Nature Trail Update ~ Hard Work And Happy Times

There's still plenty to do so don't be afraid to volunteer.   And by all means, donations are very welcomed  and will be put to great use.  All the info you need is in this Nature Trail Update.  I'm quite anxious to see what has taken place around Stevenson's Pond.

"Not bad for a small bunch of volunteers.
But these aren’t just any volunteers!" ~
Richie Shoemaker  

 

 

Nature Trail update
by Ritch Shoemaker MD, project chairman

 

Construction:Seriously, how many readers thought we would have 96 feet of Trail built with treads in place in three weeks? No one? We do.

How many thought that we would actually reach our goal of completion of these 50-ton transport and 600-foot construction projects in less than one month? Don’t bet against it.

Photo/Donna Clarke

With work schedules and rain, we couldn’t get much done (until Sunday) this week but Chris Miles did starting on Friday. There he was cutting up heavy, freshly salt-treated lumber each 16 feet long into the 4-foot treads (AKA treated treads). How many boards? Another 250!

Andy Clarke likes math problems, as do I. Here’s the Trail tread math quiz:

(1) How many pounds of lifting did installation of 1000 treads on the Trail require?

First, Chris lifted the boards onto his big truck, and then unloaded the 70-pound boards one at a time to take into his shop. He placed the wood on his long saw bench and cut the 4 foot pieces one at a time. Remember that most 16 foot boards are 193.5 inches long. Does that affect your answer? He lifts each cut piece to stack onto two platforms, building multiple 20-piece towers eight feet wide. Then he lifts (with the help of some old guy) 60-80 pieces onto an old small pick up to make a load. The loaded treads are tossed by the old guy down the hill leading to the construction site where Mike Thornton or Mike Redden (two days), or get this, Donna Clarke (Andy’s mother), picks the boards up and then the treads are stacked after being carried over three bridges and two hummocks to the tread-staging area. The treads are then unstacked and trundled into position where they are nailed in place after they are placed bark-side up. We don’t ever want to lift the same board twice in one spot as that would be making a retread.

(2) How many times were the treads handled individually or as part of a 16 footer?

And your answers are? The first correct answer sent to Jennifer Rafter at the Chamber of Commerce (complete with a $10 donation to the Trail) gets a free copy of the Nature Trail book, a free Famous Trail Bird t-shirt, a free Nature Trail bumper sticker and an honorary plaque as Trail Bull Work Math Champion. Call Jennifer at 410-957-1919. We expect hundreds of responders so don’t delay! Perhaps new users of our Missing Loop of the Trail will have a different level of respect for the volunteers when they walk on our beautiful treads.

NEWS FLASH: Now, thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, ALL correct entries will receive prizes and the plaque for the first correct entry has been upgraded.

I don’t want to get political but we are going to have to deal with those who say “Don’t tread on me.” I agree. Don’t tread on my rights makes a lot of sense.

But let’s think about this treading idea. If I can’t tread on you, and I don’t think that such treading is politically or socially correct, and I am a 4-foot piece of wood nailed to the Trail, then why are you allowed to tread on me? To answer that question I think we would need to know how much wood could a treated wood tread tread, if a treated wood tread could tread wood. Now if we didn’t have the treads and someone wanted to access our otherwise inaccessible Trail site, they would have to tread water a long time to enter the island so my suggestion is to tread lightly on the treads or else this idea will become water under the bridge treads.

To finish this discussion I am astounded that the big boar raccoon we saw and then inadvertently treed would not come down from its perch to tread on our treads. The treeing must have made him ill. But still, his decision to wait was oak with me; however unpoplar, as maple he wood come down tomorrow, if he weren’t pining for his past free (non-treed life) or not if he wasn’t syca(ny)more. I guess he is right because if he started to de-tree and we were around he would be re-treed. It is better to tread than to retreat.

Andy Clarke, Katy Clarke and Montana
Photo/Donna Clarke

All attempts at word play aside, after the rains blew out to sea on Sunday, Andy wanted just to put in two racks at the construction site. “Just to see how it would go over the deepest water part of the swamp,” he said. So look at who came out to help: Supervisor Don Malloy; the old physician; Andy; Hunter and Scott Tatterson; Mike Thornton; and Katy Clarke (Andy’s bride). I’m telling you what; those folks forever more moved it.

“No reason to stop now, Andy,” I said, “let’s make it to the cypress ahead.” In a 90-minute instant, in the hot steamy swamp, humidity at 90% and 80 degrees, we had 96 feet of racks and railroad tie sleepers (which will not be called Pullmans ever in this discussion) linking the start of the Loop to our first target, the 125-foot cypress tree.

Larry Fykes and Andy hopped on the developing Trail Monday and now we are walking on treads. Amazing. Andy’s powerful portable battery operated drill performed way more than what mine could do. Modern Torx drive screws are such an advance on our old toe-nailed racks from the Mastodon era of Trail construction from twenty years ago.

And in just a few days the Trail Loop will be back to the best cypress of all at the base of the high ground of the Trail. Now that is a magnificent tree but it is just another stop on the new treaded highway.

Still, who has seen that tree to appreciate it? Not many, I am sure. Now we all can.

Be sure to come out on Saturday morning, May 25th beginning at 9 AM. Meet at the Greenway parking lot just off Winter Quarters Drive at the beginning of the Fishing Pier. Walk around the pond towards Route 13, but not on the Pier side. You will hear us. Come join the fun!

Donations:

I wish I had a better list to report. For some reason the town merchants aren’t leading the charge that will surely bring them notice and foot traffic. The Trail is a prize of Pocomoke. Let’s all have some civic pride!

PNC Bank is our leader this week, with a $500 gift. Graham Wilson of Mathews, North Carolina bought 10 Feet of the Trail and Bobbie (Lynch) Hammerbacher bought one Foot of the Trail. We are so grateful to our donors. We look forward to the time they all can walk on our new loop and see their donations recognized publicly.

Stay tuned: we might not have the observation stations done on Saturday but I fully expect to be able to walk from high ground on Broken Back Island to the high ground near the otter slide and the grove of royal pawlonia trees without getting my feet wet on Saturday. Download the Pocomoke City Nature Trail Donation Form