Twas a Cold and Rainy day...

Rich Edwards from IMBA, imba.com , came out again, today, and brought along Dan Hudson, another IMBA Trail Specialist. Dan is from Silver Springs, MD and has some free time to devote to our little project here at Shenandoah River S.P. Thanks to both for coming out on such a dreary and cold day.
The purpose of the visit was to introduce Dan to me and the park, and flag some of the conceptual trail alignments Rich produced in map form, but we had already beat them to it. Rich made this really sweet conceptual map, and we (Ben Thomas and I) have flagged 90% of it. So, instead of flagging, we drug Rich and Dan out in the woods with us to check our flagged alignments of Rich's conceptual proposal. They were pretty stoked about the flag lines Ben and I laid out. They liked what we had done, and not knowing what to expect, found that we had a very good grasp of how to flag a sustainable and fun trail alignment. There are some very minor tweaks we need to do to our flag lines, but overall, they were impressed. And that made me feel very good about my abilities and intuition, our progress, and how far we have come in a relatively short period. We've also learned a LOT!
Wish I had a picture of a flag line, or of us flagging, but I'll post two pics of Rich's conceptual plan.

IMG_3532

IMG_3532
Originally uploaded by doug the park ranger

IMG_3531

IMG_3531
Originally uploaded by doug the park ranger

IMG_3530

IMG_3530
Originally uploaded by doug the park ranger

trying to catch up!

something didn't work right on this post...I was trying to explain why my park needed trail work. Let's try and let the pictures tell the story!

I've been so slack in blogging, but very busy flagging!

For those of you following...I'm sorry that I haven't posted in a while. I did attend the Governor's Confernece on Greenways, Blueways and Trails. It was cool and I learned a good bit. The governor actually addressed the conference, the first time a governor has actually attended or addressed the governors own conference on trails!
I want to thank my agency (DCR) for letting me attend and paying my way, so Thanks!

here's some pics of DCR's machines (one of them is my baby) in action at the mechanized trail building workshop I helped out with.

television

Bear Grylls is an Idiot. Just thought I'd mention that. His advice is more likely to get you killed, than to save you. More to come on REAL survival tips.
OK, well he supposedly climbed Everest, so he's gotta know something. I submit that his producers are IDIOTS, too!
BTW, not much chance of you living off the land like BEAR GRYLLS. Everything he "finds" is set up beforehand.

herbicide applicator

I haven't blogged too much this week about trails, because I've been cutting down and spraying the stumps of Ailanthus altissima, also known as Tree of Heaven, Chinese sumac and stink tree. This is all part of a training mission for some of us to get our pesticide and herbicide applicators license. We cut and sprayed trees on very steep slopes and cliffsides, as well as very deep brush with gnarly brambles and briers. I'm cut up pretty good! And worn out! The picture on the left, while not mine, gives a good indication (almost identical!) of the kind of slopes we were cutting and spraying on.

Tree of heaven is a rapidly growing, typically small tree up to 80 ft. (24.4 m) in height and 6 ft. (1.8 m) in diameter. It has pinnately compound leaves that are 1-4 ft. (0.3-1.2 m) in length with 10-41 leaflets. Flowering occurs in early summer, when large clusters of yellow flowers develop above the leaves. Fruit produced on female plants are tan to reddish, single winged and wind and water-dispersed. Tree of heaven resembles the sumacs and hickories, but is easily distinguished by the glandular, notched base on each leaflet and large leaf scars on the twigs. It is extremely tolerant of poor soil conditions and can even grow in cement cracks. Trees are not shade tolerant, but thrive in disturbed forests or edges. Dense clonal thickets displace native species and can rapidly take over fields, meadows and harvested forests. Tree of heaven, native to Asia, was first introduced into North America in 1748 by a Pennsylvania gardener. It was widely planted in cities because of its ability to grow in poor conditions.
This was quoted off of some website and might not be entirely accurate, but rest assured, tree of heaven is the Devil!

trail hand tools

I ordered some tools and bunches of flags from Forestry Suppliers today in anticipation of all the lovely trail work we'll be doing. I bought 5 McLeod rakes, 3 Pulaski Forester Axes and 5,000 flagging stakes. Those McLeods and Pulaskis should round out our trail working tools quite nicely. The flagging stakes may or may not be enough considering that I've used over 1,000 so far, on just a couple of trails.

