Spring 2022
Spring dawns with new hope and new challenges, and here in the Uwharries, our trail work has picked back up in top form.
Mary Joan Pugh (left) and Kathryn Waple on crosscut saw in the Birkheads, February 2022 trail work day. Photo by Steve Chase.
Record numbers of our club members have given their time and energy working on the trails in the last several months - so much so that their efforts attracted media attention and several of our trail crew (including Steve Chase and Kathryn Waple) have become TV stars!!!
Check them out in this PBS “North Carolina Weekend” episode Uwharrie Trailblazers: A Dedicated Group of Volunteers!!!
PBS NC Season 19, Episode 12 features the Uwharrie Trailblazers
Meanwhile the world holds its breath while eastern Europe teeters on the brink. Simultaneously the Russian invasion of Ukraine threatens to escalate to an unprecedented and unimaginably destructive war while the constant threat with which we have all been trying to live for the better part of two years - the Covid-19 pandemic - is finally receding and life at home is making progress. Never a dull moment…
Kim AndersenFrom the Chair
David Craft
Bus Driver
It’s hard to believe but ten years ago a few of us started working on the trail on Little Long Mountain for the Land Trust. We have spent much of that time reconnecting the Uwharrie Trail. With one gap to go, it seems so close, but it is not going to happen immediately. The seeds are planted, but it will just take time.
In the meantime we hear about and see incidents of people thru hiking on the old “trail,” actually an old jeep road. This involves trespassing across three private properties. I know these folks and have worked hard to build good relationships with them. Let’s not screw that up.
The club continues to grow and evolve. Growing pains of sorts are inevitable. Some of those pains involve the business of the club - things like planning workdays, training, tool maintenance, finances, and this newsletter.
Close to 20 people now show up for workdays. It takes time and planning to have a productive and safe workday. Thanks to our 4 trail bosses -Gifford Del Grande, Joe White, Dave Gardener, and Steve Chase - we are more productive than ever.
This newsletter takes time. Thanks to Kim Andersen making it happen.
Managing our trail adoption and funds takes a lot of time. Thanks to Jim Plant.
We are looking at incorporating, not because we want to, but because it does have benefits. Currently our funds are in a bank account in a club member's name. We don’t have a FEIN, so the club cannot open it’s own account. If we host an event and need insurance, we cannot apply for it because we don’t really exist in a legal sense. We are currently simply a group of folks who coalesce around a cause.
As a start towards becoming a legal entity, we started calling our committee a board and are beginning to run our meetings more like a Board. Sounds boring, but it should make us more effective. We currently have ten Board Members and could go up to twelve. Interested, particularly in the business of the club? Let us know.
Our annual meeting is coming up April 9th. We are excited to lead a hike from Yates Place north to a special spot. We’ll return to Black Lake Retreat Center and hear Dr. Gary Freeze, retired history professor from Catawba College and noted expert on the Uwharries. We’ll have fancy chili, too. Here are the meeting details and don’t forget to renew your membership before the meeting if you haven’t done that already. You can renew or join at the meeting if you forget but you’ll need cash or a check because we won’t have a card reader there.
Meanwhile see you out on the trails!
David Craft
David Gardener
by Joe White (Gifford Del Grande and Steve Chase, contributors)
Dave Gardener taking one of his infrequent breaks while doing trail work in the Uwharries.
I was recently riding my bike through the park on a typical training loop when I passed by a mother and her young son on his Spiderman bike. As I approached, he looked at me and said “Wow!” somehow impressed by my not so spiffy touring bike.
It occurred to me how that is very similar to the way I felt when I met and worked with David Gardener the first time back in 2013 and many times since. From my perspective, one word sums up the remarkable example he has provided us not only in the UTB community but also in many other endeavors. That word, should I pick only one, would be Service. Yes, that would be “Service” with a capital “S”.
David has attended and participated in all functions of the Uwharrie Trailblazers for at least a decade. He has logged miles and hours on and off the trail driving in from Cary, NC. He is consistently the first one to a workday and the last one to leave. He keeps track of all the participants and logs their time so that the USFS can report on UTB participation.
Mr. Gardener helping fellow hiker Jamie Wade Spencer with some first aid in camp during a thru hike.
David has been a Trail Angel throughout the years on all the Thru Hike events. He is always at the trail head ahead of time ready to hand out water and Gatorade, or even to tape up a sore ankle. I am quite certain every Thru Hike participant will remember David and his conch calling out the morning reveille to start their day.
