Uwharrie Off-Road...with TRACKS

[DRaider90]

The latest update in the Volunteering effort at Uwharrie here in NC. Yes you read correctly we did some tracked off-roading today, and will continue with some more tomorrow. All thanks to the support from .

Goal for today was to drag guard rail into place at two locations, and then get some tail ditches cleaned out. We had dragged in the guard rail for the Slab Pile trail, so the main (small) group left to go drag guard rail up Rocky Mountain Loop, leaving me behind to clean out tail ditches on Slab Pile.

On Slab Pile at the Saw-Mill intersection, getting ready to work back to the Wolf Den trail head cleaning out trail ditches as I go (bucket still clean even).

Done with the tail ditch clean outs (bucket is nasty with muck), at the Wolf Den trail head, but there is a gate blocking the way.

But not a problem:

Now to get ready for a 25 minute ride on Forest Service roads to the Rocky Mountain Loop trail. Would be much faster taking the Mazda 626 (what I drove up to URE), but I digress. The main group got back and helped load the auger into the bucket of the Bobcat. About to leave:

 

[DRaider90]

25 minutes later we arrive at another pesky gate:

Again not a problem:

And at last, the T300 sits hidden on Rocky Mountain Loop waiting for the next days work. Which will include guard rail install, more tail ditch cleaning, re-flagging trails, and split rail install.

This was my best attempt to make looking at a bunch of still shots of a bobcat interesting. Considering I was alone for half the workday, and the other half we were busy messing with the guard rail these are the best shots I got to take. I promise there will be much more interesting pictures to share tomorrow with the big group working.

 

[Ghost]

Oh man was that a good time today! I will post up some pictures later!

 

[PacificEd]

Eli, glad to see progress on maintaining and opening trails at Uwharrie. Without the work that so many do up there, the trails wouldn't expanding and staying open like they are.

Good job guys!

 

[Ghost]

 

[DRaider90]

Saturday was another good day. I wasn't on my A-Game exactly due to fighting off some sinus problems, and some other issues but we still got the work done quickly and efficiently. I usually am the sole operator of the Bobcat, but today a various group of people got to run it which was a great experience for everyone. It even came in handy when my nerves were shot and someone else was able to get the T-300 up a tricky little ditch.


We got our monies worth out of the T-300, and it really shined in getting the guard rail installed. The tip of the auger bit broke off in the first hole, and then at least one tooth broke off of the auger bit after that. But it still drilled the holes in extremely rocky conditions quickly and efficiently, even with a worn out/half busted auger bit. Glenn was a quick study on the Bobcat and got the holes for the other 2 sections knocked out quick. After the guard rail was up we switched back to the 4in1 Bucket and I got to clean out some tail ditches. Can't argue with "playing in the dirt".

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[DRaider90]

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[DRaider90]

What you don't see above is the other groups that went out to work also. Another group installed a little bit of guard rail on slab pile blocking off a bypass around an armored crossing. Another group installed split rail fencing on Dickey Bell near where the new bridge is located at. And 2 groups went out and re-numbered Dickey Bell, Slab Pile, and Saw Mill with their new trail numbers. We had over 40 people show up, if I remember correctly is was 43 or better for a closer count. Can't argue with nearly 50 people show up on a workday.

 

[jeepgeek2002]

i havent been there since 2002.. what changed? besides money spent on fancy guard rails instead of wood fence?
every time i read this post i think of this:

 

[Ghost]

i havent been there since 2002.. what changed? besides money spent on fancy guard rails instead of wood fence?

They are doing guardrail now because people were breaking down the wood fence for their firewood. We also cleaned some trail ditches out too. A new trail is opening this year and hopefully we will eventually get Daniel into the loop so if you park their you don't have to go down it.

 

[DRaider90]

The split rail wooden fence looked great, but it was expensive (forgot the type of wood from Cali they shipped in) and people tore it down and used it for firewood. Recycled w-beam guard rail has been found to be a more permanent and less costly alternative. We would like to use the 6x6 wood beams that were used by contractors last year, since they are better looking than the guard rail. But they are very expensive.

Our efforts on guard rail have been scaled back, but guard railing does still play a key role in keeping people on the trails. Our other projects have included:

-Culvert Removal: Removing busted culvert sections and replacing them with rock armoring to create a more natural and sustained drainage

-Corduroy Log Bridges: Where possible many of these bridges have had to been re-built/re-vamped adding logs/replacing logs etc. And where the log bridges are no longer efficient we are removing them and replacing them with rock armoring (hard pack crossings).

