This Land, Your Land

The Friends of the Mountains to Sea Trail are looking for volunteers to help remove debris blocking a critical link of the MST in northwestern North Carolina, the group says in its May newsletter.

The group wants help for all of part of May 21-27 to clear a 25-mile section of the trail under construction from Horse Gap near Glendale Springs to Bamboo Gap near Blowing Rock. The burgeoning trail is littered with limbs and other timber knocked down in winter storms.

The FMST hopes to have the section cleared and reconstructed in time for its official state designation and opening in October as part of North Carolina Mountains-to-Sea Trail Month.

The ongoing Mountains-to-Sea Trail project is to eventually extend across the state for approximately 900 miles from Clingmans Dome in the mountains to Jockey's Ridge on the Outer Banks. More than 350 miles of it have been completed.

Volunteers will assist certified chainsaw users from the U.S. Forest Service by pulling cut debris away from the trail and using hand loppers and pruning saws to cut smaller branches. They should bring safety glasses or goggles and appropriate work clothes and shoes.

The newsletter says some volunteers will be able to camp at Julian Price Campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway, but the deadline was May 14. Allen de Hart was coordinating camping reservations for the group (we suppose you can check with him if you're interested). Volunteers should bring their own camping equipment and provisions.

Jim Hallsey and John Lanman are contacts for volunteers to work on the trail.