Volunteers needed for trail work

Community volunteers are needed for a major trail improvement project at W. Kerr Scott Dam’s Dark Mountain Recreation Area Saturday, June 30.

The work day will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Dark Mountain trailhead. To reach the trailhead, take N.C. 268 west from Wilkesboro, turn right at the W. Kerr Scott Dam sign, cross the dam, then turn left. The trailhead is at the bottom of the hill.

The work day is being coordinated by the Brushy Mountain Cyclists Club, the local group responsible for the growing network of hiking and biking trails at Kerr Scott.

"Our primary focus for the work day will be setting posts for the new Dark Mountain trail markers," says BMCC vice president Jason Bumgarner.

The Dark Mountain recreation area at W. Kerr Scott Reservoir has about six miles of single track trails. The interlocking trails wind through hilly wooded terrain. The signage project will help trail users navigate the trail system and make it easier for rescue workers to find someone in case of an emergency, Bumgarner said. 

"The Dark Mountain trail signage project is made possible through the efforts of BMCC, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Larry Sale, who donated the lumber. We’re all sharing in the cost and efforts to enhance the safety of the trail system for hikers and bikers alike," Bumgarner said.

Volunteers should bring work gloves and something to drink, Bumgarner said.  BMCC will provide ice cold BURN energy drink.

If a large crew turns out, some of the workers will groom a new hiking and biking trail on the south side of Kerr Scott Dam.

A small group of BMCC trailblazers have been working on a new loop trail off the Overmountain Victory Trail. The loop will add about three miles of fresh single-track to the existing 5.5 mile out-and-back trail, BMCC trail designer Jim Horton said.

Workers have been chipping away at this new section of the OVT for months. If enough people show up June 30th, some of the workers will groom the new trail, Bumgarner said.

BMCC’s trail building efforts at Kerr Scott began in November 2002, spurred by a trail building clinic conducted by the International Mountain Bicycling Association's Subaru Trail Care Crew. IMBA standards for trail safety and sustainability have guided trail development at Kerr Scott from the outset.

Members of the local cycling club built the trail network, assisted by community volunteers including local Boy Scouts. The trail network is currently about 13 miles long, with three miles of new trail currently under development. The project ranks as one of the biggest volunteer projects in community history, with about 10,000 hours logged.

BMCC has received financial assistance from the Wilkesboro Tourism Development Authority, Source Beverages, Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse and IMBA.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers controls the public land at Kerr Scott. Without the cooperation and assistance of the USACE, the trails at Kerr Scott would not have been possible, Horton said.

More information on the trails at Kerr Scott is available online at www.bmcc.us/kerr_scott.htm.