Elkin Valley Trails Association News

Thru-Hikers on Wells Knob Section.

Shaping the future of the Stone Mountain Trail.
FIRST OFFICIAL EVTA THRU-HIKE TO BECOME ANNUAL COMMUNITY EVENT.

Trail development so far...
11 miles of paved road walk

8 miles of trail, farm road/private road

5 miles of state maintained gravel road
Total... 24 miles!

Last weekend, six intrepid participants braved cold temperatures and a somewhat unknown route to hike from Stone Mountain State Park to Wells Knob and on to Elkin. This thru hike served several purposes. The entire 24 mile trail has been somewhat conceptual to date but now is beginning to take shape. The hike also served to help determine what sections of the trail need priority attention. In addition, it served as a dry run to determine the feasibility of conducting a public fundraiser hike next spring/summer.

The weather was much better than predicted (surprise) and everyone had a great time. On Saturday, the group hiked about 12 miles over Wells Knob from Stone Mountain. The colors were still beautiful in the cool fall sun. They crossed a few small streams amidst serene woods and passed by pastures where curious cattle watched the progress. On Sunday, 3 hikers completed another 12 miles into Elkin.

We hope that this will be the first of many hikes from Stone Mountain to Elkin. It is delightful to see how the trail grows, moving from a "road walk" to partial trails and eventually to all trails.

We will be sending out invitations to join us again next May for another "thru hike"!

EVTA is working with generous landowners to move the current route of the Stone Mountain/ Mountains to Sea Trail (MST) to all-trail into Elkin. Our thru-hike group had permission from landowners to walk on the land that we are developing trail on. We will make announcements and provide maps as sections are finished and opened to the public. In the meantime, many MST hikers are currently walking in from Stone Mountain to Elkin via secondary and gravel backroads. You can see the current MST official route here:
MST Interactive Current Route Map

VIEW FROM THE STONE MOUNTAIN TRAIL.

VIEW FROM THE STONE MOUNTAIN TRAIL.

Bob Hillyer, EVTA Trail Development, 24 Miles Later!

Volunteers work on footbridge on Wells Knob section of trail.

Looking Ahead to 2015...
Expect A Lot of New Trail Development Announcements During the New Year.

Progress is being made on the second major pedestrian footbridge on the E & A Rail Trail/Stone Mountain Trail that will be built in 2015 in the Elkin city limits. EVTA will choose a company to engineer and one to construct the bridge by January. The funds from a State Trails grant to EVTA for construction will be released in February of 2015 and work will begin soon after. EVTA is focused on securing funds to match this grant and complete the project so that we can all be further up the trail next year! EVTA is committed to developing walkable trail on the other side of the second bridge by the time it is installed.

Trail development beyond Elkin city limits is also progressing including near completion of the Wells Knob 3-mile segment of the Stone Mountain/Mountains to Sea Trail. This section is now walkable all the way but needs grooming and fine-tuning. Stay tuned for announcements of this section of trail opening to the public. There is also progress on the three mile section coming out of Stone Mountain State Park that would open that section to Traphill Road through the Sawyer property. Good work on the Grassy Creek section of trail is underway with a footbridge across Grassy Creek with 40-foot beams over a 36-foot stretch being built by volunteers.

Thanks for your patience as volunteers work hard to tie these sections together and create the most awesome trail in our region, connecting Stone Mountain State Park to downtown Elkin (Trail Town!) on the NC Mountains to Sea Trail. We will publish a map of the developing trail in the near future when routes are more certain.

Thank you LANDOWNERS, VOLUNTEERS, DONORS and EVTA Governing Group for your persistent and high-energy work! You are leaving a legacy for future generations to enjoy and benefit from.

Work done to make second shelter accessible by wheelchair on E & A Rail Trail.

Workday at Wells Knob

Future site of native wildflower meadow and trail.

Construction to begin Spring 2015...
EVTA Receives Grant for Native Wildflower Meadow on E & A Rail Trail.

