The latest news from Elkin Valley Trails Association...
A Day of Service - September 11
Students from Elkin Middle School chose to work on the E & A Rail Trail section of the Mountains to Sea Trail as their Day of Service project. Thank you to Emily Morrison, their teacher, and all of the energetic and engaged kids for caring so much for their community. Way to go - you inspire us!
Day of Service Video - Elkin Middle School.
EVTA Awarded Winston-Salem Foundation Grant

EVTA's "Trail Town" segment project will build a 6-foot wide, 550-foot long, handicapped-accessible walking trail to bring the NC Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST) into the Historic Downtown Elkin business district. The Town of Elkin, a partner in our project, holds an easement on the path's location between West Main and Elk Spur streets along the west bank of the Big Elkin Creek. The segment will become an official hiking entry point into Elkin and include a kiosk offering information to hikers showing trail-friendly amenities for their visit. Four multi-modal displays highlighting the town's manufacturing and transportation history, as well as wildlife will be placed along the path. The Yadkin Valley Rotary Club plans to place two benches and landscaping along this trail.The path base will be 3" of ABC crusher run gravel topped with 3" of rock screenings/dust. The Town of Elkin will provide maintenance once the path is constructed.

The timeline to complete the project is as follows: trail segment construction, October 2015; multi-modal displays installation and kiosk installation, November 2015; benches by December 2015.
The construction of the Trail Town segment will meet community as well as through-hiker needs. Visitors and residents need a safe connector to walk from the trails and recreational facilities at the Elkin Municipal Park into Downtown Elkin.  The current path from the Park to Downtown Elkin is along a two-lane street with a blind curve, no sidewalks, and no shoulders. This safer pedestrian path will also be stroller-friendly and handicapped-accessible to encourage use by all.  

The proposed 550-foot "Trail Town" segment will be the link bringing three trails into Elkin (Mountains to Sea Trail, Overmountain Victory Trail and the Elkin & Alleghany Rail-Trail).

A huge thank you to the Grant Committee for your awesome work!  
Duck & Turtles Compete for EVTA.
Duck & Turtle Regatta
Join us on September 26, 2015
The Yadkin Valley Pumpkin Festival Finale!

The Duck & Turtle Regatta on the Elkin Creek begins at the Elk Spur Street Bridge above the Elkin Public Library and finishes just below the library near the West Main Street bridge. As the Pumpkin Festival finale, the ducks and turtles will be launched at approximately 5:00 pm. They'll float down Elkin Creek and over the library dam. The top 20 fastest will be matched to the list of names, winners identified and notified by phone in a few days.

Just a few of the prizes...
  • 10.5' Kayak from Yadkin River Adventures
  • 3 Walmart Bikes for age and size
  • Gift cards from:
    • 5 restaurants
    • Yadkin General Store
    • Elkin Parks & Recreation Gym
    • Larson Pottery
    • Elkin Creek & Round Peak Wine tastings
    • Combs Produce
    • Tweetsie Railroad
    • 4 NC Zoo Tickets
Cost is $5 each for a duck or a turtle and they can be purchased at the Elkin Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings from 9- 12, and at the EVTA booth at the Pumpkin Festival (near Royal's Drugstore). Proceeds go to Elkin Valley Trails Association and Yadkin Valley Rotary Club. We could use volunteers to help us at the EVTA booth - please contact Volunteer Coordinator, Bill Blackburn if you are interested.

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MtnBike Course Workdays

We are making steady progress on the developing mountain bike trail in Elkin.

Next workdays:
September 26
October 10 

If you want to help, please contact
Rob Libbert, Mountain Bike Coordinator


Female American Redstart - Photo by Ron Storey
Birder's Corner
by Ron Storey

American Redstarts are common fall migrants across much of the East, and are often found in big numbers on good migration days.
 
Understanding birds & weather: Fall birding basics
Fall migration is an exciting time for birds. With migrants on the move, your local birding site can be transformed from the static to the dynamic overnight, with a suite of new species to identify, an abundance of individuals, and a feeling that anything is possible. We realize some of our best birding days center on being at the right place at the right time. For many birders this is mere happenstance; perhaps a long-planned weekend trip to Cape May results in a great encounter with bird migration. But these fantastic interactions with bird migration can be reliably predicted with a basic understanding of birds and weather. The savvy fall birder plans carefully both when and where to look for birds. In this article we'll discuss the basics of fall bird migration as it relates to weather, and put you on the right track to find more birds.
Fall Migration Basics
Fall migration starts earlier than most people realize, with many shorebirds on the move by late June, and the first landbirds heading south soon thereafter. August through October are peak months, but migration continues into December for some species, especially shorter-distance landbirds (e.g., sparrows, blackbirds), raptors, waterfowl, and seabirds. Birds are often on the move every day during this entire period, but there are reasons that some days are better than others for observing them. The volume of migration depends on the weather, with many birds waiting until conditions are favorable before initiating migratory flights.

