The Uwharrie Trailblazers 2023 Annual Meeting will be held at the Mt. Shepherd Retreat Center this year INSIDE their wonderful main meeting building. Parking will be plentiful.

Schedule for the Day:

9am Morning Hike - meet at Caraway Creek Preserve, 829 Jerico Rd. Asheboro, NC

11am Social hour, Mt. Shepherd Retreat Center, 708-1044 Mount Shepherd Rd Ext, Asheboro, NC

Noon Chili LUNCH!

12:45pm Meeting and program

1:30pm Afternoon hike from retreat center to fire tower and back

There will be chili with meat, vegan chili, the famous corn bread, and a variety of beverages and chips. As always, many members will bring delicious desserts and side dishes - all are welcome.

This event is free to all Uwharrie Tralblazers members. If you’ve let your membership lapse, sign up again HERE or just plan to re-up at this meeting.

Please RSVP to let us know if you can come to the meeting and if you will be bringing a treat from home to share — RSVP.

If you have any questions, please email uwharrietrailblazers@gmail.com.

It's finally here! It's time to resume trail work days - the first one this fall 2022 is THIS SATURDAY!!! Come out and give us a hand.

Wear weather and work appropriate clothes, bring some drinking water and maybe a snack if you think you might get hungry, and plan to have a really good time with great people!

Meet at 8:30am at the Tot Hill Trailhead, 3091 Tot Hill Farm Rd, Asheboro, NC 27205.

The trail bosses will provide all the information and tools you will need. That said, if you have a personal favorite trail maintenance tool like your own loppers or something and would like to bring them, please feel free.

If you have any questions, please email uwharrietrailblazers@gmail.com and someone will be in touch before Saturday with an answer!

Place and Time TBD. Details will be shared here, on Facebook - see https://www.facebook.com/groups/UwharrieTrailblazers/events - and via email to our entire mailing list at least a week prior to the workday. If you have any questions, please send us an email to uwharrietrailblazers@gmail.com.

National Trails Day 2022!!! A Day of Service and Advocacy for Hometown Trails. Details of the fun and helpful events the Uwharrie Trailblazers are hosting will be shared here, on facebook, and via email in the coming months!!!

Place and Time TBD. Details will be shared here, on Facebook - see https://www.facebook.com/groups/UwharrieTrailblazers/events - and via email to our entire mailing list at least a week prior to the workday. If you have any questions, please send us an email to uwharrietrailblazers@gmail.com.

Saturday, April 9, 2022

Black Lake Retreat Center, PICNIC PAVILION, 4709 New Hope Church Rd, Asheboro, NC  27205.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The address for the Retreat Center is 4709 New Hope Church Road, Asheboro, but the entrance to the picnic shelter pavilion where our meeting is being held is about .2 mile north from that address on New Hope Church Road. There will be a Uwharrie Trailblazer Event sign by the road. Drive in on the gated gravel road where the sign is. It will be less than half a mile to the picnic shelter.

Please sign up HERE if you plan to attend and/or if you want to bring a treat or side dish to share!!!

AGENDA

9am       

Hike!  Meet at Yates Place, 700 Dusty Level Rd, Troy, NC 27371. There is plenty of parking.  We will be taking a very special hike to Watery Branch!  After the hike, drive to the Pavilion at the Black Lake Retreat Center, 4709 New Hope Ch Rd, Asheboro, NC  27205, for everything else - lunch, business meeting, and program. The drive is less than 30 minutes and there is ample convenient parking at the Black Lake pavilion.

11am       

Social time and membership renewal at the Black Lake Retreat Center picnic pavilion.. Pay your dues at the meeting or online here. We will not be able to accept credit/debit card payments at our meeting, so please bring cash or plan to write a check payable to Uwharrie Trailblazers. 

11:30am       

Lunch!

• Meat Chili and a Vegan Chili along with Corn Chips will be supplied by the club.

• Attendees are invited to bring a home cooked item like cornbread, side dish or a dessert to share.

• Bottled water will be supplied by the club. If you prefer another beverage, bring one. There is NO ALCOHOL permitted on the premises. 

• Covered outdoor picnic shelter has restrooms and picnic table style seating. Bring a folding chair if you prefer.   

Noon

Updates, news

Onwards!

Program - Dr. Gary Freeze, Catawba College

Meet-up Place - Robbins Branch Trail Head, 5527 Lassiter Mill Rd, Asheboro, NC 27205 MAP

RSVP - UwharrieTrailblazers@gmail.com

We will be eradicating invasive plant species along the Thornburg Trail. We will be meeting at Robbins Branch and coordinating from there. According to attendance we may split up and perform other tasks.