The Board of Directors of the Jandy Ammons Foundation, Raleigh, NC, has awarded the EVTA a $9,100 grant to develop a native wildflower meadow and walking loop along the new trail. The wildflower meadow will cover 1.3 acres and a 0.4 mile primitive walking loop trail along Elkin Creek will be developed. The native wildflower meadow will be planted in the open area north of the new bridge.

The project will also plant more native, flowering trees along the .8 mile of Elkin & Alleghany Rail Trail. Some of the native trees and plants are being grown by the Elkin High School agricultural class in their greenhouse. We also plan to identify 20 existing trees along the trail with educational display panels. Our intermediate and long term goals are to have these areas become places where community members can come together for informal learning activities and healthy outdoor exercise. Plans are to begin work on the wildflower meadow/walking loop in late winter/early spring 2015 with project completion by October, 2015. Watch for future notices on this project as we call for volunteers to assist.

Why go with native plants?

Protective cover for many animals
Provide food (seeds, nuts, fruits and insects) for birds and mammals
Provide nectar for hummingbirds and butterflies
Provide larval host plants for butterfly caterpillars
Drought resistant
Low maintenance
Beauty

IF ANYONE HAS SEEDS FOR NATIVE PLANTS, WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE THEM TO PLANT NOW OR SAVE FOR RAISING SEEDLINGS IN THE SPRING. THIS WOULD BE FOR ANY PART OF THE TRAIL NOT SPECIFICALLY FOR THE MEADOW AND RIVER TRAIL. Please reply to this email if you would like to help in this area.

Female Ruby-Throated Hummingbird and Native Cardinal Flower on E & A Rail Trail.

It's Easy to Make a Donation to Help Trail Development.

In addition to cash, checks and credit cards, EVTA can now accept stock donations. Anyone interested in donating stock to EVTA can contact:
Frank Beals, Edward Jones Investments in Elkin
Phone: 336-835-4411 or toll free at 1-866-835-4411.

EVTA is an all-volunteer non-profit affiliate of NC Rail-Trails, Inc. We are able to do what we do because of tremendous community support via time, energy and money. Consider making a year-end tax deductible donation to EVTA. We will be building a second major pedestrian footbridge and continuing to develop miles of trail toward vineyards and Stone Mountain in 2015. Our progress will depend on our ability to raise the funds to move forward. Thank you for your generosity in the past two years. And thank you for considering EVTA's mission to be important for our region's quality of life, recreation and economic vitality.

Check can be made out to Elkin Valley Trails Association and sent to:
EVTA
PO Box 91
Elkin, NC 28621

Credit cards are accepted via PayPal at:
Donate to EVTA

Stock donations:
Frank Beals, Edward Jones Investments, in Elkin at 336-835-4411 or toll free at 1-866-835-4411.

Dark-eyed Junco on the
E & A Rail Trail.

Sign up for BirdFlash!
Trails are Becoming Popular with Birding Enthusiasts.

Attention Elkin Birders & the Bird-Curious,

Brian Ratledge is doing a spectacular job of regularly birding Elkin's beautiful new trails. If you would like to get a BirdFlash email sent to you whenever a new bird species is reported for the season, send an email to ronstorey@ronstorey.com with BirdFlash as the "Subject."

You will get an email every time Brian posts a new bird species on eBird with a picture of the bird, prominent field marks to look for to identify the bird and likely places where you might find the bird based on preferred habitat and food sources.

Brian recently spotted the first Dark-eyed Junco ever reported on the trail to eBird, and soon he should be seeing White-throated Sparrow. This is an opportunity to learn new birds and to know when familiar birds can be found on the trails.

Happy trails & good birding,

Ron Storey

Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Junco

Over much of the continent these are "snowbirds," appearing in late fall. Flocks winter in woodland edges, brushy fields, suburban yards, feeding on the ground and flying up into thickets with light ticking calls. They spend the summer mostly in cooler places, across the boreal forest of the far North and in higher mountains of the Appalachians and the West, as well as along the Pacific Coast. Semi-open forest, coniferous or mixed, is favored feeding habitat. This bird was just recently reported to eBirds as seen on the E&A Rail-Trail by Brian Ratledge; although the Dark-eyed Junco is a common bird in North Carolina in the Fall and Winter Brian's report was the very first report to eBird of a Dark-eyed Junco reported on the trail. Congratulations Brian.

