Great Outdoor Blog

with Dr. Knox McMillan
Tuesday, February 23
7pm @ Raleigh Shop

Knox is a local adventurer who has logged countless hours of enjoyment in William B. Umstead State Park. Join us as he shares a photographic journey of our local crown jewel State Park.

We will have 2 project sites – a bridge site and the Hamiln Road trail construction site.
We need 10 volunteers to help build a bridge on Section 1 at Raven Ridge Road.  Please RSVP to me about the bridge and I will send you the meeting location near the Falls Lake Dam.  If you have strong carpentry skills this project site is for you.  RSVP to Jeff Brewer – jdbrewer@bellsouth.net

NEW – Meeting Spot - All interested should meet at the dead end of Hamlin Road. Take I-85 North to Red Mill Road exit and turn left and travel 3 miles and turn right on to Hamlin Road. Look for the MST Signs.

Important things for the workday.

The Falls Lake Task Force leaders recently had a meeting to discuss our weather policy for workdays.  If the workday is canceled it will be posted on the website (Falls Lake page) by 9:00 PM the day before the workday.  A mass email will also be sent out after the website is updated about the cancellation.

The forecast is currently looking great for Saturday. If you are new at trail work please let us know and we will pair you up with an experienced person.

What you will need.

• Work clothes and solid shoes or hiking boots.
• Plenty of water
• Lunch
• Work gloves, if you have them (If not, we have some)

Work Safely. This is the most important thing, and our main goal. In particular:

Use tools carefully. If you do not know how to use a particular tool, or what to do in a particular circumstance please ask. Do not work too close together and be careful with rakes, shovels, and mattocks to avoid hitting the person next to you. When walking past another volunteer, please say something so they know you are there. Do not lift anything heavier than you can comfortably lift

Know you own limits. This is not a race. We will be working on and maintaining this trail for years to come. Take plenty of breaks. Make sure to drink plenty of water, even when it’s cold outside.

Remember that building trail is not like walking on a finished, well maintained trail. There are holes in the ground to step in, branches to trip over, thorns, wasps, poison ivy (fortunately not too much of that on this segment of trail), ticks, chiggers, and other hazards. Please be cautious.

Have a good time. This is a scenic area. There are box turtles, heron, woodpeckers, deer, beaver, and other wildlife in this area as well as scenic views of the lake.

We have the tools that will be needed.

The trail route is marked with orange/red construction flags (wires stuck in the ground) These stake flags mark the route of the trail for construction.  We only need to make the trail tread 2 feet wide.

Particular tasks for this workday.

Cutting branches and logs across the trail:

We have clippers, small saws, and a chainsaw for this purpose.  All of the chainsaw work needs to be done by a certified person at the workday. In general, while standing on the trail you want to cut branches back to an arms length on both sides and above your head. When clipping a branch that extends over the trail, try to cut the branch at the trunk of the tree or bush. When there is a small tree or bush in the trail, do not cut it at the ground, but cut it ~3′ above the ground to make it easier to dig out/pull out. Cut off at ground level they will tend to grow back from the roots. When cutting branches, please drag them off the trail. In particular if you end up clipping poison ivy, make sure to drag it well off the trail with the clippers.

Dragging logs off the trail.

There are a significant number of logs and branches lying across the trail route. These need to be dragged to the side. Many are so rotted they can most easily be removed with a shovel.

Trash

We have trash bags to pick up trash along the way. Fortunately this part of the park is relatively clean so we will not have too much trash to remove. The main trash that we want to try to remove on this workday is the barbed wire and other fence wire that in places crosses the trail. Please wear leather gloves and safety glasses and use caution in cutting wire. We will carry the trash out to one of the ends of this trail or it can be carried back to the trailer.

Raking the trail

It is necessary to rake the trail tread clear of leaves, branches, other debris so that we know where we need to level the trail, fill holes, etc. Please use caution while raking to avoid poking others with the rake handle.

Pulling out small saplings from the trail tread

There will be some small saplings in the trail tread. If these are cut off they tend to grow back from the roots, so we need to either pull them by hand (if they are very small), dig them out with a mattocks, or if they are up to an inch in diameter, pull them out with the weed wrench.

Filling holes

These need to be filled if they are within the 2′ wide trail tread, or if they are within several feet of the trail on either side. We have shovels and buckets for this purpose.