-Improper Drainage leading to Mud Holes: Not all mud/water holes are good ones. There are ones that are forming on trails creating drainage issues. We have done minor repairs to using equipment to re-design sections of trail to drain properly.

-Tail Ditch Maintenance and Re-Design: Tail ditches fill up with silt/mud and need to be cleaned out. And in some cases with heavy use equipment has to be used to revamp or redesign the tail ditches to allow them to flow better. This also includes hay bale installation for drainage/filtering also.

-Hazard Rock Removal: Rocks over time are exposed through trail usage, and in some areas can make for dangerous areas. Including legal bypasses that have been created for less modified vehicles, pitching them against the edge of the trail on a steep hillside. Using a Bobcat with hydraulic breaker we have busted up these rocks and expanded legal bypasses for drivers/users safety.

-Hazard Tree Removal: This includes downed trees and dead trees that could/are causing problems in the trail system.

-Re-opening/New Trail Openings: We also are doing leg work and research to work with the Forest Service on re-opening old trails to OHV use, plus the use of new sections of trail to create a sustainable OHV system that can adapt to increased use and varied user groups. This also can lead to helping cut new trails/bypasses using equipment and resources.

-Trail Markings and Maps: We on just about every workday as putting up trail diamonds and numbering them so people know what trail they are on, and where the legal trail resides. 3 of the trails (Dickey Bell, Saw Mill, and Slab Pile) are getting new numbers so we are working on this also. This also involves keeping up the carsonite trail maker signs (at trail/road intersections) that can get damaged or even removed by users of the trails.

-Trash Pickup: And the very basics of keeping the trails open include our runs to pick up trash. Not only on the trail system, but the Forest Service Road system we use to get to the trails.

And beyond that we do anything the Forest Service needs us to do to help out. This may in the future include helping re-gravel OHV parking areas, and help maintain the roads that connect the trails. Guard rail is a very small part of our efforts, and with the continued help of we are able to tackle more and larger projects to help keep our trails open PLUS open new trails/areas for future use.

 

[Lowrange2]

I can't wait to make it up there at the end of the month to check out the work you guys have done. Good move with the non-burnable guard rails.

 

[High2by]

Very nice and important work Eli. I'm glad there are guys like yourself and the other volunteers that showed up to help keep these trails open!!!! :worship: If it wasn't for guys like you across the nation, guys like me could only web wheel and where's the fun in that???

Thank you for the work you've done to help maintain those trails.

 

[DRaider90]

Very nice and important work Eli. I'm glad there are guys like yourself and the other volunteers that showed up to help keep these trails open!!!! :worship: If it wasn't for guys like you across the nation, guys like me could only web wheel and where's the fun in that???

Thank you for the work you've done to help maintain those trails.

Thanks for the kind words, we just do what we can. And without the support of yourself and the other members we wouldn't be able to do even half of what we do do (I know that is a lot of dos... heh). :looney:

 

[IllianaXJ]

That's awesome to see hard work put in saving our trails. We do what we can to help with our state ORV park in Indiana, glad to see others are working just as hard if not harder!

 

[DRaider90]

That's awesome to see hard work put in saving our trails. We do what we can to help with our state ORV park in Indiana, glad to see others are working just as hard if not harder!

Thanks for the kind words! We do what we can!

And this time its MORE WHEELING WITH TRACKS!

Again thanks to we were able to get another T-300 rental in, and got some work done out on the trails. The rental company gave us the T-300 at the T-190 price again, plus gave us the Auger for free also again for another over $210 savings. The goal this time was to install split rail fencing to keep vehicles out of a archeological site, but still allow people to park right by and camp (we left 2 gaps in the split rail to allow people to walk back there).

I had always made jokes that I would never get to wheel at URE on my birthday due to the trails being closed, but low and behold those jokes turned into a reality. The 16th was my birthday, and that was the "pre-workday" Friday.



Friday started at RS Braswell Bobcat picking up the T300 at 9:30AM, and ended around 3PM with wildfires breaking out on River Rd. We didn't get as much done as I had planned, but we still got enough completed to make an impact on Saturday. Drew and De from the Forest Service were with me, and the main accomplishment was laying out 2 different plans. 1st Plan was the overall plan for Saturday. One group would be coming from Rocky Mount to Dutch John to take care of the guard rail, a small amount of split rail, and the log bridges. The 2nd group would go in from Wolf Den to Dutch John and work with the Bobcat on the "emergency" area with the arch site that needed a lot of split rail installed. The 2nd plan was how to navigate the Bobcat around many trees, rocks, etc to get into some tight areas to drill all the holes needed for the split rail.