If you are interested in hearing about first sightings of the season please email Ron Storey at ronstorey@ronstorey.com and he will add you to a mailing. Once a bird is first sighted for the season he will email you with information about the bird and add a picture of the bird species or a link to a picture on the Internet.

Link to eBird

Veteran and local physician Dr. Hal Stuart attends Mark Garner dedication on Veterans' Day.

Section of Overmountain Victory Trail Named for Garner on Veteran's Day.

Elkin Valley Trails Association partnered with the Friends of the Overmountain Victory Trail and the Veterans of Foreign War Post 7794 to dedicate the Captain Mark Garner section of the Overmountain Victory Trail on 11/11/2014.

Many family and friends of Mark Garner spoke at the service and a japanese cherry tree was planted by the Settle family. Justin Settle spoke about the symbolism of the tree...the ephemeral and beautiful nature of life...Mark's and our own...a reminder to honor and respect...to love your friends and family...enjoy life and make something great happen for the common good.

Trail marker on Mark Garner section of OVT at Elkin's Municipal Park.

EVTA Chairperson, Bill Blackley and wife, Sandie proudly walk over the first major
footbridge on Elkin Creek. Thanks, Bill. We love you!

Volunteer Governing Group & Steering Committees.
Have You Wondered Who Is Doing the Work of EVTA?

EVTA is led by Chairperson, Dr. Bill Blackley and Governing Group members, many of whom have been with EVTA since it's inception more than two years ago.

Our EVTA Governing Group, according to by-laws, consists of 12 voting members. We also have Steering Committee members who participate equally in a host of ways except voting . . . and all opinions are shared and valued.

A sketch of each area of responsibility . . .

Governing Group

Bill Blackley, Chairperson organizer of hundreds of amazing folks; our intrepid leader;

"no challenges, only opportunities" instigator; our energizer possum, er...bunny

Denise Lyon, Vice Chair, Newsletter, Trails Boogie, brochure, fundraising, NC Trail Days

Joe Mickey, Treasurer, native species and animals, Stone Mountain connections

Rob Libbert, cycling: road and mountain, meeting minutes, Tour de Vino

Robert Ball, running and fundraising, Insane Terrain

Joe Hicks, ambassador, history, signage, trail monitor, info booth management, plus!

Susan Rose, blue Ways, Tour de Yadkin, water activity

Bill Blackburn, Volunteer Coordinator, construction

Stuart Taylor, long range planning, Duck & Turtle Regatta, water resources,

Bob Hillyer, trail development, easements, hiker, planner, NC Trail Days

Terry Kryska, engineering, bridges, construction

Will Gwyn, trail construction, planner, project manager

Steering Committees

Bern Schumak, thru-walk, stream protection and clean water

Mark Fowlkes, trout, fish & water, mapping

Charles Triplette, horseback riding trails, bridges, Yadkin Valley Trail Riders

Cynthia Beane, campsites, advisor

Ron Storey, birding and ebird

Ron Arnold, webmaster, IT advisor

Maureen Postle, trail accommodation for ada, trail worker

Randy Mayes, bush-wacking, trail worker

Bob Larson, biking and representative to the Yadkin Valley Heritage Corridor

Scooter Parker, legal advice, Eagle Projects and scout coordinator
Herb McDonald, trail project development and building

RG Absher, representative to Elkin Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, OVTA

Marth Smith, grant writer, historian, librarian, plus!
Pamela Bauman, Nancy Goodwin, native species planting, planning
Adam McComb, bridges, park project coordination, maintenance, benches, plus!

We are continually adding new committees as folks find time and energy to focus on new projects. Please forgive if we inadvertently left anyone off a committee!

