January 2024
Almost everyone at the UTB Annual Meeting, January 6, 2024. Photo by Bruce Kolkebeck.
We held our Annual Meeting on Saturday, January 6, 2024, on what was definitely the rainiest day of the year so far AND one of the coldest! It was, in fact, so gnarly outside that our planned morning hike at Slip Rock had to be cancelled due to inclement weather! You know it had to be really bad for a bunch of intrepid Uwharrie hikers to call it a wash!!! The day was not a total washout, though, and even with the woefully poor directions provided by yours truly most folks were able to make it out to the lovely Mt. Shepherd Retreat Center lodge for the actual meeting.
The chili was hot and it was delicious (thank you, Nancy Plant, pictured below at far left) as was the cornbread (thank you, Gifford Del Grande) and the many yummy treats brought by club members. We all had plenty of time to ‘oooh and aaaah’ over the prototype of Jared Byrd’s fantastic new Uwharrie Trail map - see “New Uwharrie Trail Map” article in this newsletter - and to have a look at David Craft’s wonderful exhibit of Uwharrie Trailblazers historical materials (pictured below right).
Special guest Kevin Redding, Executive Director of the Piedmont Land Conservancy, gave a fascinating presentation on the work his organization is doing in the Uwharries and beyond protecting important land resources through conservation easements and acquisitions; stewardship of protected lands through farmland preservation, water quality protection, and preservation of natural areas and urban green spaces; and connecting people to nature through education, outings, access to protected properties, and nature preserves.
Kevin Redding at the UTB annual meeting discussing the work of the Piedmont Land Conservancy.
We welcomed two wonderful young members to our UTB Board - Kathryn Waple and Ciara Massingale - and look forward to their contributions in 2024 and beyond!!! And a first for our club - a changing of the guard at the top level of leadership - the torch was passed from David Craft, who has been our trusted and fearless chair for twelve glorious years, to Steve Chase, tireless hiker, US Marine, trail boss, champion sawyer, and so much more. This passing of the gavel was just part of our club business, honors, and awards - all of which are highlighted below in Jim Plant’s “Our Volunteers.”
Kim Andersenour volunteers
by Jim Plant
During 2023 the Trailblazers held 7 workdays and were rained out of 2 others. We worked Morris Mountain, Watery Branch and 5 times in the Birkhead Wilderness. We had 53 individuals come out for workdays throughout the year, compiling 651 hours.
Through the trail adoption program, we tallied 293 hours across the forest. There always seems to be something that needs attention on the hiking trails. The trail adoption program began in June 2020, renewed in June 2022 and will get reset again June 2024.
L-R: Dave Gardener and David Craft
At our annual meeting January 6, we honored four individuals who have made significant work contributions. From 2013 through 2023, Dave Gardener has amassed 720 hours of service. We are fortunate to have had Dave on our team since our inception. He has served as a Trail Boss and record keeper of volunteer hours and activities. Many of you may also know Dave through his volunteer activities during the Three Rivers Land Trust Thru Hikes. Although he has had to step back from active service, he’ll always be a Trailblazer legend.
L-R: New Chairman Steve Chase with outgoing Chairman David Craft.
We also honored Steve Chase for his service and stepping into the role of chairman. Steve is a seasoned two time AT thru hiker. After the June 2019 storm that knocked down so many trees across the forest, the Forest Service contracted the Southern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards (SAWS) to saw so many of the big trees across Birkhead Wilderness trails. Steve came out to lend a hand several days. That piqued an interest in obtaining a crosscut saw certification. Steve now heads up our saw crew. You will be hearing from Steve more now that he is running the club.
L-R: Merritt Maness and Stanley Siceloff
A couple members of our trail crew and adoption program ran up some big volunteer hours last year. Merritt Maness and Stanley Siceloff put in 91 and 69 hours respectively during 2023. They also come in number 2 and 3 on our cumulative hours from 2013-2023. Merritt also puts in many hours during the Three Rivers Land Trust thru hikes, providing firewood and hauling his massive collection of folding camp chairs from campsite to campsite. Merritt and Stanley collaborate on the Little Long Mountain/Poison Fork adoption.
Ciara Massingale’s handiwork
All four of these guys were presented with hand crafted hiking sticks made by Ciara Massingale, the newest and youngest member of our UTB leadership board.
L-R: Merritt Maness, Dave Gardener, Steve Chase, and Stanley Siceloff
Here are our top ten volunteers for cumulative hours from 2013-2023:
During 2023, these volunteers gave 20 or more hours of service:
From the Chair
Steve Chase
Steve Chase, UTB Chair
From the Saw Shack:
Hello all! It was great to see everyone at the annual meeting and we had a great turnout and talked about things we accomplished in 2023 and going forward in 2024. The Trail Bosses and I are looking forward to more regular monthly Second Saturday Work Days, some possible new projects and the one in February looks like it will take place at Robbins Branch Trail Head. Stay tuned for details. The January Work Day saw us clearing some minor tree blowdowns and cleaning out water run offs and we had a great turn out. The new tools purchased by Jim was a good upgrade and much needed. The new safety goggles are a big hit. Thank you everyone for coming out and pitching in!
