Grassy Creek section.
NEXT TRAIL WORKDAY IS THIS SATURDAY.
The next EVTA trail work day is this Saturday, May 2 on the Grassy Creek section. Meet at the trail crossing, which is just west of the old Walmart, north of Elkin on Business 21/Bridge Street (this is the current Ingles shopping center), about a half a mile behind the old store on Brookfall Dairy Road. We will continue to build the trail from where we left off in March. EVTA will provide at least 12 trail building tools, but personal rakes, shovels or hoes are welcome if you can bring them. Gloves, water and lunch would also be good items to bring for yourselves. We will meet at
8:30 am and work until
noon or beyond that if you want to individually.
Please let Herb MacDonald know if you plan to participate or if you have questions by calling
336-467-1606.
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First Annual Stone Mountain to Elkin
Community Hike and Challenge...25 miles of fun
REGISTER BY MAY 8!
Join an intrepid group of hikers who will make the maiden foot voyage on the developing local segment of the Mountains to Sea Trail. Participants can hike in groups according to their walking pace...everyone is invited. This is a great way to see the work that has been done on the trail and to raise money to finish it. The hike is roughly 22 miles over two days with an overnight campout at Wells Knob before hiking back into Elkin.
Dates: May 23-24
Group Size Limit - 40 (spots will go fast)
Cost - $30/hike includes shuttle to trailhead at Stone Mountain, sag support, camping site, water and snacks. Extras: Prepared meals ($20 - lunch, dinner Saturday and breakfast, lunch Sunday); Sherpa shuttle service for tent, sleeping bag, etc. $10/pack; Premium commemorative tee shirt $15 (free for pledges of $50 or more)
OPTIONAL FUNDRAISER CHALLENGE
Trophies and prizes to top fundraisers in the following categories - top business, local official, church member, male and female under and over 25. With limit of 40 participants odds of winning are good.
100% of proceeds will benefit Elkin Valley Trails Association and will help build trails!
For registration information, questions or to help volunteer, please contact:
Bern Schumak, hike coordinator
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Lining up for last year's Tour de Vino.
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Annual EVTA fundraiser is May 16.
IT'S TIME FOR THE WINE FESTIVAL AND
TOUR DE VINO.
Bring your bikes and your picnic blankets Saturday, May 16th and enjoy a Spring morning riding some of the best roads in the state, plus an afternoon of wine tasting and live music - all with one ticket! Four rides available from 30 to 100 miles. Showers provided and all proceeds benefit the Elkin Valley Trails Association!
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| Michael Leach with WXII channel 12 and Laura Gaylord, Main Street & Community Manager, in front of our new sign tree on the Mountains to Sea Trail in downtown Elkin. |
ELKIN THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE?
We now have proof, thanks to a creative community project at the eastern end of Main Street in downtown Elkin. A welcoming new sign tree now greets visitors to Elkin and Mountains to Sea trail thru hikers traveling east to west. The project came about as EVTA Governing Board members Bob Hillyer, Joe Hicks, Bill Blackley and Denise Lyon worked with Town of Elkin Main Street and Community Manager, Laura Gaylord, to bring more trail awareness to the downtown area. The Main Street Advisory Board approved the project and provided funding for landscaping, Will Gwyn did the earthmoving, and Erik Dahlager donated his time for rock stacking. Art students from Elkin High School, under the guidance of Adam Beshears, joined the project and created the colorful signs for the sign tree. This community project is a great addition to our Trail Town!
Thank you to all the volunteers! Coming soon...more wayfinding signage and maps to indicate that Elkin's Main Street IS the Mountains to Sea Trail.
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Dates You Don't Want to Miss...
Birding Walk on the E&A Rail Trail - May 2
Yadkin River Paddle to the Fiddler's on the River Festival - May 8
First Annual Thru-Hike Stone Mountain to Elkin - May 23, 24
Tour de Yadkin Weekend in Elkin - May 29 thru 31
Trails Boogie Celebration & Fundraiser - June 4
Duck & Turtle Regatta - September 26
Insane Terrain 5k - October 24
NC Trail Days in Elkin - June 2 thru 5, 2016
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The Jewel Tones enjoying the
E&A Rail Trail. |
Thursday, June 4 at the Liberty.
