A week from Saturday, June 4, the first Saturday in June, is National Trails Day. As it’s been since its inception in 1993, it’s a day set side for us to celebrate our nation’s trails at NTD-designated events, of which there are 368 nationwide.

Actually, that’s just the number of NTD events officially registered with sponsor the American Hiking Society. That does not, for instance, include five NTD events listed on the North Carolina State Parks website, or 27 events on the Virginia State Parks site.

Because not all events are officially registered, it’s difficult to say just how big National Trails Day is. On the celebration’s 20th anniversary in 2012, 2,000 events drew 157,000 participants. And in 2019, a “trail service world record” was set, with 1,164 events and 41,424 participants.

So how was a record set in 2019, when there were 116,000 more “participants” in 2012?

National Trails Day events come in two flavors: play and work. The majority of events celebrate trails with events hiking or paddling them (“blue” trails are also a part of National Trails Day). A smaller percentage involve work: trail building, for instance, or maintenance. Those would be the “trail service” events.

How important is that trail service work, the work of volunteers showing up with pickaxe and pulaski to build trail?

The majority of trails we hike are there because of volunteers. Volunteers play a big role in trail construction, and account for a huge percentage of trail maintenance. For example, in 2020, volunteers logged 27,497 hours of work on the trail. (Using a formula used by N.C. Parks that puts the hourly trail work rate at $27.30, that’s about a quarter of a million dollars in labor cost savings.)

What to expect

If you elect to do a National Trails Day Event, here’s what to expect, from both types of event:

Hiking. In general, these events are more of an introduction to hiking, aimed at beginners and the hiking curious. As such, the hikes tend to be short and slow-paced.There’s often an educational component as well, possibly about the basics of hiking, more often about nature. They usually last an hour or so. Difficulty level: easy

Trail work. Signing up to do a workday has so many benefits:

• You work with experienced trail builders and thus, can learn the ins and outs of how a trail comes to be.
• You get to learn new new tools. Not a chainsaw your first time out, but possibly a pickaxe or a pulaski. 
• Food. There’s typically food associated with workdays, maybe a breakfast to get you started, trail snacks to keep you going.
• Swag. Occasionally, if there’s a business sponsor involved, you’ll get swag, like a t-shirt or cap.

Work days are typically three hours and you will work, Difficulty: moderate to strenuous. You’ll likely be asked to wear sturdy boots ore shoes and bring gloves.

Where to find events

Here are your prime sources of events.

• American Hiking Society. For starters, check out the events registered with the AHS, here.
• As mentioned, North Carolina State Parks and Virginia State Parks have numerous events planned. 
• Land trusts. Check with your local land trust to see if they have an event planned. Find a list of land trusts here.
• County and municipal parks. 

So, busy June 4? We thought so.

The post A busy first Saturday in June appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

And today? 

“Media impressions,” of which there were more than 900 million in 2018.

For the past 25 years, the American Hiking Society has decreed the first Saturday in June to be National Trails Day, a day of celebration for our beloved hiking, biking and equestrian trails. Events around the country celebrate by holding trail workdays, hikes and various celebratory events. It’s a great opportunity to get out and let your local trails know how much you appreciate them.

The AHS keeps a calendar of planned events on its website. So far, there are 10 scheduled in North Carolina, five in Virginia, all of which are listed below. But there’s still more than a month until the big day, and more events will be added (or feel free to add your own, by going here.)

Oh, and for those of you who aren’t sure about what 900 million media impressions means, here are some numbers from last year’s NTD observation:

• 108,947 participants
• 1,203 events
• 795 miles of trail built
• 3,195 miles of trail maintained

Find your local NTD events below.

North Carolina

All dates are Saturday, June 1, unless otherwise specified. The first three entries are event, location, sponsor.

Eno River State Park maintenance

Durham

Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Tail 

Time: 9 a.m.

Activities: trail maintenance/stewardship project

More info here

Max Patch Rehabilitation on the Appalachian Trail

Hot Springs

Various

Time: 8:15 a.m.

Activities: trail maintenance/stewardship Project

More info here

Cruise The Neuse

Goldsboro 

Goldsboro Parks and Rec.

Time: 9 a.m.

Activities: guided paddle (boats available), kids activities, 

More info here.

National Trails Day Festival and 5K

Wake Forest

Town of Wake Forest

Time: 7 a.m.

Activities: 5K trail run, kids activities, Environmental Ed Expo

More info here.

National Trails Day at Durant 

Durant Nature Preserve, Raleigh

Durant Nature Preserve

Time: 9 a.m.

Activities: hike, kids activities, trail maintenance/stewardship project, trail run

Springers Point Preserve Beach Hike 

Ocracoke

N.C. Coastal Land Trust

Time: 9 a.m.

