NYCMTB.com

[wmdawson]

Just received an email for trail work dates at Allamuchy in April. If you've ever ridden there you knowit's a great place to ride and if you haven't showing up for trail works days is a great way to get familiar with the riding options and an even better way to give your time towards the trails. Remember No Dig, No Ride!!!

We have our first trail maintenance sessions of 2011 coming up in the next few weeks, so we wanted to send out a reminder to folks about the dates. The April Dates and locations are:

April 9 Sat Allamuchy Pond Trail
April 10 Sun Allamuchy Pond Trail Bonus Day
April 16 Sat Allamuchy Pond Trail (tentative if needed)

We will be working on the Allamuchy Pond Trail. One of the interesting aspects of the these work dates is working with a professional trail builder, Ben Blitch of Alpine Trails (http://www.alpine-trails.com/http___www.alpine-trails.com/Home.html or check out Ben's blog: http://www.benblitch.blogspot.com/) . The Park has contracted Ben to complete the Allamuchy pond Trail. This project is funded by a recreation Trail Program Grant that JORBA assisted the Park in preparation. Ben will be in town starting April 2nd, and be finishing up on or about April 16th. So if you ever wondered what it means to be a professional trail builder, or you just want to pick up some tips on building trail its a great opportunity for all of us.

For these dates we will be meeting at the Mountain Villa School which is located just off exit 19 of Route 80, just south on Route 517. Pull into the school and head past the small play ground area (on the right) and park near the front of the mansion. We will have yellow arrows out directing you down to the meeting area, which will be down by the dam.

Activities that are going to be conducted during the weekends will focus on finish work for the trail. This will include using hand tools to smooth out the transitions between the trail surface and the woods, and the collection and disbursement of materials (e.g., leaves, branches, logs) along the transitional area. The goal of the finish work is to make the newly constructed portions of the trail blend in with the environment and give the impression that it has been a part of the natural setting for a period of time.

The event will be rain or shine (baring a torrential downpour), please dress accordingly. We would recommend that each person wears comfortable shoes/boots, bring work gloves, bug spray and water. We will bring bagels to snack on. Everyone will need to complete an NJDEP Volunteer In Parks (VIPs) form, which we will provide that day.

We will be starting at 8:30 and finishing up around 3:30 in the afternoon. As always, if you cant be there for the whole day we understand. If you can come out for a few hours that would be a big help in getting this project done. also if you cant get there at 8:30, come when you can get there. We will have bagels in the morning for folks, but if you are going to be there past lunch bring a brown bag.

The last thing we will ask is if you plan on attending, please send me a quick e-mail letting us know, this will help with planning. Also if you would like to bring someone along, please do so. Thanks to everyone for showing interest in in helping out!

Karen and Bob Workman

p.s. In the event that the weather ends up being unfavorable, please check the JORBA website for updates regarding the cancellation of TM.
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