Dave Gardener, Fall 2021 UT Thru Hike. Photo by Reacie Daniel.
His no-nonsense approach to the task at hand is a welcome asset to the UTB. If it is cutting a deadfall, benching a hill, building new trail, lopping limbs, painting shelters, digging post holes, carrying rocks, keeping the roster. David is right there in the mix leading by example.
Dave Gardener (center) leading the saw crew on a trail work day in the Uwharries. Photo by Steve Chase.
A retired US Marine and a dedicated husband and father, he still somehow finds seemingly unlimited time and energy to devote countless hours volunteering! The Uwharrie Trailblazers is just one of many organizations David helps on a regular basis. He is out there making a difference in Howell Woods Conservation, Meals on Wheels, Habitat for Humanity, Boy Scouts, and the US Marine Corps just to name a few.
THANK YOU, Dave Gardener, for all you do. You are an inspiration to us all!!!
Mr. Gardener sizing up the competition…
L-R: Dave Gardener, Michael Kirkpatrick, and Stanley Siceloff hard at work keeping up the Uwharrie Trail.
News From Three Rivers Land Trust
Nicky Blakeley, Membership and Events Coordinator, Three Rivers Land Trust Crystal Cockman, Associate Director, Three Rivers Land Trust
Three Rivers Land Trust is excited to announce we are hosting our 11th Uwharrie Trail Thru Hike event! This is a 4-day, 40-mile backpacking trip on the full length of the historic Uwharrie National Recreational Trail.
Join us for an awesome backpacking trip through some of the oldest mountains in the world. The thru hike will go from south to north, starting at the Highway 24/27 Trailhead and ending at the Tot Hill/Talbott’s Branch trailhead on Tot Hill Farm Road. There will be two thru hikes - one in the spring and one in the fall - this year:
Spring Thru Hike Thursday, April 28 – Sunday, May 1, 2022
Fall Thru Hike Thursday, October 13 – Sunday, October 16, 2022
The Uwharrie Trail is known for its cultural and natural significance, including unique features such as gold mines, rare plants and wildlife, ghost stories, and more. The Thru Hike was first started to increase awareness of the Uwharrie Trail and the significant gaps (5) that prevented the trail from being continuous. Thanks to Three Rivers land Trust, 4 of the 5 gaps have been purchased and transferred to the US Forest Service. We are one property away from having a fully reconnected Uwharrie Trail.
The purpose of the Thru Hike has changed over time, and it is now a funding mechanism for TRLT. Participation in the 4 day/3 night Thru Hike helps this organization conserve land (both public and private) throughout our 15 county footprint. Last year, we matched all operational dollars 13 times over for conservation projects, including four public land projects.
The Trail Angels - volunteers who provide trail magic (food, drinks, snacks, firewood, extra chairs, and other luxuries) during the thru hike - along with other volunteers and sponsors support TRLT and our conservation mission by generously donating to TRLT in order to improve the Thru Hike experience. We are incredibly grateful to those trail angels who help support our mission.
Sign up to Volunteer as a Trail Angel for the Spring Thru Hike HERE!!!
The financial support TRLT receives from events like the Thru Hike is returned to supporters in the form of conserved land being made available for public recreation. In fact, the trail section from Jumping Off Rock to the Walkers Creek trailhead wouldn’t have happened without this organization. Participation in the Thru Hike helps make conservation and trails like this possible.
My Experience as a Trail Adopter
by Kaitlyn Lamaster
Kaitlyn Lamaster, UTB Trail Adopter. Kaitlyn also somehow finds time and energy to be an Agriculture Extension Agent specializing in Horticulture in Montgomery County!
When I moved to North Carolina in 2020 I had a few boxes that I wanted to check: familiarize myself with the nearby trails, get my garden going, and get involved doing trail work.
I moved from Southern Illinois where I had been regularly involved in trail maintenance on an Illinois Audubon Society Sanctuary trail. I loved the responsibility of heading out on the trail and keeping things maintained not only for my own use but for the public as well.
After some digging I found the Uwharrie Trailblazers and their workdays and Trail Adoption Program. I saw that there were two sections of trail left to be adopted, and one happened to be a trail I regularly frequented - Section 17, the Northern Portion of Dutchman's Creek. I reached out to the group, became a certified member of the Trailblazers, and solidified my section on the map.