Bring: water, work gloves, long pants, work shoes, snack and/or lunch, insect repellent and other personal items you might want. Some tasks require hard hat such as chainsaw and cross cut crews.

Tools: We have general trail tools. Feel free to bring your own based on the tasks at hand. Loppers and hand saws are always handy.

Cancellation and Release:
In the event that the workday is canceled due to bad weather, an Email and FB Post will be sent out the Friday before by 6:00 p.m.

This is a volunteer activity. Please work safely and be aware of your surroundings and personal circumstances. The Uwharrie Trailblazers and US Forest Service assume no responsibility for participants.

See details also on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/UwharrieTrailblazers/events - and via email. If you have any questions, please send us an email to uwharrietrailblazers@gmail.com.

This Saturday's workday will be at Robbins Branch! We'll be dealing with some water/erosion issues. Basically, clearing and opening up existing run outs and maybe adding a few more. Gifford Del Grande will bring the tools. We also have 3 trees to cut. Steve Chase will lead that crew.

Folks are planning to camp @ RB trailhead Friday night.

If you're not going to camp out, please meet at Robbins Branch Trailhead, 5527 Lassiter Mill Rd, Asheboro, NC 27205, at 8:30am Saturday.

The weather should be beautiful!!!

Details are also here, on Facebook - see https://www.facebook.com/groups/UwharrieTrailblazers/events.

Please RSVP and address any questions to uwharrietrailblazers@gmail.com.

Come help with trail maintenance and construction of the Uwharrie and related trails. This is a good way to give back to the trails and find out more about new hiking opportunities. We have made many new friends on these workdays.

Date: 12/11/2021, Saturday

Meet-up Time: 8:30AM

Meet-up Place: Tot Hill Trailhead, 3091 Tot Hill Farm Rd, Asheboro, NC 27205

Trail Boss in Charge: David Gardener

RSVP and/or questions: UwharrieTrailblazers@gmail.com

Facebook Event

Tasks, crew leaders

David Craft: Dassow Property runouts

Steve Chase: Crosscut Saw Crew

Bring: water, work gloves, long pants, work shoes, snack and/or lunch, insect repellent and other personal items you might want. Some tasks require hard hat such as chainsaw and cross cut crews.

Tools: We have general trail tools. Feel free to bring your own based on the tasks at hand. Loppers and hand saws are always handy.

Hunting Season: PLEASE wear blaze orange from October - January 1.

Camping: Since there is very little camping area at Tot Hill, there will not be a campout Friday night.

Cancellation and Release:
In the event that the workday is canceled due to bad weather, an Email and FB Post will be sent out the Friday before by 6:00 p.m.

This is a volunteer activity. Please work safely and be aware of your surroundings and personal circumstances. The Uwharrie Trailblazers and US Forest Service assume no responsibility for participants.

Join us for a day of fun and giving back on National Trails Day 2021!

We will host a morning hike and a little light trail work in the Caraway Creek Preserve, a 100-acre parcel acquired by Piedmont Land Conservancy between the Mount Shepherd Retreat Center and Camp Caraway, both with PLC conservation easements. This area, also called the Parris Tract, features mature hardwoods, trail along Caraway Creek, views of Caraway Mountain and Mt. Shepherd, and a stone-built check dam. There is only very limited parking at the Caraway Creek Preserve so please plan to meet at the Mount Shepherd Retreat Center so we can share rides to the hike trailhead. The hike will be followed by a delicious picnic lunch at the Mt. Shepherd Retreat Center picnic shelter and - at long last - our annual meeting! And there’s another hike option for afterwards!!!

The hikes, lunch, and meeting are free and open to all members of the Uwharrie Trailblazers. If you have not yet joined or renewed your membership this year, you can do so at this event with cash or a personal check or you can sign up any time prior online! If you want to bring a friend who is not a member and is not interested in joining, they can participate for $10 cash or personal check at the event. And you can participate in all or just some of the day’s offerings - if you do not feel like hiking or working, just come for the picnic and meeting!

Please RSVP via email here by June 1, 2021, so we can successfully plan the picnic!!!

Schedule for the Day (6/5/2021)

8:30am-noon - Morning hike/trail work. Meet at the Mount Shepherd Retreat Center, 1045 Mount Shepherd Road Ext Asheboro, NC 27205, https://www.mtshepherd.org/contact-us.html, at 8:30am. There is ample parking. Once assembled, we will shuttle to the Caraway Creek Preserve hike site, a 5-minute drive, and work-walk until a bit before noon.

