Over the next four weeks, the Friends of Pisgah will host three events. Mark your calendar.
On Saturday, September 10th, we will hold a work day on the Chestnut Hill Trail. We will be installing two small bridges in the trail, replacing two that have deteriorated. We will meet at the Visitor's Center in Winchester at 10 a.m. and drive north to the Chestnut Hill parking area and walk up the trail to the work sites. Materials will be on hand.
On Saturday, September 24th, on Public Lands Day, we will host a guided hike to an old growth forest stand in the North Round Pond area. We will meet at Horseshoe parking lot a long mile behind the Chesterfield Elementary School at 9 a.m. The walk in to the stand of old growth trees is nearly three miles, so the round trip will be nearly six miles in total.
Bring a lunch and plenty of water so you'll have plenty of energy and will remain well hydrated.
And on Saturday, October 1st, we will hold our annual fall picnic at the Visitor's Center and barn in the park. As usual, food and drink will be provided and we will have a guest speak from the NH Department of Resources and Economic Development, Patrick Hummel.
The picnic will begin at 11:30 a.m. and continue until 3 p.m.
A crew of four completed a new viewing platform at the heron marsh just off the South Woods Trail (below where the new trail bypass cuts southeast towards the new bridge) on Sunday, August 15, 2016. The photo was taken into the sun with Matt Edson's (center) cellphone by Art Sussman. John Hudachek (right) and Kim Nilsen (left) stand with Matt. The color is quite a bit off because of the glare, but the nature of the design of the new platform should be evident.
They finished up at noon today, July 27, 2016.
A whole host of volunteers turned out for the Friends of Pisgah work day on Saturday to build the new South Woods Trail bridge, open the new bypass pathway, and dismantle three old spans nearby.
Thanks to a concerted effort over six hours, the work was completed. Now the new bypass is open to the public. Temporary signs are in place directing trekkers through the new route.
This new bridge and the bypass adds to the restoration effort on the South Woods Trail that has been underway now since last summer, when a longer span was completed well to the east. There is more work to be done on the path, including the installation of a viewing platform at the edge of a heron marsh where the old bridges were located. But now the South Woods Trail is in the best condition it has been in for many years.
The Summer 2016 edition of Update the Friends of Pisgah newsletter has been posted. Click the Newsletter tab to check it out.
It's bridge building time, once again. Come join Friends of Pisgah volunteers on Saturday, June 18th, to create a new 23-foot span and ramp over a beaver-flowage stream on the South Woods Trail in Pisgah State Park.
The new bridge will be put together on a new pathway bypass on the northern leg of the South Woods Trail, a bypass that does away with three rundown spans in the vicinity.
On Wednesday, volunteers managed to put in the foundation sills and set in place two 23-foot laminated beams and screwed them in place. These "stringers" are the underpinnings of the bridge. Since they are in place, building the deck and railings should go quickly and everyone should be able to pitch in right away.
The old bridges will be dismantled nearby so the materials can be taken out and some of it reused in other places.
The work day on the 18th will start at the Horseshoe Road parking lot at 10 a.m. It's a mile walk down to the job site. The last time we built a bridge, more than a dozen folks came along to help. Let's see if we can increase that number and have some fun while doing something wonderful for Pisgah.
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John Herrick, Jon Knickerbocker, Sherisa Sterling, Gary Montgomery, Matt Edson and his ATV, Jack Kondos, Abe and Gabe Howe, Tom Haynes and John Hudachek met at the Horseshoe trail head in Chesterfield Saturday, April 16th to work on the trails for the upcoming May 14th Friends of Pisgah Run in the Park.
Branches and trees across Winchester Road and the Reservoir Trail were cleared. Much of the work done involved cleaning culverts and water bars allowing water to flow off of the trails.
Everyone was back at their vehicles before 2:00. Thanks to all for a very productive work day!
Our decision to postpone our February trail maintenance from February 13th to the 20th turned out to be a good one. A crew of eleven, David Weisel, Abe, Gabe and Sam Howe, Matt Edson, Iva Wood, Krister Raasoch and dogs Art and Harry, John Hudachek, John Herrick, Jim Schofield and Kim Nilsen met at 10 am at the Kilburn trail head with the goal of building a bridge on the west side of the Kilburn loop. The day started with bright skies in the 30’s and finished at 57 F.
Matt Edson and John Herrick picked up the building materials from Hamshaw’s the previous Saturday. John Herrick, his snowmobile and Kim Nilsen transported the materials down Kilburn Pond to the bank close to the bridge site the Monday before the workday.
After hiking to the work site with tools the crew worked efficiently and had the bridge completed by 1:00 pm. We even made a step with leftover materials.
We hiked back to the trail head and were leaving by 2:00 pm.