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Elkin Valley Trails Association
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March/2016
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Volunteers on the March 5 Workday on the E&A/MST Trail
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A Great Day of Spring Trail Cleaning...
Thank You, Volunteers!
Thirty-two folks came out for a Spring clean-up on the in-town Elkin & Alleghany/Mountains to Sea Trail on Saturday 5 March. Many thanks to a good contingent from Prism Medical Products. We completed all eight objectives that included creating new drainage ditches to prevent washing on the trail, repair of rain and snow runnels, the building of a dry creek bed by the second pump house shelter, repair of the steps down to Elkin Creek, redirection of water flow, repair to flood water damage on picnic table pads, lots of clean up of old debris near the 268 bypass bridge, and repair of the basic granite dust trail to enable easier use of strollers, wheelchairs and such.
A huge thanks to the following volunteers: Andras Neumark, Damon Waslin, Anthony Crist, Monica Nikole, Rob Arnold and his two daughters, Freddy Harrison, Lucy Luther, Miguel Perez, Martin Weibel, Logan Haynes, Don Pickett, Johnny Hopkins, Vickie Roberts, Bethany Roberts, Sue Blackburn, Gracie Blackburn, Mike Reves, Marianne Luther, David Johnson, Tammy Johnson, Bill Roth, Arnold Banner, Dee Neil, Maureen Postle, Peter Graham, Melody Rogers, Andrew Dean and Bill Blackley. We even had visitors from Charleston working. We invite you to check out the work and enjoy the trails and if you are so inclined...please bring a rake or trash bag with you and continue to hone the beauty of our trails.
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More March 5 Workday Volunteers.
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Looking Ahead...
Mtn Bike Course & New Footbridge!
There are a lot of exciting activities ahead with the opening of a new mountain bike/running/walking trail and the new 178-ft bridge that will extend our current E&A/MST trail (work on both sides of the Elkin Creek has started). We hope to announce a few new and expanded partnerships in the next few months that will add features to our current trails that will really enhance and increase the trail experience. Many thanks to Will Gwyn, Bill Blackburn, Robert Ball, Adam McComb, Robin Smith, George Crater, Joe Mickey, Martha Smith, Mark Fowlkes, Rob Libbert, Bob Hillyer, Denise Lyon, Joe Hicks, Joe Walker and a host of others for making these sections of trail and our new bridge possible.
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Save the Date!
Yadkin Valley Tour de Vino - May 21
Trails Boogie - June 16
If you are a road cyclist, get ready to ride the
Yadkin Valley Tour de Vino (25, 50, 71 and 100 miles) on May 21 during the Yadkin Valley Wine Festival. The TdeV is coordinated by EVTA Governing Board member, Richard Moore. Please visit the link to get more info and to register for this great annual EVTA fundraiser.
And if you like great music, dancing, silent auction, barbecue supper and/or just visiting friends please join EVTA at The Liberty in downtown Elkin for our annual gathering at the
Trails Boogie
on Thursday night,
16 June 2016. Thanks to Dee Neil for being the chairperson of the Trails Boogie and, if she calls for help...our thanks to YOU for helping Dee put on this event. Please mark your calendars and consider joining us at this annual celebration of the trails and the return of
The Jeweltones!. Bring friends, meet and make new friends as we boost our economy and make this a much more exciting place to live, work and play, all while improving our health and well being :)
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Cqn You Help Us Create a Great FMST Event?
Friends of MST Annual Meeting in Elkin 2017!
EVTA was recently honored with an invitation for Elkin to host the next annual meeting of the Friends of the Mountains to Sea Trail. The meeting will be held in February of 2017. EVTA, in partnership with the Town of Elkin and Laura Gaylord, Main Street and Community Manager are forming a committee to oversee this weekend event. If you would like to help showcase Elkin and our surrounding area and help us plan some great fun for our guests, please reply to Denise Lyon via this email newsletter.
