shoot me an email and we'll pull it together.

http://northcountrytrail.org/get-involved/calendar/

Thanks for all you do for the NCT!

Dave Brewer
Communications Coordinator

Where's Rick Now?

Last June I blogged about Rick Ostheimer (aka his trail name Handlebar), a Wampum Chapter member and trail grubber and digger extrordinaire, who was thru hiking the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail.  You can see that original post here  http://davebrewerwampumchapter.blogspot.com/2010/06/wheres-rick.html

This season, I've been asked, "Where's Rick now?"  Well, back on the 3,100 mile-long Continental Divide Trail, of course.  He had to discontinue his hike last season because of illness, but he climbed back on that horse and headed west on June 30th to the Boulder, CO area to resume his solo hike.  He encountered some deep, deep snow at the outset of this year's continuation, necessitating his jumping ahead a bit to get out of it, but he'll go back and finish off that skipped section at the conclusion of his hike.

As of Monday, August 29th Rick was reporting from Butte, Montana and still headed north.  You can follow this year's trek through his trail journal at this site  http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?id=335037  There is also a Guest Book associated with his journal if you'd like to send him a message.

Here's a link to the Continental Divide Trail Website http://www.cdtrail.org/page.php

Wishing Handlebar the best on his journey!

Tuesday Recap - Wednesday 8/31 Plan

Good Afternoon Fellow NCTr's:

What an excellent morning to be on the North Country Trail, and my thanks goes out to Jake Erhardt, Doug Turner, Jim Rarick, John Rarick, Denny Duda, and Lee Fairbanks for joining me at Cemex. We had an awesome session, cleaning up and smoothing out the trail from the old dump site near Tony Dytko Rd. down to about 3/4 of the way to River Road. We took out rocks, roots, and branch litter, pruned back all of the overgrowth, and leveled out and redefined the pathway along this section of trail. In addition, all of the blazes down to the road have been repainted and/or replaced. The plan is to work up from River Road next week to where we finished off today to put this issue of the trail being logged to rest.

Now the bad news: Everyone was working so hard and diligently, getting this section of trail into fine hiking shape, and they were such good trail company, that I felt obligated to triple everyone's usual rate of pay for the morning. The budget, I fear, is now shot. Thank you again to this morning's crew! Some photos here.

Also, here's a link to a posting put up on the North Country Trail Facebook page yesterday about the Davis Hollow Cabin. The timing on that was interesting, I thought. You don't have to belong to Facebook to take a look at the article and comments.

My available time for trailwork is somewhat limited this week due to other obligations, but I am planning to spend a couple of hours with the DR mower and saw at the Kirkwood Farm on Wednesday morning, August 31. My plan is to be at the new Hodgson Road trailhead (Right above Crawford's Camping Park) at 10:00 AM and work until about noon mowing and preliminarily clearing our new section of trail along the top of the hill - it'll be a start.

If you'd like to join me I'd welcome the company.

Map

Apologize for the short notice - kind of a weird week and just playing it by ear at this point.

Hope to see you in the morning - thanks for all you do for the trail!

Dave Brewer
Trail Work Coordinator

Wampum and Butler Hike 8/28

They travelled thousands of miles (Actually, it was only a 2.5 mile hike with a shuttle back to your vehicle set up, and you could, if you wanted to, drive your car right up and park by the grill if you weren't going to do the hike), across deadly terrain - crossing lightning-struck mountains, raging rivers, and the lifeless tundra (No, that beautiful section of the North Country Trail through woods is in excellent hiking shape thanks to the maintaining efforts of the folks from Butler), braving the severest of elements (Really? That was PERFECT hiking weather - blue skies and perfect temperatures), amongst their murderous fellows (Come on! Those thirty-or-so attendees who came out for the event were great company. Trail people are the nicest people in the world), to arrive at their spartan, wasteland of a destination (You have to be kidding me! The Davis Hollow Cabin is a beautifully maintained NCT facility, reknowned along the 4600 mile trail route! Those volunteers who maintain that facility put a lot of time, effort, and pride into that place), to find only subsistance rations to survive on (All-You-Could-Eat hot dogs, beans, lemonade, marshmallows, and desserts in reality), and having to endure the subjugation by and the oppression of their cruel masters (Ahh, Jim Houk and Dave Wright did an EXTRAORDINARY job of putting this hike together and making sure everyone was taken care of, so thank you to them and everyone who helped out! A good time was had by all!!).