THE BOOGIE IS BACK!
Join EVTA at the fifth annual Trails Boogie fundraiser and celebration on Thursday, June 4 at the Liberty in downtown Elkin. The festivities begin right after work at 5:30 pm with social hour - cold beverages and a BBQ dinner are available from Liberty Catering. Then Doug Deming and Dennis Gruenling with the Jewel Tones crank it up at 7 pm with their high energy swing/jump blues dance music. Bring your friends - admission is FREE - and enjoy this fun evening while helping support EVTA and it's efforts to engage the community with trail building and trail activities. Visit the EVTA information table to get updated on trail building efforts and how you can help. You can make a tax-deductible donation to EVTA at the door, by taking home a great item from the Silent Auction or...
New this year at the Boogie...buy a drawdown ticket chance for a fantastic Bahamas vacation for two at Carriearl
in Great Harbour:
4 night stay for 2 adults
All inclusive: 3 meals per day; open bar for the entire stay, one 1/2 day boat tour
Airfare to and from Great Harbour flying out of Charlotte
Drawdown tickets are $50 each and can be purchased the night of the Trails Boogie as well as from any EVTA Governing Board member, at the Elkin Farmer's Market on Saturdays in the near future, and at participating locations (to be announced). All proceeds benefit EVTA.
A huge THANK YOU to our Trails Boogie sponsors this year:
Gold - United Water Silver - Walmart
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Uncovering history...really cool brick bridge discovered on the developing mountain bike loop off the main trail.
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Ok, it's really happening.
ELKIN IS GETTING A MOUNTAIN BIKE COURSE.
EVTA is happy to announce that ground has been broken, graded and shoveled on an in-town mountain bike/running/walking loop off the main E&A/Stone Mountain Trail. Thanks to EVTA Governing Board member, Rob Libbert, for overseeing this exciting new addition to Elkin trails. We'll let you know when the trail is open, but in the meantime, be on the lookout for the next mountain bike trail workday to get a sneak peek.
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| EVTA MTB Trail Build - MT55 |
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American Goldfinch on the
E&A Rail Trail - photo by Ron Storey.
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THE BIRDER'S CORNER.
BY RON STOREY
The number of bird species being reported for the Elkin & Alleghany Rail Trail is increasing as
Brian Ratledge and I continue to bird the trail and report to eBird. Since April 1, we have reported nearly 80 bird species, and the eBird database is over 100 bird species for all time. The eBird reports are getting the attention of out-of-towners who are now coming to Elkin to walk the trail and bird watch...including Ron Morris who co-writes the Bird's-Eye View for the Winston-Salem Journal. Look for his article on Elkin's eBird Hotspot in the May 15 edition of the Winston-Salem Journal.
BIRD WALK ON SATURDAY, MAY 2
Brian Ratledge and I will be leading a bird walk open to the public on Saturday, May 2nd. There is no cost to attend. If you have binoculars, please bring them. We will meet at the Elkin Municipal Park recreation center parking lot at 8:00 a.m. and finish around noon. You are welcome to join us for whatever amount of time you may have available. Please no dogs.
E & A Rail Trail Ebird Hotspot
Check out this really cool blog by Adam and Mecca Lowe. This entry is about Elkin birding...
Outside Around Elkin Blog
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| Recently cut section near Grassy Creek. |
Trail building.
TOOLS OF THE TRADE.
Bob Hillyer, EVTA Trail Development Coordinator, and Robin Chandler have been experimenting with some new trail building tools and techniques to more quickly get trail on the ground. With a four foot wide tiller attachment for Robin's tractor, the two put in about 200 yards of trail in the Grassy Creek area in one day.
