Jun 10 Trailblazer Workdays

 

Gearing up

The Trailblazers are gearing up for a work day on the Uwharrie Trail. This day, we have a group of 10 starting at West Morris Campground. We walked in a mile on the approach trail to the junction with the Uwharrie Trail. There we split into 2 groups, one walking south, the other, north. It's June and temperatures, although starting out cool, rise during the morning to close to 80 by quitting time. So, our work is on the light side, just cleaning runouts and clipping vegetation. During cooler months, our workload will involve some heavy duty chores like building water diversions.

Michelle Nelson rakes leaves from a runout

Anyone is welcome to join our workdays. They are held on the second Saturday of each month except July and August when conditions aren't conducive to work much. The club has an assortment of trail tools to use for trailwork. Volunteers often have clippers and a handsaw packed as well. So we can handle most issues the trail presents for us. There is also a dedicated Saw Crew. Leaders Steve Chase and Bruce Kolkebeck have chain saw and crosscut certifications. Just this past month, Kathryn Waple received her crosscut certification. Whether it is a chainsaw or crosscut, carrying them in to a specific downed tree is a challenge. Occasionally, a downed or leaning tree has overhead or other hazards which the forest service does not permit us to work on. In June of 2019, a storm blew trees down across all the Uwharries but hit the Birkhead Wilderness hardest. It was beyond our ability to clear them so the Forest Service contracted a professional crew, SAWS, to do the work. Many of us helped with that work and inspired a few volunteers to obtain certifications to do saw work. 

Ed Nelson works on another runout

Trailwork can be hard work but it is very rewarding. Comradery on the trail crew is high. It is great fun meeting and swapping stories with all the characters that show up. Some have travelled from as far as the NC coast. On this workday Ed and Michelle, from Shallotte and Kathryn from Carolina Beach made the trek to the Uwharries to join us. Ali came from Raleigh and the rest of us were more local. It's always a blast to spend time with these folks.

Stanley Siceloff shows the checkerboard underside of a corn snake

It is not always work. Today, Stanley gently showed us a corn snake which was sunning itself in the trail. Joe showed us several Chestnut oaks which had sap running. The sap had fermented and had a distinct odor, like a spilled alcoholic drink which attracted ants and hornets. We also spotted both Scarlet and Summer Tanagers. 

Consider joining us in the Fall for some fun on the trails.  If you can't or don't want to swing a heavy tool, we have light duty work as well. Workdays will be the second Saturday of the month. Meeting locations are generally posted earlier in the week on our facebook page. Trail reports from facebook or our trail adopters give our Trail Bosses an indication where our trailwork is needed most. See you on the trail in the Fall. 

June 10 workday: Trail Boss Joe White, Stanley Siceloff, Merritt Maness, Ed and Michelle Nelson, Ali Tucker, Roger McIntyre, Jim Plant, Trail Boss Matt McArthur and Kathryn Waple.