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VHTRC Trail Work Party
On April 30, 2011, the Virginia Happy Trails Running Club will have its annual work party on trails in the Lee District of the George Washington National Forest. Come join us for a day of hard work. Please let us know you are coming using the entry/RSVP form.
Anstr Davidson will be in charge of the work party this year. He will organize the volunteers into work teams. There will be more information later, but here is the general plan. It is subject to change. If you have questions, contact Anstr at anstr@vhtrc.org.
Schedule
Here is our tentative schedule. Please watch this page or your e-mail for changes.
- 6:15 AM--Meet at the Centreville Park and Ride.
- 6:16 AM--Leave for the Visitors Center and/or work sites.
- 8:15 AM--Arrive at the Visitors Center. Divide into teams
- 4:00 PM--Our union says we can quit work by four!
- 5:00 PM--Evening Activities
- Sunday, 7:00 AM (Sunday)--Run the Dickey Ridge trail in Shenandoah National Park or a Massanutten training run. (Optional)
Meeting Points
There are two meeting points. They are set out below. Some of you may be going straight to your team's work site. You will know who you are if that is happening.
- Centreville Park and Ride Meeting time 6:15 am, Saturday.
- Visitor's Center: Meeting time: 8:15 am. No team will work from the Visitor's Center, but it is the default meeting point. There are three ways to get to the Visitors Center from inside the Beltway. You can pick your poison. All start by taking I-66 west past Manassass.
- 211 Route: Take Route 29 off of I-66 in Gainesville. In Warrenton, take Route 211 west and go on 211 through Luray and on to the top of the Massanutten Mountain on route 211 where the Visitor's Center is no the left. Advantage: It's the hypotenuse of the triangle. Disadvantages: Have to go over the Blue Ridge (big hill), road is not as good, and the speed limit is 55 on 211 with heavy police enforcement.
- 340 Route: Go all the way to Front Royal and take Exit 13 (the first Front Royal exit). Jog down to Route 55 and take 55 into Front Royal. Go until the road ends (Route 55 will turn right at a traffic light--don't follow it). Turn left at the end of the road, and you are on 340. Take Route 340 south for what seems like about 1000 miles to Luray. Get on 211 West and, as above, go to top of hill. Visitor's Center on the left. Advantages: No hill to go over, easy coffee refueling in Front Royal, probably shorter than next option. Disadvantage: Over 20 miles of two-lane road.
- Mostly Freeway Route: Take I-66 all the way to I-81. Take I-81 south to New Market and take route 211 (exit 264). Take 211 East to the top of the hill. Visitors Center is on the right. Advantage: Almost all freeway with 65 mile speed limit past Manassass. Disadvantage: Longest in distance, I-81 is a speedway for big trucks that can squash you flat!
Post Run Festivities
To be determined.
What to Bring:
Working on the trail is different from running on the trail. You probably will be happier in boots than in running shoes. You will want long, heavy pants even if it's a warm day. You should have eye protection and gloves. Finally, you will need to provide for your own food and water. Bring water bottles and a lunch or heavy snacks. Heavy earth-moving tools will be provided if we are going to use them. Please bring bow or hand saws and "loppers" (long-handled clippers) if you have them.
Safety
Remember to use your head. When you start rocks or trees moving, they stop when they want to, not when you want them to. Be careful!
Wil Kohlbrenner provided his description of PATC trail work. While this describes a PATC work party, it provides some good ideas for what you should expect on this work party. Please note his comment about dogs on work parties.
Alternate Plans:
While we usually don't cancel a run for weather, bad weather can mess up these plans. Watch this site and your e-mail in box for information about last minute changes in plans. The alternate is to go on the next day, Sunday, May 1.