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Report on the 1st Annual West River Trail Run
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Report on the 1st Annual West River Trail Run

The 1st Annual West River Trail Run held on June 1, 2013 was a huge success! Runners were blessed with spectacular weather and a beautiful trail. A big thanks to the runners, volunteers and spectators, and to our partners – Friends of the West River Trail, Southern Vermont Technical Rescue, Winhall/Townshend Campground and Jamaica State Park. A big thanks also to our sponsors – Stratton Mountain Resort, TimberQuest, Prospect Rehabilitation, Real Sports, Peabody’s Apiaries, Taylor Farm, Maggie’s Farm and Grandma Millers.

More pictures can be found on the West River Trail Run Facebook page. Hope to see you again next year!

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West Trail Run June 1st: Calling Runners and Race Volunteers
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West Trail Run June 1st: Calling Runners and Race Volunteers

currentWRTRposter

Calling all runners and race volunteers!! Please join us for the annual West River Trail Run on Saturday, June 1st! Please contact us for more information about the event or if you are interested in helping out! Hurry! Registration is limited and closes this Friday, May 24, 2013. Email us at info@thecollaborative.us or call us at 802.824.4200. See poster for more details and contact information.

The Collaborative will be hosting its first Trail Run on June 1st, 2013. This is an annual event to help the Collaborative to provide fun, healthy educational programs for youth in the Northshire and Mountain communities. Please check THE COLLABORATIVE WEBSITE for more information and to register.

Run along 11 of the 36 miles of the West River Trail in Southern Vermont. The run will start at Londonderry Depot, 34 West River Street, South Londonderry, VT 05155 and end at Jamaica State Park, 48 Salmon Hole Lane, Jamaica, Vermont 05343

Relay teams of 3 or individuals are invited to participate. Runners have the option to ride the bus from Jamaica State Park back to the start after the awards ceremony. Relay teams are allowed one car during the run to transport. Teams are responsible for their own transportation.

Runner 1: 4 miles of flat trail. Runner is on the main rail-trail, which provides a more gentle grade and relatively easy travel. Trail follows the campground road through the campground and over a single-lane bridge crossing the Winhall River.

Runner 2: 4 miles of uphill and switchback, single trail. From the south trailhead of Winhall Campground, the surpack surface of the West River Trail continues along the river’s edge. Becoming a footpath through the forest, the single-track section of trail involves several short uphill jaunts and a variety of stream crossings. This is considered the most challenging section of the trail.

Runner 3: 3.5 miles of gradual downhill and flat trail. The switchback trail traverses back and forth across the steep face of the dam, arriving in the river valley as a footpath. The trail follows the river down stream, crossing the Cobb Bridge. The West River Trail continues along the old railroad grade. This section of trail is well-used and provides easy running with lovely views of the river.

To register, click HERE. Registration closes on Friday, May 24, 2013. Registrations may be mailed to The Collaborative c/o Trail Run, PO Box 32, South Londonderry, VT 05155.  Email us at info@thecollaborative.us or call us at 802.824.4200. 

The Run will start at 9 am on June 1st.
Packet-pick up:
May 31, 6-8:30pm: Depot, 34 West River Street, South Londonderry, VT 05155
June 1, 7-7:45am: Depot, 34 West River Street, South Londonderry, VT 05155

Thank you to our sponsors and partners: Friends of the West River Trail, Jamaica State Park, Ball Mountain/Townsend Lakes.
For more information and to register, check EVENT WEBSITE.

A Dry and Clean Trail
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A Dry and Clean Trail

We had a successful work day on Saturday, May 11. Lots of trash and debris cleared off  the trail and drainage work done.  The lower section of the West River Trail is now noticeably drier and cleaner!  Many thanks to the hardy and wonderful volunteers – Jason Cooper, Vicki Myers, Paul Link, Mary Steiner, John Frechette, Thomas Wagner, Trever & Mike Kipp.

The West River Trail and the Vermont Land Trust in the News
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The West River Trail and the Vermont Land Trust in the News

west river trail signFrom the Brattleboro Reformer, May 4, 2013. Click <a title="brattleboro reformer wrt article" href="http://www.reformer.com/localnews/ci_23170574/west-river-trail-land-purchase-works?nstrack=sid:313768|met:0000300|cat:0|order:10&%2F%3Fsource=dailymeHERE to go to the full article.
The Vermont Land Trust and the Friends of the West River Trail are close to finalizing a deal to purchase 21 acres of land along the West River which would allow the conservation groups to add trails to the popular system and preserve land along the river.
The Vermont Land Trust is working with the local organization to purchase the land, which is on the northeast side of the river, across from the professional buildings on Route 30.
The trail has become a popular destination for bikers, walkers and runners since the Friends of the West River Trail improved the kiosk at the trail head and developed the access point near the Marina Restaurant.
Lester Humphreys, a member of the Friends of the West River Trail board, said the trail has seen an increase in use since the group put down crushed stone along the path last year. “People are hearing about it and they are definitely coming out,” he said. “They love it.”
The West River Trail has been developed over the past 15 years and the group has been slowly acquiring land along the river. Supporters hope to eventually develop the old railroad bed 36 miles, from Brattleboro all the way to South Londonderry.
Members of the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps are expected to do work along the trail this summer.
Humphreys said the land deal is still a work in progress and the group is trying to raise the money needed to complete the transaction(follow this page for more information on what they are doing to raise money. If the deal goes through the group hopes to develop new trails and also do culvert and drainage repair and surfacing in the area. The Friends of the West River Trail has a grant request in with the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board. If the deal goes through the group will own the land and the Vermont Land Trust will hold the conservation easement to ensure that the land remains open to the public.
The Brattleboro Selectboard will be asked to endorse the land deal at its board meeting Tuesday.

