Friday, January 6, 2017

Another Tahmore Reroute

Old route in yellow, new route in purple
All it takes is one little steep section of trail where leaves collect to turn a casual walk through the woods into a trip to the ER. Tahmore Trail is notorious for difficult footing after the leaves fall, and the Trails Committee has gone in several times over the years with leaf blowers. But it's better if you don't need to remove the leaves, and so the goal of newish CFPA Trail Managers Terry & Teresa Gallagher is to try and improve a few of these spots. 


On New Years Day 2017, Teresa set out to fix a short but vexing slope located where the blue/yellow and red trails meet. About 100 feet of trail was shifted so that it climbs up the hill gradually, but the route needed serious benching. After an afternoon of hard work, she had had enough, went home from some beer and Advil, and left the rest for Terry. 



Terry completed the reroute
There was another 25 feet of bony, compacted ground to level out, so the next day Terry came armed with a heavy digging bar, McLeod, and sledgehammer and set to work. It was raining. But you know, once you're there you may as well just get the job done. The ground was thawed out in January, and it might be April before that happens again. Get it done!
All done! Old route on left, new route on right.
The blazing needs to be repaired, but that may need to wait until spring.

Sunday, January 1, 2017

Happy New Year on the Trails

Well 2017 has finally arrived and it's a great day to get outside.

Just like this family out enjoying the RecPath at Lane St. yesterday.  The RecPath is good for all ages and it's not just for hiking.  Just bundle up for the blustery weather. Who knows, you might spot a dinosaur.

Other folks were out biking out by Wesley Drive.  And more people were out walking their dogs, and using the Path.  One of the nice features about the RecPath is that the crushed stone surface will stay dry and stable if we have a lot of freeze-thaw conditions.  And once the snow hits it's good for cross country skiing and snowshoes.

We have our first mid-winter moonlight hike scheduled for January 12, 2017.  Check the events page for upcoming information.  Enjoy the New Year and see you in the open spaces.