Read the rest of this interesting and very comprehensive article on the eBird web site at:

THANK YOU...
Thanks to Brian Ratledge and Joe Mickey who are continuing to report birds to eBird even during the "dog days of summer."  Their efforts keep the Elkin and Allegheny Rail Trail relevant to birders who may be traveling through Surry County, and they are building a comprehensive database of birds.  
Brian and Joe's contributions are critical to EVTA's goal of attracting visitors from outside the area because Elkin's proximity to Interstate 77 makes it a convenient stop for vacationing birders, many of whom use eBird's BirdsEye application on their smart devices as they travel.  Thanks to GPS technology and the reporting of birders such as Brian and Joe, the BirdsEye application enables birders to access - instantly with one click, as they are traveling  - a list of what birds are reported nearby and a map of nearby birding "hotspots" as well as what birds have been reported recently at each hotspot.  A bird that is common to residents of Surry County may be a bird never before seen by someone traveling through the area, or the variety of reported birds may present an attractive rest stop.  As peak migration approaches, it is worth considering that if birds are reported on our trails, birders will come to Elkin.

Happy trails and good birding,
Ron Storey
Great Day at Grassy Creek!
Lots of folks recently walked the new 1.5 mile segment of trail between Grassy Creek Winery & Vineyard and Byrd's Branch Campground, and enjoyed an afternoon of music and visiting. Thanks to everyone who had a hand in creating this celebration and the beautiful section of trail...special thanks to Bob Hillyer of EVTA, Tony and Allison Spagnoletti, Jim and Cynthia Douthit, Harrison Hall and his family and Herb MacDonald for organizing trail work. This segment is possible because of all the awesome volunteer trail builders who gave freely of their valuable time to create something great for our community.

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Saturday, October 24 8:00am
5k Fundraiser Run for EVTA

Hopefully we'll be using some/all of the new mountain bike trail for a trail run!

$125 cash prize for 1st overall male and $125 cash prize for 1st overall female

Only $25 until October 14, 2015: chance to win $125

All preregistered participants get 2 pints of Skull Camp beer at Skull Camp Brewery the evening before race 10-23-2015

Free technical t-shirt for all registered participants on or before October 14

Age group awards and all proceeds go to supporting the construction and maintenance of the new trails between downtown Elkin to Stone Mountain State Park.

All runners, hikers, walkers are WELCOME

$30 fee after October 14, 2015 - no guarantee of t-shirt

Register at itsyourrace.com
 
Up to date info:
Insane Terrain on Facebook

See EVTA's tent at Saturday farmers market in Elkin and other events for registration form/brochure on Insane Terrain. You can also call or text Robert Ball at 336-366-9212 for information on any aspect of the 5k. We need volunteers for Saturday morning October 24 to assist in registration, set up and breakdown of event.
Video Documents Watershed Now Mission
Watch Watershed Now Video.


Watershed Now has released a 6 minute video documenting the movement in Elkin to preserve and protect our watershed. Many thanks to EVTA, Town of Elkin Tourism Development Authority, Elkin Town Commissioners, Elkin Middle School, filmmaker John Litskche and all of you who have responded to this initiative so positively.

Next Watershed Now meeting:
Monday September 21 at 5pm
Elkin Presbyterian Church
151 Hillcrest Drive, Elkin

HELP!
we need you...

EVTA has several events and activities coming up and we could put you to work. If you have wanted to find a way to get involved, please consider volunteering. We'll make sure you feel supported and we guarantee you'll have some fun.

Coming up:
Saturdays at the Farmers Market (Duck & Turtle Regatta ticket sales)
Duck & Turtle Regatta info table at the Pumpkin Festival - Sept 26
Insane Terrain 5k fundraiser race - Oct 24

Please contact EVTA Volunteer Coordinator, Bill Blackburn, for more information and to sign up at [email protected]  
Long day at the Grassy Creek trail opening and we're dog tired.

Elkin Valley Trails Association
a non-profit affiliate of NC Rail-Trails, Inc.