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Join us in a new tradition with NC State Parks – 1st Day Hike! At 10 a.m. on Tuesday the 1st, we will be hiking the newly renovated Piedmont Loop Trail. We have added on a totally new section to this trail as well. The hike is a little over 1 mile long, over hilly terrain. We will end the hike at the wetlands boardwalk to see if we can spot wood ducks and beaver. This will be a slow paced meander – time to enjoy nature with family and friends.
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 Where is the trail and where do I park? Hello to the BEST Trail Builders EVER!! When I thought of the things I am thankful for this year, my experience with trail building on the NC Mountains-to-Sea Trail was not far from the top of the list. How do you thank a group of volunteers, both local and from other parts of NC, who have worked tirelessly to build something as long-lasting as our Mountains-to-Sea Trail? Honestly, I have no idea! What a pleasure it’s been to get to know all of you through this process, watch the progress we’ve made, and know that someday soon, we will be able to invite others to join us on a wonderful hike through our small portion of this extraordinary state treasure. With that, I will say “Thank You” for the effort, the fun and the friendship. You are incredible people! Our next workday is Saturday, December 1. Once again, Great Outdoor Provision Company is providing biscuits from Chic-Fil-A for breakfast. Also, we still have a few REI volunteer t-shirts (mostly women’s and smaller men’s). Don’t forget to grab one if you haven’t already. Along the lines of “Thank You”, if you have an opportunity, please drop by Great Outdoor and REI at Friendly Center and tell them how much you appreciate their efforts to enhance our workday experience. When and Where: Plan to be gathered in the parking lot at 8:30am sharp. We will briefly discuss news of the MST, housekeeping and divide into groups. We will meet at the temporary parking lot on Plainfield Road (not the permanent lot where we normally meet), north of Greensboro and Lake Townsend. See attached map for the specific location. This lot is just west of the permanent lotand in a clearing with a couple of big hardwood trees around. We met in this lot in October. What Type of Work and What to Bring This month we will be doing general trail building. We hope to finish the bottom half of the trail to where it intersects Long Branch. There is a steep section of bench cutting that we will do on this outing. You will need work gloves, plenty of water, and lunch if you would like to eat on the trail. We have plenty of tools; we will be using primarily rogue hoes, rakes and axes. Bow saws and loppers might come in handy too. Attached, you will also see the under-18 liability waiver. If you have a young person joining us, please be sure to complete the waiver and have it signed by a parent or guardian. I will have extras at the worksite, but it’s nice to plan ahead. This waiver is only for those under 18 years of age. We will have our regular sign-in sheet and waiver for others. Mark Your Calendars We have schedule the workdays for 2013. We are planning to work every second Saturday unless we send notice prior to the workday. We will continue to send reminders and let you know what work we will be doing, but wanted to give you as much notice as possible. January 12, 2013 February 9 March 9 April 13 May 11 June 8 July 13 August 10 September 14 October 12 November 9 December 14 Mountains-to-Sea Trail License Plates Please consider applying for a Mountains-to-Sea Trail license plate. The legislative bill that authorized our plate included a deadline to pre-sell 300 plates by July 1, 2013. The clock and the calendar are ticking. If we do not pre-sell 300 plates by this deadline, we will lose our plate, and you will not have one. The application is attached and I will have some at the trail on Saturday. If you are not able to participate directly, we hope you will forward this message along to friends and colleagues who may be interested. If you would like to be removed from any further e-mails regarding this trail effort, please reply to this message with UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line. Laura Peoples Volunteer Coordinator Mountains-to-Sea Trail, Guilford County Mark your calendar for Sunday, November 11, for the Fall Open House at Haw River State Park. We have postponed our March workday due to severe weather forecasts to March 17. Please join us then. Haw River State Park Spring Workday March 3, 2012 9 am to noon Join us Saturday, March 3 at Haw River State Park help us prepare acquired lands for public use in the coming year. The “Farm” was going to become a golf course community in 2008 until we spoke up and stopped the rezoning so the State could acquire the land for the State Park. We’ll be removing old fencing with Park Staff. Wear sturdy work clothes and shoes. Bring loppers, clippers and wire cutters, if you have them. The work site is at the end of Oak Arbor Rd, off of NC 150 just west of Northern Elementary School. Map this address- 8398 Oak Arbor Road, Brown Summit, NC Drive to the end of the road, through the gate to the parking area. Please respond to Kelley.Thompson@NCDENR.gov if you are coming so we have a head count. We look forward to you joining us and getting a behind the scenes look at over 700 acres of new park land. Friends of Haw River State Park Questions? Email us at HawRiverSP@gmail.com Welcome to 2012 at Haw River State Park The Friends of HRSP and Park Advisory Committee have some great activities planned for this year. Access to recently acquired will begin later this year. Join us on our workdays and other activities at HRSP and nearby Mountains to Sea Trail Workdays.
Friends of Haw River State Park (FOHRSP) is a grassroots group of citizens dedicated to serving the needs and interests of Guilford County’s only state park – Haw River State Park.
This web site and blog are devoted to increasing awareness of opportunities for recreation and service at HRSP, keeping the public informed of political and economic news of significance to the park, and celebrating this beautiful new addition to our state park system. Friends of Haw River State Park also advocates publicly for the well being of Haw River State Park. Citizen efforts spearheaded by FOHRSP have already made a huge difference in protecting the future viability of the park. Please join our Facebook group Friends of Haw River State Park.
When can we hike the new lands? Limited hiking is available at the Summit Conference Center. Call ahead for availability for hours. What are the future plans for the Park? The State Parks Division will begin to develop a Master Plan for the current holdings. This will include facilities, trails, uses, roads, entrances, etc. Various inventories of the properties need to be made so that no unnecessary damage occurs during development. Public meetings will be held to gather input from users and neighbors. Look for more information on this in the Fall of 2008 on the FriendsofHawRiverSP.org website. More great news about the new expansion of the Haw River State Park. Taft Wireback’s N&R article today explains the probable addition of the adjoining Haw River Plantation (Wallis property). This 140 acre tract has already had some clearing for housing. That cleared area may prove helpful for necessary restroom facilities and as a parking area for recreational vehicles. Other parts of this tract may also prove to be a possible area for camping. The appraisal of this 140 acre tract took into consideration that it has significant infrastructure already installed including some roads, electricity, water, etc. This tract also includes two houses that may provide rental housing for park rangers or park staff. Several other key land acquisitions are possible down the road to make this a dynamic state park. If this Wallis tract is added to the Haw River State Park that will bring the current total land to 1,167 acres. (Original Summit tract 335 acres, Bluegreen tract 692 acres and the Wallis tract 140 acres.) |
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Copyright © 2013 Friends of Haw River State Park - All Rights Reserved |
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