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Next Trail Workday
Saturday, March 26
Join us for a fun Spring day of trail work on the Grassy Creek section of trail. Everyone is invited to meet at 8:30 am on Saturday, March 26 at the Ingles shopping center on Hwy 21 Business. Meet the EVTA group on the Brookfall Dairy Road side of the shopping center at the old Walmart (empty now) space. We will work til noon or so. Please bring shovels, rakes, mattocks, and gloves if you can. Dress appropriately and bring your own bottled water!
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For More Information About Creek Week and
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NC State Parks/Water Infrastructure Could Benefit
Connect NC Bond Referendum on March 15 Ballot
North Carolinians need to be aware of another item other than candidate voting on the
March 15 primary ballot.....the Connect NC Bond referendum. Our state parks could benefit from a $75 million investment.
Projects include:
- $20.9 million for new/improved visitor centers and community buildings in 11 parks
- $18.8 million for new/expanded campgrounds and cabins in 12 parks
- $21.3 million for park-wide improvements in 12 parks and Mountain to Sea Trail
- $14.1 million for land acquisition/expansion in 10 parks
Additionally, the Connect NC Bond will provide $309 million to invest in upgrading and modernizing our state's water infrastructure.
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Dimpled Trout Lily - photo by Joe Mickey
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Look for Wildflowers
on the Trails!
Native Plants Welcome
by Nancy Goodwin
March is the month when I begin looking for the earliest wildflowers on the trails, the very earliest being the Dimpled Trout Lily. Like all the early Spring flowers it will emerge from dormancy, staying very low to the ground, its purplish with green spotted leaves showing before the small yellow blooms appear. Look for it on the banks and beside the trail.
It is also a good time to move native wildflower plants to the trail banks and meadow.
I will be planting some clumps of Marsh Marigold which is native to N.C. and beginning to bloom in our yard and ditches. Also, I will move a few clumps of Maximilian's Sunflower to the meadow area on the E&A/MST trail. These are emerging profusely from their bed in our yard.
If you have native plants you would like to transplant,
Joe Mickey, our EVTA native species planting leader, suggests that a good site to check to see if a plant is native to North Carolina is
http://plants.usda.gov/java/. Cultivars, plants that have been developed for commercial distribution, are not appropriate. Do check with Joe if you have a question about identification or about a good location for it in the trail area.
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Special Announcment from Stone Mtn State Park
Upcoming Prescribed Burns in March
Stone Mountain State Park in partnership with other agencies is planning several prescribed fires in the park between now and the middle of March of 2016. One area is located at Air Bellows Gap and will involve approximately 65 acres of park land. The second area is Stone Mountain itself which will involve approximately 600 acres.
The reason for both of these burns is to reduce the fuel load currently on the ground now which will greatly reduce the chance of a wild fire, which could potentially cause a lot of damage. A secondary reason for these burns is to provide plant and animal species that are native to this area a more favorable environment in which to grow since fire does not occur as frequently as it did 500 years ago.
Please be assured we are taking every precaution to ensure these prescribed fires stay within the designated areas.
Stone Mountain State Park is currently compiling an email list of interested park neighbors so that we can alert you of any park event including the day of the prescribed fire. We will not share email addresses with anyone.
For any questions concerning these upcoming burns please call the park office at 336-957-8185.
Thank you.
Bill Meyer, Park Superintendent
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EVTA is Looking for More Trail Maintainers
Jason Taylor - Taking Care of
Grassy Creek Trail
EVTA could use a few more volunteers like Jason Taylor, who takes the initiative to make sure the trail between Grassy Creek Vineyard & Winery and Byrd's Branch Campground stays in great shape.
Jason is the Grassy Creek Trail section "maintainer", and on his first day on the trail did 4.5 hours of trimming, stump digging, back filling and tree clearing! If you would like to take a section of trail, please contact our trail development coordinator, Bob Hillyer for details. While Jason is certainly setting the bar high, we welcome all individuals and groups who can put in a few hours a month.
Thank you, Jason!!
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Recently Spotted Along a Local Trail...Can You Guess Who???
(Thank you for your commitment to trails, JoeBeaver :)
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