The Governor's Conference on Greenways, Blueways and Trails

Wow, this is pretty cool! I just found out today, that I get to be a co-instructor of the Mechanized Trail Building workshop that is a part of the Virginia Recreation and Park Society's 54th Annual Conference with The Governor's Conference on Greenways, Blueways and Trails, being held in Richmond, VA, from October 4 - 7! I get to show people from all around the state, different agencies, localities, dignitaries, trail people, etc., how to build trails with a mini skidsteer! What's also amazing is the fact that from all the other State Park operators, they chose me as being the expert! Well, I don't know if I'm an expert or not, but someone volunteered my name and that's good enough for me! This will be an awesome networking opportunity! This is quite an honor! There will be a plethora of distinguished speakers and guests. I get to help out with the mechanized bit, and attend the whole conference, SWEET! *BONUS, I will be representing my agency and getting my name OUT THERE! Helllooo job offers!

Speaker Highlights

Keynote Speaker
Charles Jordan October 5, Opening Session
Charles Jordan, Chairman, The Conservation Fund
Charles Jordan is one of the most influential voices in conservation today. An outspoken proponent of our nation’s parks, Jordan is nationally recognized for his leadership and responsiveness to the diverse publics he serves. Before being named as chairman of The Conservation Fund, he served as director of the Portland Bureau of Parks and Recreation and director of the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department. He also held recreation management positions in Palm Springs, Calif. Jordan was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to serve on the President’s Commission on Americans Outdoors and was later appointed by President Bill Clinton to serve on the American Heritage River Alliance board.

Also Speaking…

* Mike Riter, Trail Design Specialists
* Fred Lashley, The Unturned Stone
* Troy Scott Parker, Natureshape
* Dick and Joani Dufourd, Recconnect
* Richard Edwards, IMBA Trail Solutions
* Charlie Denney & Jeff Olson, Alta Planning and Design
* Craig Della Penna, Northeast Greenway Solutions
* Daniel Slone, McGuireWoods

OK, so the didn't have time to put my name in there, but one day...

here's the details:
http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/recreational_planning/rpconf.shtml

buggers!

So, I've been out in the thick of the woods for quite a few days now, flagging new trails and re-routes of old trails. When I say thick of it, I mean pretty darn thick, heavily covered and very brushy woods with dense undergrowth. Most days I have totally forgotten to spray myself down with Deep Woods Off with DEET before venturing off into the woods, and I have suffered no consequences. Today, however, I sprayed myself down thoroughly: legs, boots, socks, waistline, arms, etc. Guess what? I got home tonight, took off my uniform, and found myself loaded with seed ticks and scratching from chigger bites! Do those little buggers LIKE DEET? I know I don't, it makes me feel a little weird after dousing myself with it. Maybe I'll just go without, but is cancer better to have than Lyme Disease?

trail work

I'm flagging out preliminary re-routes and new additions to some of the trails in the park. This week I've been working on Allen's Mountain Trail. I didn't know this before I began this project, but Allen's Mtn summit lies entirely on park property. The old, existing trail never went up there. There's no view from the top, but if there's already a trail going pretty close, and it's sustainable, might as well build a trail that tags the summit! The summit is what it's all about!
I've flagged close to 60% of the trail to be re-routed. If it's all approved, I'll have turned a 1.8 mile single loop into an infinite mileage three stacked loop system trail. It'll be sweet!

I also flagged a re-route to the bottom portion of Turkey Roost Trail, which was very steep, and started flagging a new trail that will go from Massanutten Shelter to link up Allen's Mtn, Point Trail, Bluebell Loop, and Wildcat Ledge Trail. This new trail will allow access to all these trails, while limiting the general publics access to the campground.

Flags used so far: 1100+