Trail Workshop Scheduled

Attention:
Bikers, Hikers, and Horseback Riders!
The Pennsylvania Equine Council
PRESENTS A:
1-DAY TRAIL STEWARDSHIP WORKSHOP
WITH BUD AND GWEN WILLS
Saturday, March 13, 2010
8:00 AM-4:00 PM

Where: Park Office, Haldeman Tract, Weiser State Forrest, near Elizabethville

Registration - 8:00 – 8:15
Morning Session – 8:15-12:00, Lunch – 12:00 – 12:45, Afternoon Session – 12:45 – 4:00

WHY: the Friends of Weiser State Forrest have contacted the PA Equine Council requesting assistance in maintaining non-motorized shared-use trails. The Friends of Weiser wish to keep the trails open to all users and would like all users to become involved in maintaining these trails. Without your assistance, trails and access could be severely restricted or possibly eliminated.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND: All outdoor enthusiasts (particularly hikers, mountain-bikers and equestrians) concerned about the future of and access to recreational public lands.

WORKSHOP CONTENT: Trail layout, construction, maintenance techniques, tools and their proper usage, and an introduction to Leave no Trace Skills, and the Ride Smart concept.

COST: FREE!! Donuts & coffee will be provided in the morning as well as lunch.

REGISTRATION: Pre-registration is required for materials preparation

INFORMATION REQUESTED FOR PRE-REGISTRATION: Name, address, telephone number, email,
and interests (hiker, biker, horse enthusiast, scouts, DCNR, etc.).

DIRECTIONS:
From Harrisburg rte 81take 322 west 11.3 miles to rte 147 north, take 147 north 6.4 miles to the only red light in Halifax, from the red light take 225 north 9.3 miles, at the Weiser State Forest sign turn right on Mountain House Road. Once on Mountain House Road follow the signs to Weiser. Go .6 miles and make the first left onto Dietrich Road, go .6 miles to the stop sign & turn right, still on Dietrich go .9 miles to the Y and bear right on White Oak Road into Weiser State Forest. Go past the maintenance sheds and the snowmobile parking lot, the office is on your left.

For more info and/or to pre-register contact: Jim Theurer, 717-433-8694 or jimbob113@hotmail.com

Note: If you've been thinking about getting involved in trailbuilding or helping RCST with trailwork/maintenance, we recommend you attend this workshop.

2010 BASH Registration is now open

We're going techy this year and registration for the BASH is now through bikereg.com. The link is at the right, or you can go here to get registered. Attendance is still limited to 150, so get your registration in before September 1 (maybe earlier than that if there's a rush on entries).

Trail Maintenance

We finally had a chance to start hiking trails to clear trees. Doc Smith had three trees, two of significant size that were not rideable and are now clear. The one tree had both Doc Smith AND Rattling Creek blocked. We'll keep plugging away on the trails as time permits. Don't worry, we won't "dumb down" the trails too much. We're using Jill's log-hopping skills as the gauge. If she can't get over it, it's going.

A Couple Updates

DCNR contacted us about vandalism at the gate on top of the mountain, near the hang-glider launch. Did we see or hear anything? If any of you see anything or anyone suspicious, please let us know so we can pass it on to DCNR. Us users truly are their eyes and ears as they simply don't have the manpower to be out and about on every trail like we are.

We hear there are trees down. Don't worry, we'll get at them! Rick and I are planning a hike with the chainsaw on Doc Smith to start the clearing process.

There's going to be a trail building class sometime in the spring. The class is being coordinated by the Equine groups and the PA Equine Assoc is presenting the class. We'll post more info as it becomes available.

FYI - August 22 is the Rattling 50 Marathon. In the past, the club has not participated in this event because the majority of members had concerns of trail degradation from a race. That was three years ago and times have changed with more users on the trail (horses). If anyone wants to help out with the Marathon, please let me know and I'll let the organizer know.