In an expansion of our volunteer program and events, the Blue Ridge Bartram Trail Conservancy kicked off our new Trailhead Tuesday program this week. Our goal with Trailhead Tuesdays is to offer a monthly volunteer event with a little less time commitment for folks that want to support the Bartram Trail.
Volunteers for Trailhead Tuesday will meet at 1pm on the 4th Tuesday of each month and split up into teams of 2 to head out to an assigned trailhead. Teams will create a basic trailhead condition report noting the general state of the trailhead, parking area, kiosk, and first 100 yards or so of the trail. Volunteers will refill rack cards/brochures, clean up any trash found, and greet any hikers they meet.
For our first outing, we had enough folks to cover three of the more popular trailheads: Wallace Branch, Wayah Bald, and Jones Gap.
Jones Gap needed some special attention to replace the map and plexiglass at the kiosk. Wallace Branch received some well-needed trash pickup. Wayah Bald shares a trailhead with the Appalachian Trail, as well as being a destination on its own, that is looked after by other local organizations and just needed rack cards re-stocked.
Our meeting spot before and after our 2-3 hour trailhead visits is just across the street from the Lazy Hiker. Everyone is welcome to meet back up to debrief and converse over a cold beverage provided by the Blue Ridge Bartram Trail Conservancy.
We’re hoping this program leads to identifying folks that may want to adopt a trailhead, perfect for regular hikers of the trail and folks living near or around an access point to the trail.
If you’re interested, head over to our Events page to RSVP for the next event.