Leveling the trail tread

Walking across the side of a hill is tiring. The finished trail tread should be, in cross section, close to level. We have mattocks and rakes for this purpose. On this section of trail we cross multiple drainage dips, and have quite a bit of side hill trail to build. In addition to the side hill work, much of the trail route has various lumps and bumps that need to be leveled.

Stream crossings

There are multiple small stream crossings along this route. We will not be working on these on this workday, but in the future we plan to build small bridges across several of these.

Sincerely,
Jeff Brewer

RALEIGH, N.C. (Jan.7, 2010) – The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and Wildlife in North Carolina magazine have selected 2009 photo competition winners from the largest number of entries ever.

The grand prize went to Kaylyn Gruber, of Belmont, for her black and white photo of a brown-headed cowbird chick. At 16, she is the first teenager to win the competition in its five-year history.

All winners will be published in the January 2010 issue of Wildlife in North Carolina magazine, with the grand prize image featured on the cover. Winners will receive a print of their winning entry from JW Photo Labs of Raleigh and prizes from Great Outdoor Provision Co.

>> Click here to view the competition winners

Other sponsors included UNC-TV, which broadcasts the award-winning PBS show “Nature” and helped promote the competition; the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh, where winning entries will be on exhibit through April 4; and the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation, which assisted in photo opportunities through the state parks.

In the competition’s fifth year, there were 8,802 photographs submitted — the largest number of entries ever. The most popular subject was Birds (1,532 entries), followed closely by the landscape category, Peaks, Valleys and Plains (1,472) and Invertebrates (1,305). Wild Plants received 1,172 entries and Reptiles & Amphibians 868, Animal Behavior 769, Outdoor Recreation 692, and Mammals 572. The Youth category for 13 to 17 year olds had 227 entries, while Youth 12 and younger received 193 entries.

Other interesting facts on this year’s entries:

• The only person to win two categories was Nicholas D’Amato of Durham. His water strider won Invertebrates and his Outer Banks fisherman won Outdoor Recreation.
• 2008 Grand Prize winner Jared Lloyd of Kill Devil Hills won Reptiles & Amphibians with his alligator photo and placed second in Birds with a shot of a black-crowned night heron.
• Jake Orr of Topsail Beach placed first and third in Youth Photographer 13-17 with his winning photo of Jolly Roger Pier and third-place image of a peregrine falcon.
• Scott Hotaling of Raleigh won Peaks, Valleys & Plains for the third consecutive year. His photo of Madison County’s Max Patch took first place this time around.
• Youth Photographer 12 and Younger winner Hannah Ziegler, 8, of Raleigh, is the granddaughter of 2007 grand prize winner Ed Ziegler of Raleigh.

Winners were selected by a panel composed of staff of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences and N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation.

Winning images can be viewed here.

Details and rules for the 2010 competition will be posted on www.ncwildlife.org in May, and entries will open on June 1.

About N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission
Since 1947, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission has been dedicated to the conservation and sustainability of the state’s fish and wildlife resources through research, scientific management, wise use, and public input. The Commission is the state regulatory agency responsible for the enforcement of fishing, hunting, trapping and boating laws and provides programs and opportunities for wildlife-related educational, recreational and sporting activities. To learn more, visit www.ncwildlife.org.

Great pics and a short video from John Pugh at SourcetoSea.net

“Here’s a quick cut of some video & pics I took last weekend in and around the Roanoke River near Jamesville, NC. Jess and a couple of friends planned this surprise trip for my 40th birthday, and what better way to spend New Year’s than on the water?!”

Read more about Roanoke River Platform Camping

Charlotte Manager, Rudy Hayden sent over this clip of his friend turning his Buffwear into a beanie/stocking cap. Get your Buff on…

Check out the current issue of thisisfly.com for an article out about “Redfish Can’t Jump“- A Documentary on the North Carolina Redfish.  This is Fly is a well-known online magazine that always has some cool stuff to read about.  Just go to the website and click on page 65.

Also noteworthy, the “Redfish Can’t Jump” release date is set for Thursday, January 21st in Wilmington.  The premiere will be hosted by City Stage at Level 5 in downtown Wilmington and the showing will begin at 8 pm. Admission will be $3 and you will be entered into a drawing to win some cool stuff. More on Facebook. Watch the trailer below: