Black Forest Trail (BFT): Trail Care Weekend Report for May 17-20, 2018

by Jenn Ulmer, KTA Trail Care Leader

We had a fantastic Friday turnout of 8 eager workers. Tiadaghton State Forester Ben Sands had thoroughly scouted the approximately 43.5-mile trail, marking sections needing the most work, and we prioritized tasks. We all tackled the same work site together: digging sidehill along some switchbacks north of where the BFT crosses Slate Run Road. Many hands made for light work, and by lunchtime, we had improved switchbacks where the trail had migrated to the outer edge, and some beautiful rock work was the icing on the last switchback corner. After lunch, 1 crew worked on digging a new relocation for the Old Supply Trail, and the other half did brushcutting and subsequent debris clearing on the nearby Golden Eagle Trail, near the Beulahland Vista.

Friday night brought an unplanned tire-changing exercise and then some steady rain after we hit the hay. Luckily the rain stopped in time to head out for Saturday’s work. Even more volunteers showed up for Saturday, so we had 2 crews clearing a section of the BFT at Old Mountain Road, from both directions, and then later on a segment east of Francis Road, and there was a separate signage crew. The signage crew installed or modified 7 signs/posts. Soon it was time to call it quits for the day, and the crews returned to camp and headed out for a hearty supper at the nearby Black Forest Inn. Everyone traded stories over a wonderful campfire.

On Sunday, 3 volunteers planted a sign at the Callahan Run/BFT intersection (a 1.5-mile carry), then checked out another brushcutting site at the top of Pine Trail, but we ran out of time. The other crew of 3 installed a couple more signs, worked on improving the Old Supply Trail relocation approach (steps), and relocated that sign accordingly.

Thank you so much to all those who came from near and far (Baltimore!) to work for 1 or all 3 days: Tom Bastian, Henry Bonson, Kevin Busko, Denny Colegrove, Jeff Raisch, Tony Robbins, Michael Sullivan, Wanda Shirk, and Donna Thompson. We really appreciate your taking the time to work on the BFT with KTA!