Activities: 2-mile hike

More info here

Everett Creek Preserve Hike

Sneeds Ferry

N.C. Coastal Land Trust

Time: 10 a.m.

Activities: 2-mile hike

More info here

Hike to Morrow Mountain

Morrow Mountain State Park, Albemarle

Morrow Mountain State Park

Time: 8 a.m.

Activities: 6-mile hike to the summit of Morrow Mountain

More info here

Gales Creek Preserve Hike

Gales Creek Preserve, Newport 

Time: 11 a.m.

Activities: 2-mile hike

More info here

Yadkin Valley Trails Day

Elkin

Overmountain Victory Trail Association 

Time: 9 a.m.

Activities: 20-mile bike ride, 10-mile hike, kids activities, workshops, a reenactment of some kind.

More info here.

Virginia

Joint Work Hike: National Trails Day on Great Eastern Trail

Millboro

Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, Charlottesville Chapter

Time: 8:30 a.m.

Activities: trail maintenance/stewardship project

More info here.

Grand Opening & Ribbon Cutting: PHNST Neabsco Creek Boardwalk and New Regional Park

Woodbridge

Prince William County Parks, Recreation & Tourism

Time: 10 a.m.

Activities: 2.5-mile hike, kids activities, paddle, trail dedication

More info here.

Bay View Trail Bird Blind Spruce Up

Lorton

Mason Neck State Park

Time: 9 a.m.

Activities:  3-mile bike ride, kids activities, trail maintenance/stewardship project

More info here

Walk the Trails: Club Blazer Weekend

Gladys

Thousand Trails Lynchburg RV Resort

Time: 10 a.m.

Activities: 1.5-mile bike ride, 1.5-mile hike, kids activities, trail maintenance/stewardship project

More info here

BRW on BTW

Sherando

Adventure Cycling Association

Time: 12 a.m.

Activity: 120-mile bike ride 

More info here

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Which isn’t to disparage the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. Far from it. In these days of financial worry, an economy adrift and overall uncertainty, the MST is a rare constant, continuing to plow across the state. In the Triangle alone, the MST could be complete from Hillsborough to Clayton in two years. But it takes more than trail and the promise of trail-to-come to get me excited. It takes something along the lines of 300 miles of continuous, non-stop, no-reason-to-detour-for-a-bit-along-this-four-lane-divided-highway natural surface trail.

And that’s what we should see on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail come mid-July.

On the weekend of July 16 and 17 — billed as the Big Dig — volunteers will converge near milepost 290.3 on the Blue Ridge Parkway to punch through a five-mile stretch of trail. That link will create an unbroken pathway running 300 miles, from Soco Gap near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to the visitor center at Stone Mountain State Park. Provided, of course, enough volunteers chip in to make it happen.

“This is a chance to be part of history and leave a legacy for future generations,” says John Lanman, leader of the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail Watauga Task Force, which is organizing the event. Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail is the nearly all-volunteer non-profit behind the trail’s development.

As I mentioned earlier this month commenting on National Trails Day, it’s hard to find a better workout than working on a trail. Using a rake to clear trail, a mattocks to break up the dirt and rock, a shovel to clear and level the broken up dirt and rock, another rake to clear the remaining debris … (anyone else feel like breaking into “Sixteen Tons”?).  Not to mention that feeling of accomplishment you’ll feel sometime Sunday afternoon when east meets west. Think Promontory Point, Utah, 1869.

This 300-mile stretch may be the most scenic portion of the MST, tracing the Blue Ridge Parkway through the likes of the Middle Prong Wilderness, Graveyard Fields, Pink Beds, Mt. Pisgah, down into the French Broad River valley at Asheville, the long climb up to Mount Mitchell through Craggy Gardens, then descending across the Blue Ridge escarpment through the Linville Gorge Wilderness, across the base of Grandfather Mountain, through Doughton Park and down into Stone Mountain State Park. If you were contemplating a long getaway with your backpack in North Carolina, this would be your route.

The ideal way to start training for such a rigorous trek? By grabbing a shovel and helping to get that last five miles done.

Here’s how you can help:

• Let either John Lanman (jelanman@charter.net) or Allen de Hart (adh4771@aol.com) know you’ll be there.
• Plan to be at the Thunderhill Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway at milepost 290.3 by 8:30 on both July 16 and 17. (That’s 1.5 miles north of where U.S. 321 crosses the parkway.)
• If you don’t live in the immediate region and need overnight accommodations, camp sites are being reserved at the Price Lake campground (the camping fee is waived for participants). Allen de Hart can reserve a spot for you if you let him know by July 6.
• Wear sturdy shoes, gloves and work clothes.
• Bring lunch, snacks and plenty of water.

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