I am looking forward to a safe, productive and fun 2024 with all of you Trailblazers and please if anyone at anytime has any thoughts, concerns, suggestions, complaints or ideas please contact me by texting 919-548-5168 and I will do my best to address your concerns. We have the Thru Hikes coming up, trail work volunteer opportunities on the UT and also with the Piedmont Land trust, a possible composting privy project in the works, new certified Sawyer classes, Tshirts planned and much much more! Let’s rock 2024!
See you on the trail!
Final Thoughts
from the immediate past chair…
I have been hiking in the Uwharries since the mid seventies. I suppose I hiked in the Birkhead Wilderness before it was so..........
My first thru hike was in 1978, again in 1981, and again in the late nineties two more times. I remember camping on the southern edge of the Birkhead, Camp 4b, or Water Camp as Joe White reminds me. Walking by Strieby Church and down King Mountain Rd. when the trail fell apart.
The event where it all started…
I was privileged to connect with Ruth Ann Grissom, Jeff Michael, Jason Walser, and Crystal Cockman as we reconnected the trail. There is one gap still, and we'll be working on it.
As for the club, we began in 2012 when Dave Gardener showed up at the same time as I did at Little Long Mountain in 2012. Trail building we did! Joe White, Don Childrey, and countless others. Since then the club, which formed around 2015, began more work on the existing trail. We continue to do so today.........
I am due for another thru hike! Who's with me?
On a personal note, I remember Walt Bilous, who thru hiked three or more times with some other folks from Greensboro. I knew Walt first through our local homebrew club. He was a brewer, cyclist, hiker, and an interesting person all around. He passed just after Christmas and we are all at a loss not having Walt's joyous persona around us. Blessings to our fellow hiker, Walt Bilous. More here:
I have been privileged to be the bus driver for the past 12 years or so. I am excited for Steve Chase and his crew for the coming year. Help them as you can!
We’re planning on adding a camping experience to workday weekends! This will be at my property near Walkers Creek Trailhead. We keep our tools there. More details coming soon!
I look forward to seeing you all out on the trail!
ONWARD!
David Craft
New Uwharrie Trail Map
Our very own Uwharrie Trailblazers board member Jared Byrd has created a wonderful complete map of the entire Uwharrie Trail!!!
Prototypes of the new map were unveiled at the Annual Meeting and participants universally applauded this monumental achievement!!! The map folds into a rectangle approximately the size of a US Passport and fits easily into a front shirt or jacket pocket or slides neatly into an outer pocket of your backpack. The paper is water-resistant and similar to that used for official NPS maps. Once final edits are finished, the Uwharrie Trailblazers will have a large run of them printed, and they will be available for sale at the Uwharrie Welcome Center in Troy, Eldorado Outpost, and at REI retail stores throughout the state!
2024 Uwharrie Trail Spring Thru-Hike, April 25-28
40 miles, 4 days, infinite fun!!! Registration will open on January 30th, 2024, 10am. See all the details HERE on the Three Rivers Land Trust website!
Many Uwharrie Trailblazers will be on hand as usual both as hikers and as trail angels providing support for the event. If you have questions or would like to find out more about being a trail angel, please contact Emily Calicutt, TRLT Senior Land Preservation Specialist, at emily@trlt.org.
Does THIS look like fun to you???
If so, join us for an upcoming Uwharrie Trailblazers trail work day and be part of it!!! On the second Saturday of nearly every month, volunteers gather and do work maintaining trails somewhere in the Uwharries, and it’s SUPER fun! All are welcome, and no experience is required! The tools are supplied by the club, and trail bosses and longtime volunteers are always on hand and happy to teach anyone what to do on any given trail work day. All the details about where and when to meet are shared at least a week in advance via our email list and our facebook page. If you think you’d like to give this a try and would like to be notified about future trail work days, simply send an email to uwharrietrailblazers@gmail.com and request to be put on our email list. We will not inundate your inbox with junk; we only use our list to share announcements about trail work days and sporadic other club events like our annual meeting. You can also just follow our facebook page and find trail work day information there.
And if you have any questions about this or anything trail related, please don’t hesitate to send an email to uwharrietrailblazers@gmail.com. We will get right back to you!
editorial policy
The contents of this newsletter are authored collaboratively by the Uwharrie Trailblazers steering committee unless otherwise attributed and are intended to illuminate, educate, and inspire all who enjoy the trails of the Uwharries. The newsletter is edited by Uwharrie Trailblazers club secretary Kim Andersen. We welcome suggestions and questions from all readers.
Please send feedback and questions via email to uwharrietrailblazers@gmail.com and visit us on Facebook!