So when Saturday rolled around we had a clear idea of what we would be doing, and how we would be doing it. But the plan was to get the holes drilled also, so we unloaded the Auger out of the 4in1 bucket and then Drew and De left to haul in the split rail from off site. 2nd accomplishment was during this time I ran the T300 with the 4in1 combo bucket and cleared rocks, brush, dead trees, busted split rail, etc from areas I needed to navigate through. I then found out fires had broken out on River Rd from a truck with an exhaust dragging on the pavement (shooting out sparks) and Drew and De had to go. So we had to cut the day short. Pictures I took:


T300 at the Bottom of the Hill where the old rail ended:

The top of the Hill where we unloaded the Auger and bit:

Zoomed out View of the dispersed camping/arch site area:

After the prep work is done, T300 sitting and waiting for Saturday:

Drew and De had to leave in a hurry, so I was the last one out:

Gate was a pain in the butt to lock, but at least I didn't find any hornets like Drew did the next day:

On the way out I snapped a shot of the Caterpillar Track Loader (I think it was a 953) the contractor has been using to re-do tail ditches (the ones we didn't get to) at the Wolf Den trail head:

Makes me wish we could get our hands on a metal tracked Bobcat. It would make our ability to get around so much easier. Maybe some day...

 

[DRaider90]

Saturday went as smooth as any workday I have ever seen. There was minimal discussion between myself, Drew, and Head Ranger Deborah Walker because the plan had basically been laid out the day before. One group went to the Rocky Mountain Loop side of Dutch John and worked on the following projects:

-Hauling Hogwire Fencing off the trail
-Installing one long section of guard rail
-Installing a short section of split rail
-Repairing 2 Log Bridges

The 2nd group came in from the Wolfs Den side of Dutch John and had the projects:

-Installing a very long section of split rail
-Re-enforcing the split rail with boulders at the main entrance

I was with the 2nd group of course and the what would have taken 2 workdays got done in 1 with the help of the Bobcat. Even with the planning plus tree/rock/brush clearing the day before it was like navigating a maze trying to get where we needed to drill the holes. We ended up having to use the T-300 to remove 3 or so more dead trees plus a stump to get the Bobcat where we needed it to drill the holes. That was combined with 3 people spotting me in the Bobcat around rocks and other obstacles that we had opted not to move to preserve the site.

In case anyone doesn't know the rubber tracks on the Bobcat Compact Track Loaders are not meant for navigating over rocks, over tree roots etc, let alone pivoting/turning on them (we had a total of 3 tracks come off back in June of last year with the T-190 and T-300). So we had to be very careful. After we installed all the railing, we took off the Auger and put the 4in1 Combo bucket back on to get started on moving boulders. A couple smaller ones were collected and tossed into the bucket from areas around the site, and then we used the 4in1 bucket as a grapple to drag the massive boulder on the end.

Bobcat + Auger = Happy Volunteers :laugh: (no death rides on the hand augers)

Work area showcasing some of the rocks/obstacles I had to navigate the Bobcat around:

Getting Ready to Drill the next hole

Just about the only area to spin the Bobcat around to get headed toward the next hole site:

Work is done, showing part of what railing we got installed:

Showing some of the work done at the upper end:

Drew from the Forest Service helping straighten out the boulders a little:

 

[DRaider90]

We wrapped up the workday with our job done and headed out. I got to finish off the day with a 2 mile ride in the T-300 on Forest Service roads to the Spray Field (right next to Arrowhead Campgrounds) to put the Bobcat in locked storage. You always get some interesting looks from other vehicles on the road.

Thanks to everyone that showed up to make the workday possible. The Bobcat can only be as effective as the group of people it works with. Between the two first off-season workdays we got a lot of work done. I can safely say the "to-do" list that we worked with the Forest Service to come up with back in May of last year has been complete. But there are all ready new projects being discovered, including more guard rail to install on Falls Dam that we all ready found out about. Hopefully with the continued support of we will be able to get a Bobcat out there for 1 if not 2 more workdays so we can keep the ball rolling! :thumbup:

 

[Ghost]

Glad the work day went well. I had fun at the event I went to but it was not as fun as I had hoped. (I shuld have come up there! LOL!) Ah well live and learn.

 

[PacificEd]

Great job guys!