We welcome YOU to be engaged in any Steering Committee and in any capacity that can be imagined by you to support our mission. Please contact us by replying to this email if you have a way you would like to contribute!

Think Boogie Thoughts!
Planning for 2015 Trails Boogie are Underway.

When you're cold and hunkered down this winter season, let thoughts of the 2015 Trails Boogie warm your spirit!

If you or your business would like to donate an item for the Silent Auction at EVTA's biggest annual fundraiser, please contact Trails Boogie coordinator, Denise Lyon at myfrienddenise@gmail.com. We also welcome your help in putting on this important and FUN event. Contact Denise to see how you can help.

So practice your dancing moves this winter and get ready for a really great Trails Boogie in the spring!

Toast the Trail!
Thank You Skullcamp Brewing for the Tr'ale B'red.

Wow...a great way to donate to EVTA's trail development project! Thank you to all the folks at Skullcamp Brewing, Elkin's first microbrewery...for the donation of a portion of every Tr'Ale B'red pint to EVTA. Not that you needed any other excuse to sample their brews, but this is a way to support a new local business and EVTA at the same time.

You can visit Skullcamp at skullcampbrewing.com

Site of new boat access ramp on the Yadkin near Elkin.

Yadkin River Trail.
New Canoe/Kayak Access In the Works.

Construction of a Mitchell River/Yadkin River access (Burch Station Access) started on November 17, 2014. This is a joint project between Surry County Parks & Recreation and the NC Wildlife Resources Commission (WRC).

The WRC is clearing the entrance road first and will work their way back from the river towards the Perdue feed plant at Burch Station. Completion of this site will provide a much needed canoe/kayak

access between Elkin and the Mitchell River, a distance of approximately 5.4 river miles. Once completed, canoe/kayak access will be available on the Yadkin River at Ronda (Wilkes County), Elkin and Burch Station (Surry County) and Hwy 601 (Yadkin County).

Many thanks to Daniel White, Director, Surry Parks and Recreation and Kin Hodges, District 7 Fisheries Biologist, NC Wildlife Resources Commission, for making this project a reality!

EVTA Receives Golden Spike Award.

NC Rail-Trails, Inc. awarded the Elkin Valley Trails Association their "Golden Spike" award in October for outstanding rail-trail development and volunteerism on the E & A Rail Trail. EVTA is a non-profit affiliate of NC Rail-Trails, Inc. We are quite proud to be a part of this organization which promotes rails-to-trails conversions throughout the state. For more info, visit ncrailtrails.org

Are You a Friend of the
Mountains-to-Sea Trail?

The Friends of the Mountains to the Sea Trail is a big supporter of EVTA's efforts. If you want to see how our efforts help support the statewide effort for a continuous "Mountains to the Sea Trail", go to:

http://www.ncmst.org/get-involved/become-a-member/.

Please join or renew your membership in the Friends of the Mountains to Sea Trail (FMST). By doing so you will join with hundreds of like minded citizens across North Carolina who are committed to building and maintaining the flagship trail of the North Carolina Trails System

.

For more info: Friends of the NC Mountains to Sea Trail

New EVTA Website Look, Brochure Update

Thank you to some great volunteers who are making our promotional materials work better for us. Rob Arnold, our original website guru, has moved back to the area and is taking on the role of keeping our EVTA website fresh and easy to navigate. Thank you, Rob!

Lori Gwyn, Bill Blackley, Denise Lyon and Kathie McDaniel at Graphics Printing are revamping the EVTA brochure. Look for these around town soon and let us know if your business could use some to hand out to folks interested in what EVTA is doing.

Thanks to everyone who is volunteering to make sure we communicate our message!

Look For Your Friends & Neighbors Out and About
On the E & A Rail Trail/Stone Mountain Trail.

The Jewel Tones Boogie on the E & A Rail Trail.

STAY CONNECTED

Elkin Valley Trails Association

PO Box 91

Elkin, NC 28621

elkinvalleytrails.org
EVTA on Facebook