You Shall Not Pass

There was a big turn-out to help clean up the Old Trails Barn and move stuff over to the new Trails Barn.  It was a brisk morning and by brisk I mean cold.  So we got to it quickly.  Folks broke up into multiple work parties and started tackling various tasks to get the blood moving.

Some when to clear out the old woodpile by the Dog Park fence, and move it into the old Barn.  Some moved some stuff to from the Old Barn to the New Barn, some went to fix broken railings at the Silent Waters Dam, some started shoveling the pile of processed stone before it froze in place, and some started driving the stone around and dumping it off. 

Val & Bill fixed the busted rails on the RecPath fence at Silent Waters (again).  A tree had come down and smashed the rails, and the Trails volunteers fixed this hazardous spot.  There may be other hazardous spots out there along the trails, but we repaired this one today before the ground froze.

The Silent Waters Canoe Launch on Constitution Blvd North needed some tread repairs due to erosion and tree roots.  So while people were moving stone and barn contents, others were dropping off crushed stone to improve things for next spring.

It took at least 4 loads (surprisingly) but we got the canoe drop off ready for Spring.

 There were some RecPath customers that came by as we were working.

This little guy seemed a bit bewildered by the whole process, but who knows; he could be on the Trails Committee some day, probably also fixing up the RecPath and canoe launch.

The ramp down to the lake was fixed up.  Now all we have to do is fix up the stones along the launch.  That may wait until the weather is warmer at this point.

Others were moving stuff between the barns, and loading stuff into the Gator to get hauled up the RecPath from the Dog Park.  That material will get moved around to repair erosion when it defrosts.  Thanks to the City of Shelton crews for dropping the crushed stone mix off at the parking lot.

Here's Graham doing his "You Shall Not Pass" pose from Monty Python and the Holy Grail movie.  In reality, he's just finished feathering out the drop off at the bridge abutments so our handicapped - accessible path is actually handicapped-accessible for folks who want to enjoy the woods without an aggravating 3/4" jump at the bridge.  And it's also more enjoyable for folks that walk, ride bikes, push baby strollers, etc.  It may sound dumb, but it's the little things that matter sometimes. 

Thanks to everyone who came out: Bill, Val, Mark, Mike, Ralph, Ralph, Ted, Graham, Mary, Mike, Terry, Annie, Bob, Sam and anyone else we missed.   A lot of seasonal tasks got done around the Trails Barns and RecPath at Shelton Lakes.