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TRAIL MAINTENANCE by John Quinlan
TRAIL MAINTENANCE DAYS BEGIN AT 8:00 INSTEAD OF
9:00 DURING JULY, AUGUST, AND SEPTEMBER!
******************************************************* A great turnout today (Friday, 27 June) for trail work on the Chunky Gal Trail. This was a special day (not on the routine schedule) that saw 10 of our hardworking club members accomplish a great deal.
Another very special part of this project was the
official opening and formalizing of a side trail from the Chunky Gal to the
top of Shooting Creek Bald (some newer maps show this as Boeteler Peak).
Heretofore this route was but a confusing jumble of pieces of paths that
only led to frustration. Most hike leaders prudently avoided this segment as
it could easily lead to lost hikers in formidable terrain. The trail is now
open, blazed, and safe; even for novices.
Another bonus to getting to the top is the very nice
view that your team worked diligently to improve upon today.
Our club did us all proud as represented by the
following:
Bob LeHoullier
Bobbi LeHoullier
Dave Richardson
Steve Sutherlin
Darlene Rothenay
Jack Dugger
Larry Zarefoss
Guy Burger
Tom Bussolari (friend of Steve and not a club
member)
John Quinlan
*****************************************************
National Trails Day was on Saturday, 7 June; another
hot day for the "A" team. In conjunction with David Kuykendall of
the US Forest Service, seven and "one-half" folks
accomplished the goal of constructing a retaining wall at the site of the
Trackrock Road petroglyphs near Young Harris, GA. All materials were
provided by the USFS. Anybody reading might question what is a "one-half
folk". Glad you asked. Here is the list of these wonderful workers:
Justin Jackson; the 8 year old grandson of Bobbi and
Bob LeHoullier (the one-half folk, and yes he did work! What a nice young
man!)
Bobbi LeHoullier
Bob LeHoullier
Ben Kennedy
Gene Ford
Bryan Blue
Steve Sutherlin
John Quinlan
All in all, much was accomplished and with much
sweat! You are each to be congratulated by permitting your hiking
club to make a good showing on this special Trails Day. Thanks to
each one!
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ NEW TRAIL MAINTENANCE HIKES PLANNED Beginning 1 April 08 we plan to supplement our trail maintenance program by offering additional opportunities to members to pitch in to help keep our trails safe and clear for passage. These additional opportunities are now shown on the Spring 2008 hiking calendar. Dates/times are shown: for now starting at 9 am on the first and third Thursdays of each month. Locations to meet are: North Carolina--Ingles parking lot in Hayesville, and Georgia--Mary Ann’s Restaurant in Young Harris. At Mary Ann’s there is an opportunity for breakfast and expanded fellowship for those who wish to meet earlier-suggested time: 8 am. When a trail to be worked is one already adopted, we will be coordinating with the adopter(s) and hopefully offer assistance to them as they lead us to areas they know need work. The goal is to work reasonably, have fun at this, and try to limit our time working to 3-6 hours for each outing.
Coordination has been effected at both the Tusquittee and Blue Ridge Ranger districts, and their response has been most enthusiastic! We can count on their support to access difficult areas to help minimize time for traveling to areas to work, training, limited transport, park passes where needed, and some incentives for participation (more on this later). This can be a great partnership with each member's assistance.
Please give the program a chance, and if you can come it will be greatly appreciated. Normal hiking attire is recommended, along with water, snacks, and as always we recommend a personal first aid kit. Additionally it would be helpful to bring a lopper and/or a hand saw for pruning tree branches and limbs.
Any assistance you can offer is most helpful! Come join us!!
For any further information please contact John Quinlan at 706 896-2430 or via email at quinjgfi@windstream.net.______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ REPORT OF TRAIL MAINTENANCE HOURS All trail maintenance hours need to be reported to Jim Reynolds at retiredjim@gmail.com. This includes Georgia and North Carolina trails. Please email Jim with the hours, including travel time, and in what state the maintenance was done. MOUNTAIN HIGH HIKERS TRAIL MAINTENANCE HOURS AS OF JUNE 30, 2008
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