With the support of Joe Walker and All-Star Rentals, EVTA is gaining ground on mountain bike loop development with an
MT 55 with a four-way blade that you can see at work here:
EVTA is grateful to volunteers who are providing and operating this trail building machinery and to your donations which are allowing us to purchase tools for trail construction.
Our goal is to get trail on the ground! We look forward to opening sections this year...including a mountain bike loop, vineyard loop and more areas on the Stone Mountain Trail.
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YOU CAN VOLUNTEER IN MANY DIFFERENT WAYS
Many people have offered to volunteer for the efforts of Elkin Valley Trails Association. Besides the "digging dirt" trail building, we have many volunteer opportunities of a "softer nature". Below are just a few volunteer opportunities which are open to anyone with time and desire.
North Carolina Trail Days, June 2-5, 2016: We are forming several committees including: Hiking committee, Paddling committee, Biking committee, PR and advertising committee, and Special interest committee for areas such as birding, fly fishing, falconry, triathlon, etc.
Trail maintenance committee: Develop and oversee a trail maintainer's organization. This organization will recruit volunteers to perform light maintenance on assigned sections of the trail (usually 1-2 miles long). The maintainers will also alert and participate in larger maintenance projects that might be required as well as organize maintenance workdays. The committee head would be responsible for communications and scheduling (emails) between trail maintainers.
Trail planners: The location of the trail is determined by willing landowners. In certain areas, we are looking for people who want the trail to go in their area and can be a "sphere of influence". Knowledge and friendship with local landowners and an excitement about the trail are the only requirements.
Trail going east: We would like the first mile or two of the trail going east to be something special. We are looking for volunteers to present and develop ideas to make this section a "knock out" memorable trail. Some ideas that have been presented are "a themed trail", special pavement, unique trail layout (serpentine?), etc. If you have unique ideas, we would love to have you join our committee.
Grant writers: No experience needed.
Special project coordinators: When we have a special project, such as a small bridge, sign or sculpture we would like to have names of people willing to take on shorter term, one time projects.
Volunteers are our lifeblood. If you have a special interest or experience in an area that could help the trail, please let us know by replying to this email!
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Paddle to Elkin Before the Festival - May 8.
Elkin Fiddlers by the River Festival on May 9
Paddlers, music and contra dance lovers...
There will be a kayak and canoe paddle on Friday afternoon, May 8th from Ronda to Elkin on the day before the Elkin Valley Fiddlers by the River in the Elkin Municipal Park on May 9th. If you would like to rent a boat or schedule a shuttle please contact either Yadkin River Adventures or Roaring River Canoe and kayak outfitters. They will pick up paddlers and leave from Crater Park at 2 PM (leave your car there) and take you to the boats and put-in at Ronda. The take out will be in Elkin later in the day...about a 2 1/2 hour paddle.
If you have your own shuttle and boat. the float will start in Ronda at ~ 2:30 pm.
You can camp at Crater Park in Elkin on Friday and enjoy music and the contra dance Friday night at the Elkin Municipal Park...easy walking distance (or drive over).
The Elkin Fiddlers by the River Festival is all day Saturday and admission is free. The Fiddlers will raffle off a really cool Taylor GS Mini guitar from Vintage Corner Antiques.
For more Festival Info
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Insane Terrain 5K.
NEW COURSE COULD BE ON TRAIL THIS YEAR.
Organizers are still in the planning stages for the Insane Terrain course, but this year's 5k is scheduled for the morning of
October 24 at
8:30 am
. There will be a cash prize of at least $125 for the 1st place male and female winner. Depending on completion of the second bridge on the trail and mountain bike course, race organizers will determine a new Insane Terrain course or will utilize the same one from last year. Stay tuned.
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Update...
We're moving forward on the next bridge!
EVTA has completed the surveying for the next footbridge on the E&A Rail Trail/Stone Mountain Trail and the plans have gone to Blue Ridge Environmental Consultants for review. Most of what remains to be done before starting the bridge process is completed except for the environmental review and reservoir dam inspection. If all goes well, we expect to be putting in the next bridge later this year.
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