July edition of the Polk Trails Newsletter

June Trails Meeting Summary On June 24, we held our monthly meeting at Saluda Outfitters. We talked about the successful River Float and Neal Waldrop offered to run another community hiking outing on Weed Patch on the 20th. More information further in the newsletter on that as well as on our Facebook page. No updates on Little White Oak except for a little bit more work being done on the small loop. The trails are in good shape.

We now have an archive of previous meeting minutes! Check it out on our webpage.

Archive of Meeting Minutes

July's Trails Meeting will be on Monday, July 22nd starting at 6:00 PM at Saluda Outfitters (435 E Main St, Saluda, NC 28773).

Saturday, July 13, Polk Recreation Complex from 9 AM to 12 PM Thursday, July 19, Polk Recreation Complex from 9 AM to 12 PM Thursday, July 25, Polk Recreation Complex from 9 AM to 12 PM Facebook Event Page

Second Community Hike! Neal Waldrop, an avid outdoorsman in the community, has offered to lead a second community hike of the year! We will be going to Weed Patch Mountain, starting at Buffalo Creek Park. Meet us at Lake Lure Ingles at 8:00 AM on Saturday, July 20 to carpool to the trailhead. The hike will be around 10 miles and we plan for it to take 5 hours. For more information and to please RSVP your spot, email us at [email protected].

River Updates! On June 14, MountainTrue, Conserving Carolina and Polk County Parks & Rec hosted a river float down a little-used section of the lower Green River. We had around 20 people in attendance and it went swimmingly. The river was easy going, no one tipped over, we spotted a harmless water snake and we all enjoyed the scenery and peace that comes from being on the water. We're hoping to make river floats a monthly event during the summer, so please join us on the next one! Pam Torlina from Conserving Carolina took some wonderful photos during the float, which you can view here along with photos from Christel Walter, the landowner we ate lunch with halfway through our trip here

Trails Update! The town and our volunteers have worked wonders on a lot of our trails. Some damage still remains and we will continue to work down the list.  Large tree in Woodland Park has been cut into a step. Entire trail is cleared as of this newsletter. Thank you to whomever did that for us! Some sections has some underbrush over the trail. Vaughn Creek Greenway has some puddles and very muddy spots near the trailhead. Be careful where you step! Alexander's Ford had the Youth Conservation Corps out earlier last month clearing up the drive in to the parking lot; it looks wonderful now. They also did some work on a flagged side trail that is still under construction. Missing 40 is cleared and looking great. Some people are leaving trash at the first clearing, so watch out for broken glass. If you have noticed any damage on our trails, please contact us at [email protected] so we can clear it up! Pick up your copy of the... Paddle Trail Guide for the Broad & Green River Featuring: -Access point and river information for the 1st, 2nd, and Main Broad & Green River -Boating access information for Lake Lure, Lake Adger, Moss Lake & Lake Bowen -Suggested trips -Locally made with local knowledge From the Polk County Parks & Recreation office! (105 N. Peak St., Columbus, NC 28722) If you would like to have a photo featured on the Polk Trails Facebook page , please email the image and include a short description. Preferred content: In Polk County and on publicly accessible land. Email: [email protected] The AmeriCorps Trails Coordinator works for Polk County Parks & Recreation through a grant from the  Polk County Community Foundation . The Trails Coordinator manages trail work days, various partnerships and other trail related initiatives in the county.

The Polk Trails website offers Description, images, parking, and some maps for trail systems. Events calendar. Information on how to adopt- a- trail. A Nature Navigators page (Polk County Middle School hiking club). Links to maps and other resources. Other general information.

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