Trail Work Day on Saturday, May 11th
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Trail Work Day on Saturday, May 11th

Spring has arrived—Hurray!  And so the time has come to get back out on the Lower Section of the West River Trail and continue cleaning it up and improving it!

Our next Volunteer Work Day  is scheduled for Saturday, May 11 from 10 AM to 2 PM.

Meet up with Jason Cooper and other volunteers at the Trail Head near the Marina. Please wear your work boots and bring work gloves, loppers, shovels, other tools you think would be useful. Bring water and snacks. We will have an ATV with a trailer and will continue to haul out debris from that “dump” area.  We will also do some drainage work in wet areas.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

50 Cups of Tea
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50 Cups of Tea

WRT morthers day teaPlease join us at the Depot in South Londonderry for an Afternoon Tea featuring scrumptious sweet and savory treats, fresh flowers and favors. Saturday May 11th, 2:30 – 4 pm at the Depot, Route 100, South Londonderry, VT.

Inspired by local clay artist Susan Leader. To benefit Friends of the West River Trail. $25 per person, limited seating. Advance tickets available at Neighborhood Connections, Mountain Marketplace.
Questions? Please call 802-548-8247

Run the West River Trail on June 1st
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Run the West River Trail on June 1st

TrailRunLogo The Collaborative will be hosting its first Trail Run on June 1st, 2013. This is an annual event to help the Collaborative to provide fun, healthy educational programs for youth in the Northshire and Mountain communities. Please check THE COLLABORATIVE WEBSITE for more information and to register.

Run 11 of the 36 miles of  the West River Trail along the beautiful West River in Southern Vermont. The run will start at Londonderry Depot, 34 West River Street, South Londonderry, VT 05155 and end at Jamaica State Park, 48 Salmon Hole Lane, Jamaica, Vermont 05343

Relay teams of 3 or  individuals are invited to participate. Runners have the option to ride the bus from Jamaica State Park back to the start after awards ceremony. Relay teams are allowed one car during the run to transport. Teams are responsible for their own transportation.

Runner 1: 4 miles of flat trail. Runner is on the main rail-trail, which provides a more gentle grade and relatively easy travel. Trail follows the campground road through the campground and over a single-lane bridge crossing the Winhall River.

Runner 2: 4 miles of uphill and switchback, single trail. From the south trailhead of Winhall Campground, the surpack surface of the West River Trail continues along the river’s edge. Becoming a footpath through the forest, the single-track section of trail involves several short uphill jaunts and a variety of stream crossings. This is considered the most challenging section of the trail.

Runner 3: 3.5 miles of gradual downhill and flat trail. The switchback trail traverses back and forth across the steep face of the dam, arriving in the river valley as a footpath. The trail follows the river down stream, crossing the Cobb Bridge. The West River Trail continues along the old railroad grade. This section of trail is well-used and provides easy running with lovely views of the river.

To register, click HERE. Registration closes on Friday, May 24, 2013. Registrations may be mailed to The Collaborative c/o Trail Run, PO Box 32, South Londonderry, VT 05155.

The Run will start at 9 am on June 1st.
Packet-pick up:
May 31, 6-8:30pm: Depot, 34 West River Street, South Londonderry, VT 05155
June 1, 7-7:45am: Depot, 34 West River Street, South Londonderry, VT 05155

Thank you to our sponsors and partners: Friends of the West River Trail, Jamaica State Park, Ball Mountain/Townsend Lakes.
For more information and to register, check EVENT WEBSITE.

Video of the West River Trail
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Video of the West River Trail

wrt 2At the recent annual meeting we watched the 7 ½ minute video of the West River Trail, presented by its creator, Tim Lawrence. This upbeat, fun journey on the trail with Tim and his Siberian Husky, shows viewers where to park at the various trail accesses and what type of conditions to expect. This video can also be found on our FWRT Facebook page and You Tube.
Thanks, Tim!

Here is the link to the video: http://youtu.be/02t9LlbzB78

The West River Trail Run
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The West River Trail Run

Mother-daughter runners on the lower section last summer. (Photo by Dede Cummings)

Mother-daughter runners on the lower section last summer. (Photo by Dede Cummings)

The West River Trail Run will be June 1st, 2013.

The Collaborative will be hosting a discussion/information meeting at the South Londonderry Depot, Wednesday, March 6th at 6-7pm.

