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32 MILES OF MST IN RALEIGH AND CLAYTON OPENS TO THE PUBLIC
In April, Clayton and Raleigh opened 32 miles of greenway along the Neuse River that have been designated as part of the MST. These miles connect directly to the 60 miles already built by volunteers at Falls Lake.
When one final bridge is completed at Raleigh's Horseshoe Farm Park in early 2014, this stretch of 92-miles of continuous trail will be the second longest completed section of the MST, surpassed only by a 300-mile section in the mountains. Read articles about the dedication festivities in the Raleigh and Clayton papers.
MST hikers on this new section of trail will enjoy the beauty and wildlife of the river and some spectacular engineering work including two graceful suspension bridges. You can find a google map and more information about this part of the MST on the Neuse River Trail website created by George Randy Bass.
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At mile 31 during the trail dedication in Clayton. From left: Iona Thomas, Stewart Engineering & NC Committee Chair, East Coast Greenway; Kate Dixon, FMST Executive Director; Vic Lebsock, Senior Greenway Planner, Raleigh Parks & Rec; Sig Hutchinson, greenway advocate.
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FMST has started preparing to shift hikers onto this new section of trail as soon as the final bridge opens early next year. The shift requires a major reroute into counties hikers have not been in before. Thanks to FMST volunteers Benjamin Trotter and Michael Homberg for developing proposed routes in Johnston County and a committee of Johnston County leaders, chaired by Skip Browder, that is reviewing their proposals.
We are now organizing similar groups of citizens in Sampson, Bladen, Pender and Onslow counties to finalize the route in those counties. If you live in one of those counties and would like to be involved, please e-mail Kate Dixon at [email protected].
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CAROLINA MOUNTAIN CLUB BUILDS KEY SECTION IN THE WEST
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Congratulations and thanks to CMC volunteers who devoted 3,531 volunteer hours to build and blaze 2.5 miles of MST from Soco Gap to Heintooga Road on the Blue Ridge Parkway. This new trail marks the western endpoint of the 140 miles of MST that CMC is responsible for building and maintaining.
The CMC Friday and Saturday Quarterly crews hope to begin work soon to build the final link to connect all 140 miles. That last link, at Waterrock Knob, will provide some of the most spectacular views on the MST. Its steep, rocky slope will challenge even these talented, experienced trail volunteers, but they seem eager for the challenge! If you'd like to volunteer to build or maintain trail in this area, please e-mail Les Love at [email protected].
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Les Love helps CMC build the MST between Soco Gap and Heintooga Road. Photo by Becky Smucker.
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GET INVOLVED...
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A bridge similar to the one FMST plans to build near Boone.
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MAKE A GIFT TO BUILD A BRIDGE:
We're delighted that State Parks has given FMST a $40,000 grant to build a much-needed footbridge over High Shoals Creek on the MST near Boone. The catch? We need to raise an additional $10,000 in private funds as a match. But we know we can do that with your help and that of other MST friends. You can make a gift online (note in the dedication field that your gift is for the bridge) or mail your gift to the FMST office at PO Box 10431, Raleigh, NC 27605.
ASK YOUR STATE LEGISLATORS to support continued funding of the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund (PARTF) which has made it possible to acquire critical lands for the MST over the years (e.g., the Clayton greenway in the lead article above would not have been possible without a grant from PARTF). The Governor's proposed budget cuts the trust fund by 44% below last year's budget and removes its dedicated funding stream. Click on this link to find contact information for House members and Senators in your county (tip - scroll toward the bottom of the page to find a place to enter your county).
VOLUNTEER ON THE TRAIL Check our calendar to find trail workdays scheduled all over the state. Several noteworthy dates include:
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FMST NEWS BRIEFS...
ONE - Check out the new day-hike trail descriptions on our website for the Falls Lake and Eno River sections of the MST. Thanks to author Joe Miller for writing them and to NC State Parks for providing the funding. We are working to provide information about hiking all the completed sections of the MST. At the moment, our website also has day-hike descriptions for the trail along the northern Blue Ridge Parkway and for the Neusiok Trail in the Croatan National Forest.
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Hiking on the MST along the Eno River. Photo by Joe Miller.
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TWO - Thanks to NC State Parks for lining up funding to develop a master plan for the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. After studying successful long-distance trails across the nation, the FMST Board recognized the value such plans have provided to other trails. State Parks leaders expressed strong interest, and we have begun working with them to develop the request for proposals that will be used to hire a consultant to coordinate the planning effort. As work gets underway, we hope FMST members will share their ideas to create a plan to guide the trail for many years in the future.
THREE - FMST has joined a local effort to reuse an historic truss bridge as a pedestrian bridge for the MST in Danbury's Moratock Park near Hanging Rock State Park.
Read about the project in an article in The Stokes News. On April 29th, Stokes County agreed to take ownership of the bridge to move the project forward. If you live in Stokes and would like to be involved in this project, please e-mail Kate Dixon at [email protected].
FOUR - FMST has received a $3000 grant from the Darden Restaurant Foundation thanks to three of its member restaurants that chose to support our work. If you're in the area, please stop by each of these restaurants to thank them for their support of the MST:
- Olive Garden, 12600 Capital Blvd, Wake Forest
- Olive Garden, 1809 Walnut Street, Cary
- Red Lobster, 139 Tunnel Road, Asheville
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MST IN THE NEWS...
Trevor Thomas is endeavoring to become the first blind hiker to complete the MST. Read the Asheville Citizen-Times article about him and continue to follow his adventures on his facebook page (Trevor Thomas aka Zero/Zero).
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THREE GREAT WAYS TO SUPPORT THE MST
ONE - Buy a raffle ticket and win a chance at 14 great prizes including seven $250 gift cards from Great Outdoor Provision Co. You can buy tickets online or at any Great Outdoor Provision Co. store through Saturday, June 1st.
TWO - Make a gift to help FMST build, protect and promote North Carolina's trail. You can make your gift online, or you can print and mail your donation.
THREE - Show your love of the MST by being one of the first to sport an MST license plate on your car. NC DMV is in the process of printing plates now and will soon be mailing them to everyone who has submitted an application. Send in your application now, and  we'll deliver it to DMV so you will get your plate ASAP. If you buy now, the low number on your plate will show everyone that you are one of the key people making this trail happen!
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CONTACT INFORMATION
Kate Dixon Executive Director Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail PO Box 10431, Raleigh, NC 27605 919-698-9024 | |
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BUY A RAFFLE TICKET TO SUPPORT THE MST!
GREAT OUTDOOR PROVISION CO. has once again donated fabulous prizes including SEVEN $250 gift cards to raise money for the MSt.
buy your tickets online or at any gopc store through saturday, june 1st.
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CELEBRATE THE MST IN MAY!
GREAT OUTDOOR PROVISION CO. Couldn't let the beautiful month of may pass without celebrating the MST. so they organized lots of great events including:
camping gear sweepstakes ($1300 value) through our state magazine
Through May 14 - Patagonia Footwear will donate $10 to FMST for each pair of patagonia shoes you buy.
may 17 - Andrew skurka, ntl geographic hiker to speak in chapel hill
may 9 - girls night out in chapel hill and
winston-salem
mst raffle (prizes total $2450)- buy online or at gopc stores
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