Trail Volunteers:
We had a productive workday last Saturday on the Eagle Spur Trail and
got a lot accomplished. However thanks to the recent high lake levels
and the amount of time since we performed major maintenance we still
have a lot to do. We could definitely use a LOT more "hands" to help out
this coming Saturday. The long range weather forecast looks perfect!

The Eagle Spur is the remnant of the original rail grade that was
abandoned with the construction of Jordan Lake and runs from Stagecoach
Road 2.3 miles to the lake. The land is owned by the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, and managed by the Wildlife Resources Commission. Triangle
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy has taken the responsibility for maintaining
the trail. See map from our site http://www.triangletrails.org/pdfs/EagleSpur.pdf

If you have hiked the Eagle Spur recently you will have noticed several
washed out drainage culverts that are blocking access to the end of the
trail if the lake level is up even slightly from normal pool level,
which has happened a lot lately. We have plans to replace these
culverts. The replacement culverts are about 3 feet in diameter and 20
feet long and weigh about 350 pounds each. These will have to come in
via Stagecoach Rd. on a trailer. 
However, before we can think about moving the replacement culvert pipe
we need to re-establish a suitable working width of the corridor to
accommodate the trailer. In a lot of places the trail is only 
single-track thanks to the growth of a lot of "dog-hair" saplings. The 
current work efforts are focused on clearing these saplings and widening
the trail. This is the same type of work that we did when we did the clearing of 
the American Tobacco Trail in Chatham and Durham Counties 10 to 15 years ago. 

Tasks for this workday will include cutting saplings, brush, and vines
and removing them from the trail. The recent high lake levels also
floated a fair amount of logs and similar debris that has to be cut up
and removed from the trail. If you happen to hate seeing trash and
litter in the woods, we'll have trash bags and you can have all of the job security you want!

No experience or special skills are required. We provide on the job
training! About all you need is regular hiking attire, water and work gloves.
If you happen to have loppers, a bow saw or metal garden rake you can bring
them. If not we will probably have enough to share.

If you would like to come and join the party to help out please reply to
this message. This way I will have an approximate headcount and can plan
tasks and work assignments. I will also be sending an email out later in
the week to those responding that has further details and meeting location, parking, etc. 

Thanks,

Steve Lund
Workday Coordinator
Triangle Rails To Trails Conservancy
(919) 819-5789