https://picasaweb.google.com/105725471641034380528/ChapterHike82811MoraineStatePark#

Trailwork Pics and Upcoming Dates

Good Morning Fellow NCTr's:

We made some major progress on trailwork projects over the past five days - finished up the reroute below Indian Rock then worked on constructing new trail at the Kirkwood Farm (on our way!), got some paint blazing and reblazing done, and made a major improvement in condition of the treadway near Tony Dytko Road at Cemex. Thanks to Bill, Lee, Dennis, Maa, and Jake for making the trip(s) out to the woods. Some photos start here.

Two Reminders -

Sunday, August 28th Jim Houk and Dave Wright are leading our Wampum Chapter monthly hike at Moraine State Park and we'll be walking the three miles from Link Road to the Davis Hollow Cabin. We'll be hiking with the folks from the Butler Chapter that day and it will be good opportunity to get acquainted. If you are coming out to hike meet at Link Road (on the North Shore) at 1:30 or, if just coming out for the hot dog roast and North Country Trail comaradarie join us at the cabin - we should be walking in by 3:00 or 3:30.

and,

Monday, September 5th is the deadline for the Wampum Chapter Honor Award nominations. I am in need of your thoughts on who should receive the 2011 award, so please work on that and get it to me.

Thanks for all you do for the North Country Trail! Hope to see you Sunday at Moraine.

Dave Brewer
Trailwork Coordinator

Trail Work, A Hike, and Some Pics

Good Morning Fellow NCTr's:

Some updates on the trailwork schedule, a planned hike, and also some photos:

Trailwork Friday, August 19th 2 PM to 5 PM - I'll be heading out to Gamelands 285 to spend a few hours to try to finish off the reroute below Indian Rock/Painters Knob. If you'd like to join me I'll be leaving from the Sterling Road trailhead at 2:00 that afternoon. Come when you can and stay as long as you want as all help is appreciated. There's about 75 yards (easy, flat terrain) left to grub out and also some paint blazing left to do on this project.

Trailwork Sunday, August 21 4 PM to 6 PM - Meeting at the Sterling Road trailhead at 4:00. If the IR/Painter's knob project is finished off we'll instead head over to the Kirkwood property to start working on our new trail section there. Can't wait to get this restarted!

Trailwork Tuesday, August 23 9 AM to 11 AM - Leaving from the front of Jata's Diner in Wampum at 9:00 and heading to Tony Dytko Road at Cemex. We'll spend a couple of hours working eastward from the old dump site, cleaning up the mess left by the loggers on the treadway. Rocks, roots, and pathway redefinition to deal with to get this section of trail in better condition. Again, tools provided - bring your favorite bug repellent (I found out yesterday that those 'squiters at Cemex are hungry!!). Come earlier to Jata's for breakfast if you'd like.

Monthly Hike, Sunday, August 28th at 1:30 PM to ? - Jim Houk and David Wright are leading a hike on this Sunday afternoon on approximately three miles of the North Country Trail at Moraine State Park, followed by a hot dog roast at the Davis Hollow Cabin. Meet at Link Road (on the North Shore) at 1:30 where vehicle shuttles will be set up and the hike will start off. It should take a couple of hours to walk to the cabin - although there are several different route and mileage options for the hike. Hot dogs and beans are on the menu for the post-hike feast - if you don't want to do the walk then just come on out to the cabin for some North Country Trail comaradarie. The hike is open to anyone so spread the word and let's get some folks out to experience this great section of trail.

North Country Trail Calendar


Photos from a couple of different places - I have some posted, starting here from the past couple of weeks, and there are some on National's Facebook page from the Conference in Dayton, which can be seen here.

Hope to see you "on the trail" - thanks for all you do!

Dave Brewer
Trail Work Coordinator

Baker UltraChallenge

Call for help for the Baker UltraChallenge. Volunteering for these events is always fun.


fyi - this part of the Baker Trail follows the section that the NCT uses to get from the ANF to and through Cook Forest.