Section 17 is just under 5 miles and consists of mixed forest cover with a sizable population of mountain laurel along the creek edge. Typically, I take the trail from Yates Place to get on the northern portion and head southbound. I really enjoy this section of trail because of the variation in what it has to offer. A good portion of it walks alongside Duchmans creek, which has some interest to it during all 4 seasons. I regularly take my dog, Mya, along with me and she likes going for a “swim” in the creek no matter the temperature. Closer to the southern end of the trail there are some fluctuations in elevation, from ascents to descents. I like this part because it reminds me of the forests I used to roam in Southern Illinois and makes me feel like I’m really getting a workout in!
Most often, trail maintenance on my section only includes removing small debris from the trail like twigs or wrappers (be a hoot, don’t pollute!). Occasionally, there is some work that requires a handsaw, pruners, or clearing of an established waterbar to keep the trail in shape. In January of 2022 I had the fortunate opportunity to take part in some bigger maintenance on the trail: chainsaw work! Being that I am not certified to use a chainsaw on forest service property I had to employ the help of a forest service employee and fellow Uwharrie Trailblazer Volunteer. Naturally, the trees that came down were on one of the farther sections of my trail, so we had about a 1.5 mile hike, seemingly all uphill, with the chainsaw. The work consisted of the removal of 1 large tree and 3 smaller trees from the walkway.
I enjoy the Trail Adoption Program because I am able to work on the trail on my own time. I am not always able to make every meeting that the group has, but I am able to hike some or all of my trail section on at least a quarterly basis.
With 59 miles of trail, there are still sections available for adoption. Join the fun and adopt a trail or join the Uwharrie Trailblazers for a monthly workday!
A New Illustrated Uwharrie Trail Map
by Jared Byrd
“Where is the trailhead? How do I get there? How far is it to the shelter? Is there water? Can I get there from here? Where is Camp 3?”
AllTrails, Avenza, Google, Hiking Project, Don Childrey, Gaia, BackCounty Navigator and even #AskFacebook. How in today's technology-filled world do we have so many platforms to turn to for maps, yet one of the most common themes on our Uwharrie Trailblazers Facebook group is questions about maps of trail locations, trailheads, distances, water sources, and points of interest?
I get it. I really do.
When I plan a hike to a new place, I want all the details of where I am going. How can I get the best hike with the best views, throw in some cool creek crossings, waterfalls, old homesteads, and remote trails through a scenic forest. Oh, and hopefully the weather is great and it’s not crowded. …can you show me that on the map?
But how do we collect all the wonder located within the 52,000 acres of the Uwharrie National Forest and condense it down onto a somewhat manageable paper or digital map that meets the needs of each individual user that uses the Forest in their own individual way???
The short answer: We probably can’t.
But we will give it a shot!!!
Your Uwharrie Trailblazers have been working on 12”x18” paper map and a digital georeferenced pdf map of the Uwharrie Tail!
Legend portion of UTB Uwharrie Trail Map currently being created by Jared Byrd.
Our goal is to make a map that gives you the information you may need to plan a trip. The map will include trailhead locations, some of the more famous points of interest along the trail, route distances, and some creek crossings.
Detail showing some of what will be included in our UTB Uwharrie Trail Map.
The map will also feature some of the best photos along the trail from our Uwharrie Trailblazers Facebook group.
But I’d be remiss if I didn’t state the fact that many hikers are already aware of - a fact that I am reminded of each time I try to plan a trip to a new spot. Although we are sure our new map will be helpful to get you where you may want to go, it’s just the first step of the experience. You are sure to find something along the trail that can’t be adequately dictated by a map.
Some of my favorite spots along the Uwharrie Trail weren’t found on paper. Be it the almost tunnel-like canopy and large rocks along Walkers Creek, or how the trail seems cool even on the hotter days as it dances along the bank of Watery Branch, or the comradery of the people you’ll find maintaining the trail on a workday. The best parts of Uwharrie are found by being there. That map just points you in the right direction.
I guess J.R.R Tolkien says it best.
“The world is not in your books and maps, it’s out there.”
Our goal is to have copies of this new map available through the Uwharrie Trailblazers website and in local stores in time for the Fall 2022 Thru Hike!
View from Little Long Mountain on the cusp of Spring. Photo by Jared Thomas Slack.
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!