We will be discussing the route and details of the run. If you cannot make the meeting, we will send out minutes afterwards. We hope to keep you informed and involved whether participating in the run, volunteering at a water spot or donating. If there is a specific component you would like to be involved with, please email me personally.

Chrissy Blaylock
cjcollab@gmail.com

Winter Newsletter 2013
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Winter Newsletter 2013

 

WINTER NEWSLETTER 2013

Friends of the West River Trail

HOW DID IT GET TO BE FEBRUARY ALREADY?
We hope your holidays were happy and that your new year is going well so far!
Reports say that since the snows fell, both the upper and lower sections of the trail has been very nice for skiing and snowshoeing, (depending on the freezes and thaws, of course). I hope some of you have had a chance to get out there and enjoy this beautiful trail during the winter season!

AN INVITATION TO AN OPEN HOUSE
Doings at the Depot!
The public is invited to attend an Open House and social hour, with refreshments provided, hosted by the Friends of the West River Trail (FWRT), to be held on Tuesday, February 12, from 6:00 to 7:30 PM, in the South Londonderry Depot on Route 100.
At the Open House, visitors will be updated on the current projects involving both the West River Trail (South Londonderry to Brattleboro when completed) and the Depot itself. Recent significant advances in trail development in the Brattleboro area by the Southern Section of the Friends will be recognized.
During the social hour, the latest prize of memorabilia at the Depot will be formally introduced: a locomotive bell generously donated by William and Agnes Peele. It is believed that the bell came from one of the last regularly operated steam locomotives on the Santa Fe Railroad.
Tim Lawrence will also be on hand to present a narrated video depicting his recent experience hiking on a rail trail, one of a series he is producing, and will also, as a rail historian, update us on the status of his “Forgotten Railroads” project. Timothy W. Lawrence is Founder and Videographer, I.M.R. Films, created in 2003. Since that time, he has worked on numerous projects from online advertising for Coca-Cola and Comcast to corporate videos for companies such as Skyhorse Publishing, Living WRAP and more. He resides locally, in Windham, VT.
The Open House will be preceded at 5:30 PM by a short business meeting of the FWRT Board, which visitors are welcome to attend if they choose.
Please plan to join your friends and the Friends of the West River Trail for an enjoyable and informative evening.

BIG NEWS!
We have met our phase 1 fundraising goal! The Thomas Thompson Trust agreed to grant us $10,000 once we raised $35,000 from the community — which we have done!!! Hurray! Many, many individuals, grant-making organizations and businesses helped make this happen. Thanks to everyone who contributed!

SO, WHAT ELSE IS NEW?
Some of you may have noticed that fine crushed stone was spread on the trail late fall, starting just past the I-91 bridge and continuing for the next mile north. The material was donated by Mike Cersosimo, and the spreading and rolling was nicely done by Jason Evans. If you were able to walk or ride on that section of trail before the snow fell, you would have noticed that it’s a nice improvement to a section that was fairly bumpy due to exposed tree roots and holes. In the spring, we will see how the new surface withstood the winter and will welcome feedback on it. If the feedback is positive, we will explore whether other areas of trail could benefit from the same treatment.

We have two beautiful kiosks in place! They were built and installed by Morse and Mindell builders. One is at the Marina trailhead and the other at the Rice Farm Rd trailhead. Many thanks for this donation from Jonathan Morse, Stephen Mindell and their crew. Thanks also to Home Depot in Keene, NH for selling us the supplies at a discount.

We received a grant from the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps! We’ll be getting a crew of youth for 4 weeks this summer. They will focus on building the new section of trail from Rice Farm Rd to the quarry on Quarry Rd, and on installing bridges.

SAFETY ON THE TRAIL
The Brattleboro Police Department Bicycle Patrol has been patrolling the lower section of the trail two to three times weekly (when it is clear enough of snow) to look for any safety or maintenance issues. We encourage all trail users to notify us of any safety or maintenance issues you encounter, by emailing at lowersection@westrivertrail.org.

PHOTO GALLERY
Check out the Gallery on the FWRT website for great photos from the trail. You’ll also see how you can send in your photos to be included in the Gallery. If the trail has been your muse and you have writings or artwork inspired by your experiences, we would love to post them on the website. Please send them in! We also welcome your blogs or comments!

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:
Spring Workdays on the lower section: when the ground is workable and the weather is amenable, we’ll be starting these up again. Watch for an email with dates or check the website.

Volunteer Workday Coordinator: We need a volunteer or two to help Jason Cooper plan, and lead work groups on the lower section. If you are interested, please email us at: lowersection@westrivertrail.org

Website updating: We need someone with website skills to help us keep the website updated. Do you have skills you could offer? Contact us at lowersection@westrivertrail.org

Posting information on our new kiosks: We need a volunteer to fill our kiosks, by posting signs, maps, announcements, photos, information of interest.

Enjoy the winter, and we look forward to seeing you on the trail!

Best,
Kathleen, for the Friends of the West River Trail

Friends of the West River Trail – Lower Section, 138 Elliot Street, Suite 3, Brattleboro VT 05301
http://www.westrivertrail.org