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Patty Brunner
Date: Tue, Aug 9, 2011 at 11:13 AM
Subject: Baker UltraChallenge and Cakewalk Volunteers needed August 27
To: Patty Brunner



I hope the summer has been relaxing and fun so far!
Saturday, August 27th is the Baker UltraChallenge. We are looking for volunteers for aid stations and the finish line. The following web link shows all the aid station with directions and time that the station is open. Or, if you would prefer, call me and I'll put you on the schedule where requested.
http://www.rachelcarsontrails.org/bt/ultrachallenge/uc11/volunteersThis year we are starting at the Northern Trailhead of the Baker Trail on Vowinkle-Muzzete road (McDonald road). The Cakewalk will end at the Fire Tower in Cook Forest. The UltraChallenge will continue on the trail to Summerville where it will drop off, cross Rt. 28 and wind over to the Redbank Rail Trail. The Redbank Rail Trail has worked extremely hard and has completed the necessary bridge work to allow us to follow this corridor into Brookville. Many, many thanks! We will again end the event at the Brookville YMCA.
Please consider spending a couple of hours all day or all weekend.

Also Saturday and Sunday August 20th and 21th will be a trail maintenance. Dewaine and his work parties have been extremely successful and are down to the last tasks. If interested in going up for the day or camping let either Dewaine (412-719-9904) or Patty know.

As always, the trails can not exist without volunteers. We do appreciate all that everyone has done in the past and hopefully will do in the future.

Thanks!
Patty Brunner
412-609-8422

Trail Therapy August 6 and 7

Good Morning Fellow NCTr's:

The paying job demanded much this past week so it is time to get out for some North Country Trail therapy over the next couple of days. The weather forecast is iffy but we should be able to squeeze in some trail work around those (nice, refreshing) sporadic showers that are being predicted. Here's the plan:

Saturday morning, August 6, we'll take off from the front of Jata's Diner in Wampum at 9:00 AM and head to the old dump site on Tony Dytko Rd. to replace a couple of damaged Carsonite posts and do some rehab on the treadway that the loggers messed up. We'll plan to stay out for a couple of hours that morning. If the weather looks reasonable we can also replace some of the missing paint blazes through that section. Come earlier to Jata's for breakfast if you would like. I should be there around 8:15 tomorrow morning.

Sunday afternoon, August 7, the plan is to meet at the Sterling Road trailhead at PA Gamelands 285 at 4:00 PM and spend two hours working on our reroute through the Indian Rock area. We've made great strides on this section over the past couple of weeks and a good, solid session should just about get us to the finishing point. Got the tools sharpened up and the grubbing should go easy!

In other news, Tammy Veloski sent me a note that she and her sons, Kyle and Dale, did a maintaining walk-through on the two miles of trail from Watt's Mill Road to Sterling Road last Sunday and as a result we're in good shape out there. Appreciate their work on another warm, humid summer day. Tammy also takes great photos so I took the liberty of posting them in our chapter's 2011 album. Those, and a couple of others from last week's excursions can be seen starting here.

Lastly, here's a link to the NCTA calendar. I've been trying to get events posted on there in advance so folks can be "in the know" ahead of time. Our monthly meeting scheduled for the 15th of August is on there, as is our next planned hike and cookout on the 28th. You can also see what the other North Country Trail chapters across the seven states have going on.

Have a great day - hope you can make it out sometime over the next couple of days to enjoy some "trail therapy" with me. Thanks for all you do for the trail!

Dave Brewer
Trail Work Coordinator

* Photo is by Tammy Veloski - Kyle and Dale walking through one of the hemlock sections at Gamelands 285.

Thursday, July 28th Bridge Work at Cemex

Good Afternoon Fellow NCTr's:

I've put together an eight-foot-long, foot and DR mower bridge over the past week and it looks and works pretty darn good sitting there on my back porch. However, since I don't have any water related issues on my back porch here in Canfield, I thought it might have more utility on the rerouted section of trail below the haunted house at Cemex where we need to cross over a seasonally-wet water course.

The plan is to gather at the Fletcher Hill Road trailhead tomorrow evening (Thursday, July 28) at 6:00 PM to carry in and install it. With enough hands on the carry in we should be able to knock this task out in a couple of hours. Jim Nocera and I worked one evening last week on this part of the trail, finishing up the grubbing and paint blazing and so this bridge is the final step on the reroute. Appreciated his help on another warm and buggy evening on the North Country Trail.

Come when you can and stay as long as you want - all help is appreciated! Hope to see you tomorrow evening at Fletcher Hill.

Dave Brewer
Trail Work Coordinator

Five Things

Good Evening Fellow NCTr's:

It has been a busy week already with more on the radar screen for the next six days to let you know about. Yesterday, Dr. Ron Strickland, author of the forthcoming North Country Trail Guidebook came to Wampum and hiked, took notes, photos, and GPS coordinates on our sections of trail at Cemex, into Wampum, and then out through Gateway, Mines and Meadows, GL148, finishing up at the Edwards Farm trailhead. My sense of the timing of the day's events was way off and I apologize for any inconvenience it caused. Wanted to appreciate everyone who came out to meet Ron and/or take the walk with him - an awesome Wampum turnout and welcome for a Monday. Thanks to Jim Nocera, Bob Cody, Rob Prowel, Richard Lutz, Cody Magill, Dwight Fox, Gail Blakely, and Terry for taking the time. There are some photos from yesterday here and here. Cody also has a few posted here. It was a great (WARM then THUNDERSTORMY WET) ten-mile hike (one I had never done before at one time) and I think he was impressed with all of the work that we've put in building quality trail.

Speaking of "building quality trail", Jake Erhardt made the trip out to the haunted house at Cemex with me this morning and we finished grubbing out the top part of the reroute there, connecting with our existing treadway. Appreciate his help on a warm, muggy, buggy morning. All we have left to do there is to put in a short bridge for the mower and get the new pathway paint blazed. Moving forward! There are a couple of pics at the first link above, following the shots of yesterday's hike.

Thursday evening, July 14th, we'll be heading to Watt's Mill at Gamelands 285 to hang our "NO DUMPING" deterrent signs at the parking area, and to spend some time getting the backpacking shelter area mowed and ready for business. We'll meet at 6:00 PM at the trailhead on Watt's Mill Road and plan to stay out for a couple of hours. I'll bring the ladder, tools, signs, and hardware - bring some drinking water and your favorite bug repellent.

Saturday morning, July 16, David Wright and Jim Houk will be leading our first Wampum Chapter Monthly Hike, taking place at McConnell's Mill State Park. The plan is to meet at the parking lot on top of the hill at 9:00 AM and hike approximately five miles total - down one side of Slippery Rock Creek, cross over, and hike back up the other side. Here's a map of the park. Come on out to walk with these guys - bring a friend along! Should be a beautiful day.

Lastly, a reminder that the Wampum Chapter monthly meeting will be held at Hitos in West Pittsburg this upcoming Monday evening, July 18th, at 6:00 PM. Come on out for some North Country Trail discussion and comaradarie. If you plan to order dinner please come a bit earlier.

Hope you can make it out for some or all of these upcoming events. Thanks for all you do for the trail!

Trailwide Event Calendar
Dave Brewer
Communications Coordinator.

Two Great Hikes - One Low Price FREE!

On Monday, July 11th Dr. Ron Strickland, author of the forthcoming North Country Trail Guidebook, will be hiking our ten miles of trail around and through Wampum. We wanted to invite everyone walk with us for all or part of the day, or at least come out and meet him and welcome him to the area. This section of trail has been tagged as one of the trail's "premier segments" to be highlighted in the trail guide along with three others in PA, and it will be a great opportunity to show off all of the hard work we've done as a group to link North Dakota with New York on our National Scenic Trail. We have a lot to offer within the Wampum Chapter range in the way of the "hiking experience".

The plan is to meet at The Store in Wampum at 9:30 AM on Monday the 11th, shuttle a vehicle(s) out to the Edwards Road trailhead, then drive to Sankey Hill Road and begin walking westward through Cemex. We'll plan to have lunch at Jata's in Wampum (I'm thinking around 1:00 PM) and then resume hiking west out of town, up through Gateway, Mines and Meadows, GL148, to finish up at the Edwards Family Farm around 5:00 or so. Other than the meeting time in the morning the timing is somewhat up in the air, depending upon our hiking speed and what we stop to take a look at and investigate along the way.

Wampum Area Trail Map

Our second great hike - David Wright and Jim Houk have organized our first Wampum Chapter Monthly Hike, to be held at McConnell's Mill, on Saturday morning, July 16th. They plan to take off from the parking area at 9:00 AM and using the Slippery Rock Gorge Trail (NCT), Eckert Bridge, and the Kildoo Trail do a five mile loop down one side of Slippery Rock Creek and back up the other. That's always a beautiful, scenic hike and we're hoping to get a great turnout for it! Please plan to attend and spread the word.

Again, hikers should meet at the large parking area on top of the hill at 9:00 AM, wear appropriate footwear and dress for the weather for this "moderate difficulty" hike, and bring their own water and snacks. A vehicle will be spotted in the bridge area for those who might need a 'lift'.

Map of McConnell's Mill

Thanks to David and Jim for organizing this outing - should be a great hike!!

Buggy Day at GL285 - Plans For Trailwork 6/28

Good Evening Fellow NCTr's:

An excellent afternoon on the North Country Trail today as Dennis and Cathy Garrett and I had a chance to meet John Bibbee and his son Matt, who had come out to see what the trail was about out at Gamelands 285. John is a local Scout leader who is looking for ways to involve his Webelos Den in the outdoors. Coming to observe, they pitched right in on the digging that we were doing on the reroute below Indian Rock Hill and we appreciated their help on a warm and (very) buggy day. Some pictures from today start here. We also met up with one of our "regulars" - a hiker that spends a lot of time out there walking that trail with his killer dog (its actually a very nice dog). Good to know that the trail is being used and he always thanks us for the effort we put into it.

Tuesday morning's - June 28th - trailwork plan is to take off from the front of Jata's Diner in Wampum at 9:00 AM and head for the Fletcher Hill Road trialhead at Cemex to continue our work on the reroute just below the haunted house. Doug Turner and I made some good progress in starting it last Tuesday on a (very) humid morning. This one is a bit longer and more complex than the seventy-yarder we just finished near there so will take a bit more time. The end result will be great, getting the trail up out of the watercourse that has developed along the road we had originally routed on. We'll plan on spending a couple of hours out that morning - as usual I'll bring the tools. All help is appreciated! Oh, and come to Jata's earlier for breakfast if you'd like.

Thanks for all you do for the trail!
Dave Brewer
Trail Work Coordinator

June 18 - 21 Wampum Plans

Good Afternoon Fellow NCTr's:

Thought I should get the word out about trailwork and meeting plans for the next five days, but first, some good news about the trail section that runs between Tony Dytko Road and River Road out at Cemex. Lee and Eleanor Fairbanks, along with Jake Erhardt began working on clearing and temporarily flagging that logged section on Tuesday morning, and Lee and Eleanor went back out and finished it up yesterday afternoon. Hikers trying to make their way through can now find the route. Thanks to those guys for doing that! No sign of any further logging activity at this point, so maybe we're in the clear. What's left to do, for the time being at least, is chainsawing out some of the larger trail-blockers and some weedwacking and we'll plan to take a shot at that this weekend.

Here's what I have on the schedule as of right now - hope you can make it out for some or all of these sessions:

Saturday, June 18 At Tony Dytko Road, 9:00 - 11:00 AM Working with the chainsaw to remove the trailblockers on the logged section from Tony Dytko to River Road. If time (and hands) permit we'll also work on weedwacking the seasonal overgrowth along the route. Tools provided - all help appreciated.

Sunday, June 19 At Gamelands 285, Sterling Road Trailhead 4:00 - 6:00 PM Working out at Indian Rock Hill (Painter's Knob) on grubbing out the short reroute below the hill. Calling it "Best Father's Day EVER!" trailwork session. Again, tools provided - should be a great evening.

Monday, June 20 At Hitos in West Pittsburgh 6:00 PM is our monthly chapter meeting. Come a bit earlier if you plan to order dinner.

Tuesday, June 21 At Fletcher Hill Road, Cemex section 9:00 - 11:00 AM We'll start working on the next reroute below the haunted house, designed to get us up out of the water and mud along our current route. Taking of from the front of Jata's at 9:00 actually, and driving to Fletcher Hill Road. Come earlier to Jata's for breakfast if you'd like.

That's the plan - moving forward a couple of hours at a time. Again, hope to see you on the trail - thanks for all you do!

Dave Brewer
Trail Work Coordinator

Trail Work Saturday 6/11/11

Good Morning Fellow NCTr's:

Sorry about the late notice on tomorrow's trail work - busy, busy. Planning to head to Sterling Road at Gamelands 285 tomorrow morning, Saturday the 11th at 9:00 AM to spend a couple of hours working on the trail around the Indian Rock area. We developed a nice route through there last week and we'll be working on continuing to get it pruned and grubbed out. I'll bring the tools, you should bring some drinking water. Come on out and check out this interesting area of the Gamelands.

