January 28, 2008 Trail Update

Traildogs - January 28, 2008

Great day today as we had seven traildogs working the dig. Welcome to two new traildogs Jack Neuman of the Ouachita Mt. Hikers and Robert Cavanaugh.

With all the help we were able to complete the dig across the two hills and connect the trail to the Iron Creek Forest Service Rd. This is particularly exciting because now we have a new three-mile loop on the trail. In addition, we have added another 1.5 miles of trail to this loop as once we reached the Iron Creek Rd we immediately have 1.5 miles of trail added because we are using the old road as the trail.

The third leg is now half way to Hickory Nut Mountain, our goal for this segment of the trail. The further we take this new section of trail the more beautiful the trail gets. The portion is almost completely in old growth hardwoods that soar upwards over 100 feet. We, also, follow the upper reaches of Iron Creek, which is dropping down, from the deep valley just southwest of Hickory Nut Mountain. The trail glides past the emerald green Iron Creek Cascade, a five-step cascade that is one of the most serene spots on the entire trail.

Tomorrow Tuesday January 29 we will again meet at the same parking area as today the one just off of Mt. Harbor Road by the white house. We will be shuttling volunteers to the dig site as it approximately 1.8 miles down the Iron Creek Forest Service Rd from the parking area. The machine operator will arrive at 8:00 am but it will take him 30-45 minutes to get to the dig site. If volunteers could be at the parking area by 9:00 we will shuttle from there.

Bring a lunch and join us on the trail we are making very good progress.

Jerry