Here’s to the many marvels and splendors of Spring in the Pisgah! It is a great time to get out into the woods to see the first wildflowers of the season burst forth, the buds start to open, and to hear the raucous morning birdsong of the forest’s annual awakening. We at TPC have been hard at work out in the forest this month improving trails, planning for PPD, and preparing to field our inaugural NNIS crew and 2024 River Rangers program.
Though the shortest month of the year, this February has been filled with great accomplishments that portend an amazing year to come. With another successful dumpsite cleanup, the construction of our second trail shelter on the Art Loeb, volunteer collaborations, ongoing work by the TPC Trail Crew, and hiring for new field-going positions to remove noxious invasive plants from the landscape, I am excited to share with all of you the happenings of another month on the Pisgah.
Season’s Greetings to you all this fine December! The holiday season and coming of the new year gives us an opportunity to celebrate the collaborations, accomplishments, and achievements of the passing year and look ahead toward what is to come. With that in mind, here is a quick snapshot of 2023 and a glimpse into TPC’s upcoming work for 2024.
The TPC Trail Crew is now in full swing, accomplishing trail improvement projects across the District. Their central project for this fall’s 10-week season is the rehabilitation of the Art Loeb trail between Ivestor Gap and Tennent Mountain. Long degraded and severely entrenched, this section of trail is seeing a makeover at the hands of the TPC crew of 6 with the construction of a series of locust staircases lifting the trail tread above grade and allowing for the installation of multiple water diversions, a crucial element to any trail’s long-term sustainability. Now well underway, work on this project will continue throughout the rest of the year as the crew carries on up toward Tennent Mountain.
Trails Corner 10/19/2023
Fall is a great time for trail work, with cooler temperatures, lower humidity, and generally drier conditions. This Fall is shaping up to be a busier one than ever on the Pisgah with our TPC Trail Crew in full swing, multiple new trail construction contracts under and on the way, and our partner volunteer trail groups carrying on the good work across the Forest.