Like last week, my plan is to stay out afterwards and do some basic trail maintenance (weedwacking and pruning) along the trail back towards Watt's Mill Road - time to finish undetermined. It shouldn't be too big of a project as that "mile and some" section usually goes pretty quickly as it is mainly through the woods. You are welcome to join me for all or part of that project as many hands make light work. Slowly but surely getting all of our off-road trail brushed back this season - that mile at GL285, about 1/2 a mile at Gateway, and a mile at Mines and Meadows and Gamelands 148 still need to be taken care of yet. Getting there, getting there.

On another note, I noticed that Moraine State Park will be one of four state parks conducting a program for kids tomorrow afternoon in conjunction with National Get Outdoors Day. Our friends at Venture Outdoors will be participating in this - more information on that program here.

Hope to see you at Sterling Road tomorrow morning. Thanks for all you do for the trail!

Dave Brewer
Trail Work Coordinator

Trailwork Tuesday 6/7/11 Fletcher Hill Rd At Cemex

Good Evening Fellow NCTr's:

Tuesday morning it is! 9:00 AM at the Fletcher Hill Road trailhead (don't park too close to the edge - yes, it was me who almost put my truck over the hill) and we'll spend some time grubbing out the short reroute below the haunted house. We did about twenty of the seventy yards last week, besides cutting our way through the underbrush, so this should be a breeze. I'll bring the digging tools - bring water to drink. When we finish up my plan is to go to River Road and walk up the trail to gauge the extent of the damage on that section, explore the possibilities, and hopefully meet up with the logging crew to find out their intentions and timetable.

Actually, I'll be leaving from the front of Jata's in Wampum at 9:00 to drive to the trailhead. Come earlier and have breakfast if you'd like.

Wanted to thank Dennis Garrett, Peter Zelinka, and Lee and Eleanor Fairbanks for coming out Saturday morning to GL285 and working to find a viable route through the Indian Rock area. I think we came up with something that will work. A couple of pics from Saturday start here.

Also, the Clarion Chapter did a National Trails Day Hike on Saturday, the writeup about it by Devin Callihan can be found here.

And lastly, the ANF Chapter hosted a NTD work weekend up near the Amsler Springs shelter area - photos can be found here.

Hope to see you Tuesday morning! Thanks for all you do for the trail.

Dave Brewer
Trail Work Coordinator
330 531-1623

Trail Work Thur 6/2 and Sat 6/4

Good Afternoon Fellow NCTr's:

The work week at the paying job is almost over and a vacation is in sight! My plan for kicking off my time away is to head out to Cemex near the haunted house on Thursday morning, June 2nd to spend a couple of hours* working on one of the reroutes we have planned there. We'll do the short, western-most one first to get up out of a swampy area. Taking off from in front of Jata's at 9:00 AM and driving to Fletcher Hill Road, walking in from that end. Come earlier to Jata's for breakfast if you'd like.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=200253697770480530268.000474202f07a35e196ca&ll=40.927619,-80.320401&spn=0.014688,0.0421&t=h&z=15

On Saturday morning, June the 4th I am heading to the Sterling Road trailhead at Gamelands 285 at 9:00 AM, planning to spend a couple of hours* working around the Indian Rock Hill area. We've determined that the sidehill off the east end of that hill is never going to meet our expectations of what the trail needs to be (it keeps on sliding down the hill) so we'll be working on an alternate idea for that area. Again, planning to be out for a couple of hours.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=200253697770480530268.0004498a6086c175b4998&ll=40.784506,-80.487556&spn=0.02944,0.0842&t=h&z=14

I'll bring the tools for both days - bring drinking water as it looks like it will be warm. Hope to see you on the trail Thursday or Saturday.

*On both of these days I plan to spend some time mowing with the DR after we are finished - Thursday at GL148 and the Edwards Farm, and on Saturday at Gamelands 285 up to Booth Hill and back. These are going to be a couple of those infamous "?" end times as I'll stay out until finished. If you'd like to stay and work with me, or come out and meet up with me somewhere along the way on these projects you're more than welcome as lopping and weedwacking help is always appreciated.

Dave Brewer
Trail Work Coordinator