This Sunday, let’s return to the Wheaton Hill trails and fight back against some more roses. Please check the weather as you prepare – it looks like a variable week coming up. In April we worked on the Pine and Skid trails, cutting back roses and raspberries and removing some trees that had fallen across the trail. Now we will have an opportunity to see the results of our work and to start work on the Redbud and possibly the Spruce trails.
As you probably remember, cutting the roses seemed like a nearly infinite task. No matter how much we cut, it seemed there still was more that needed to be cut. I am hoping that going back on Sunday, we will see an improved Pine trail and that will sustain us as we work on the Redbud Trail.
What to bring:
- Clippers, long and short handled for clipping half inch stems.
- Power hedge trimmers for cutting roses.
- Good shoes (Hiking boots).
- Good gloves for handling logs and roses.
We will split the group into two teams. The first team will cross Wheaton Hill and work down to the Redbud Trail. At the loop we will split again and meet at the farthest point. Then on the way back we will cut away at all of the roses we missed on the first pass.
The second team will hike the lower Pine trail and will look for roses that we missed in April. They will then return to the Spruce trail and will go to the left, working around the Spruce trail to join the first team at the top of Redbud.
Please park headed down hill on the right hand side of the road. Pull off the road as far as possible. We will place the Springwater Trails sign above the curve to warn drivers. If you prefer, parking is available at the South Hemlock Access parking area and you can car pool from there. In any case, be on the alert for cars on Wheaton Hill Rd! Directions are available to the Wheaton Hill trailhead and to the South Hemlock Access parking area
After the trail work, we will meet at about 4:30 or 5:00 at the Hemlock Grill for food and conversation.