Noon - PICNIC LUNCH at Mount Shepherd Retreat Center Picnic Shelter

1pm - ANNUAL MEETING at the Mount Shepherd Retreat Center Picnic Shelter

2pm – Optional hike to the fire tower at the top of Mt Shepherd, the highest point in Randolph County and the surrounding counties.

Three Rivers Land Trust is happy to announce the Walkers Creek Trailhead Ribbon Cutting (Uwharrie Trail) on Friday, May 7, 2021 at 1:30pm. This event will take place at the trailhead, 6871 High Pines Church Road, Asheboro, NC. Three Rivers Land Trust partnered with the North Carolina Zoo, the North Carolina Zoo Society, and the U.S. Forest Service to protect this property and fill this gap in the Uwharrie Trail. Thank you to all these organizations and to the people who worked to make this a reality!

Please contact Three Rivers Land Trust with any questions or concerns.

Come on out and get dirty and have fun! Work to be done includes:

• Remove the blowdown blocking Robbins Branch Trail

• Remove the blowdown blocking the Birkhead Mountain Trail

• Clearing run-outs and lopping overgrowth (if we have extra hands and time)

Everyone meet at Robbins Branch Trailhead in Birkhead Wilderness Area at 8:30am. Please bring handsaws, loppers, etc, if you have them. Social distancing protocols will be practiced; please bring a face covering and any other PPE and hand sanitizer, etc… you may want in order to feel comfortable.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This is opening day of rifle deer hunting season. Please wear blaze orange for your own safety.

Also be sure to wear weather and terrain appropriate clothes and boots. It’s likely going to be swampy out there this weekend!

Please email uwharrietrailblazers@gmail.com to sign up and share your preference for where you would like to serve. Signing up is crucial for effective planning so please email us ahead of Saturday to let us know you are going to come out and help!

In the event that the workday is canceled due to bad weather, an Email and FB Post will be sent out the Friday before by 8:00 PM. This is a volunteer activity. Please work safely and be aware of your surroundings and personal circumstances. Three Rivers Land Trust, US Forest Service, and the volunteers assume no responsibility for participants.

Thank you and please let us know if you have any questions, too!

Join us for a trail work day Saturday, October 10, 2020! 

We will be pursuing a few projects simultaneously using small groups so adequate social distancing protocols can be followed.  Projects for this October 10th work day include:

• Work on Hannah’s Creek Trail to add stepping stones or relocate the trail where a small stream crosses

• Work on RBT Runouts Continued

• Clear blow-down at Hannahs Creek and BMT

• Other projects that may crop up between now and then

Meeting Location & Time

Please all meet at Robbins Branch Trailhead, 5527 Lassiter Mill Rd, Asheboro, NC 27205, at 8:30 AM Saturday, 10/10/20. After signing in and answering any questions, we will all disperse to our work locations. 

RSVP

Please let us know if you plan to participate in this October 10th work day by emailing uwharrietrailblazers@gmail.com. Thank you in advance.  We need an accurate count and names in order to plan the work and maximize effectiveness and safety during this pandemic.

Safety:

- Be observant while on the trail as some say copperheads and timber rattlers are out in force

- Wear masks and social distance to minimize the risk of COVID-19 exposure

- Bring plenty of water and drink frequently to stay hydrated.

- This is hard work, so bring some snacks and lunch.

- Maintain 10’ distance between fellow workers so don’t get hit by handles or flying debris.

- Wear closed-toe boots, gloves, long pants, long sleeve shirt. Hard hat if needed.

- Be careful around wet surfaces of roots, bridges, rocks etc. so you don’t slip and fall

- Put on insect repellent to reduce the chance of tick, chigger, and mosquito bites.

- Use sunscreen as needed.

- Take frequent breaks to rest, drink, eat and otherwise avoid heatstroke

- Stop immediately if feeling light-headed, dizzy, or un-normal in any way.

Cancellation and Release:

In the event that the workday is canceled due to bad weather, an Email and FB Post will be sent out the Friday before by 8:00 PM. This is a volunteer activity. Please work safely and be aware of your surroundings and personal circumstances. The Land Trust of Central, NC, US Forest Service, and the volunteers assume no responsibility for participants.

We’re back in business!!! Welcome, everyone; thank you for your patience; and let’s get to work!!! Having a workday during a pandemic will be a bit of a challenge, but if we divide and conquer we should be able to pull it off.

We hope to keep the work teams small so it is easier to maintain social distancing and eliminate the possibility of COVID-19 contamination.

There are three projects that need immediate attention and that we hope to tackle Saturday.

Click Here for sign-up information and details.