west river trail work day

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West River Trail Work Day May 15th

West River Trail, Trillium

Volunteers needed for West River Trail work day! 
Wednesday May 15
4 PM to 6:30 PM

We will meet at 3:45 PM on Wednesday, May 15 at the Marina Trailhead and plan to head out on the trail at 4 PM. We will mostly be doing drainage clearing, though a few people will be chainsawing downed logs. All in all the trail is in great shape, but we need to clear the leaves and debris out of the drainage ditches along the wetter areas of the trail. Bring mud boots, gloves, bug dope, water and an iron rake or hoe if you have one. We have extra tools, if needed. Optional gathering at the Marina Restaurant afterwards! For more information, contact lowersection@westrivertrail.org. We look forward to working out on the trail with you!

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Successful Trail Work Day, October 20, on the Lower Section of the West River Trail!

west-river-trail-nov-2018 - 1Charlie, Jennifer, Sue, Jason and Malcolm, our enthusiastic trail crew for the day, got a lot accomplished. They planted a post for the chain at the Rice Farm Road Trailhead and cleared the area for the new kiosk (for which we recently received approval from the Dummerston DRB!) Grass was trimmed and overgrown brush was pruned back a mile along the trail from each end. Drainage ditches and culverts were raked out, leaving the trail in good shape! A big thank you to our volunteers!

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WRT Volunteer Trail Work Day

cropped-milton-avery-in-vermontWe are having a Trail Work Day on Saturday, October 20 from 10 AM to 2 PM. We will meet at the Rice Farm Road Trail head. We’ll be doing some trimming along the trail, weed whacking under the power lines, clearing drainage ditches of leaves and debris, planting a post, putting up some new signs, etc. Wear boots, bring water, snack, work gloves. We will have tools, but you are welcome to bring your own, such as a shovel, clippers, pruner, rake. Lunch will be provided. It will be fun! We look forward to seeing you and are so grateful for your help. For more information or to let us know you’re coming, contact us at: lowersection@westrivertrail.org. Thank you!

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West River Trail Volunteer Work Day

West River Trail Boulder Work - 3Save the Date! West River Trail Volunteer Work Day.
Saturday, October 20 (with rain date Sunday, Oct 21).
Time: probably 9 AM to 1 PM.
We will put in a post, put trail markers along the trail, clear ditches, do some mowing. Stay tuned for more info as the date gets closer. Hope you can join us!

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Productive Trail Work Day November 18!

Pat LaBelle, a happy brush trimmer, photo by Kathleen White
A post was set at the Rice Farm Rd Trailhead, photo by Kathleen White

Thank you to our work day volunteers! We so appreciate the work of Pat LaBelle, Risha Gordon, Bill Dixon and Orlando who joined members of the lower section steering committee–Jason Cooper, Malcolm Moore, Matt Mann, Wendy Harrison and Kathleen White. Thank you all!

Tasks accomplished: A post was set at the Rice Farm Rd trail head, grass and brush was trimmed along the overgrown section of trail under the power lines, drainage ditches were cleared of leaves and debris, a few fallen trees were sawed and removed from trail, and caution signs were placed at washout areas on the Fox Farm Road access trail.

After all the tasks were completed, our work day organizer, Jason Cooper found time for some fun and created this stump jump!

Photo by Kathleen White
Photo by Kathleen White

Jason Cooper also discovered evidence of beavers hard at work and Wendy Harrison found an “ice leaf” while working on the trail.

Ice leaf found by Wendy Harrison.
Now that the I-91 heavy equipment is all gone, the next phase of construction work moves in along the West River Trail. Photo by Jason Cooper

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Boulder Work

Three intrepid West River Trail volunteers successfully moved a huge boulder about 2 feet to get it out of the trail, using only pry bars, brute strength and ingenuity! Hurray!

Our next workday is Saturday, November 18, 10 AM-2 PM, weather permitting. Click link for more details – West River Trail Workday.

Hope to see you on the trail!

Thanks to Malcolm Moore for the photos.

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West River Trail Work Day Saturday, November 18, 10 AM-2 PM (weather permitting)

West River Trail, VermontWe will meet at the Marina trail head on Saturday Nov 18 at 9:45 and begin our walk in at 10 AM.  We will be working on clearing leaves from drainage ditches and culverts, clearing a few trees off the trail, putting up caution signs on the Fox Farm Road trail access road and whatever else we see that needs doing.

Wear your boots, work gloves and warm clothes; bring water and a snack, rakes and shovels.  We will have tools as well.  Stay for as long as you can.  Contact lowersection@gmail.com with questions or to RSVP.  We look forward to working with you on this beautiful trail!  Thank you in advance!  (Our sincere apologies to anyone who showed up on October 29.  We forgot to announce that we needed to cancel.  We’ll not let that happen again!)

Trail Work Day

wrt work day nov 2014 3Our sincere apologies to anyone who showed up on October 29.  We forgot to announce that we needed to cancel.  We’ll not let that happen again!

The new date is (weather permitting) Saturday Nov 18. We’ll meet at the Marina Trailhead at 9:45 and begin our walk in at 10 AM.  Contact lowersection@gmail.com with questions or to RSVP. More info on this post.

 

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West River Trail Workday Report

 

WRT trail workday June 2017Huge thanks to the 5 volunteers who showed up to help repair the West River Trail.
Below is Jason Cooper’s report from the Trail Work Day.

We got an incredible amount done today!
Repaired erosion on the steeps of the I-91 bridge bypass.
Trimmed back brush and grass on the bypass.
Cleaned out and repaired many culverts from I-91 (mile 2) to just before mile 3.8.
Removed many downed trees.
Filled many holes in the trail.

The biggest surprise was the incredible washout on the Fox Farm Road access. It is as bad as it was after Hurricane Irene. This will take some structural redesign. There is also still some work to do between mile 3.8 and the foot bridge at mile 4.1, and a ditch at mile 2.8. Beyond the foot bridge there are several erosion cuts in the trail bed that will need fill trucked in.
WRT trail workday June 2017 - 2
Photos are on the Fox Farm Road trail access. Photos by Jason Cooper. The trail really needs your help! If you use the trail regularly, please consider lending a hand on the next workday or making a contribution to help maintain the trail. Email us at lowersection@gmail.com with any questions.

 

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Sunday June 25 Trail Work Day 1-5 PM

WRT trail wildflowerIf you like and use the trail, we need your help!

Please come help repair the damage from last Monday’s storm.  If you have a shovel or iron rake, please bring it along.  Meet at the Fox Farm Rd Trail Access and stay as long as you like.  Hope to see you there!