Uwharrie Off-Road...with TRACKS

[Ghost]

ELi is that new shoes on the raider?

 

[DRaider90]

ELi is that new shoes on the raider?

On the back yes, I put 2 new on the back and moved the ones on the back to the front. They have a ton of tread new at 27/32nds, the only tires Interco offers that have more tread are 2 sizes of Boggers.

 

[XJfreakHO]

Also the q78 tsls I believe, both are freakin nasty offroad.

glad the workdays have been going well, gonna try to make a few again this year, but with the new job and all the other bs going on its been almost impossible to get away.

Hoping to make the Jamboree but after seeing my paycheck from calling in sick 2 days and not getting any overtime its gonna be very close, and ofcourse I didn't mention to my supervisor in time to throw my sick days on those days so I would get paid.

 

[DRaider90]

Also the q78 tsls I believe, both are freakin nasty offroad.

glad the workdays have been going well, gonna try to make a few again this year, but with the new job and all the other bs going on its been almost impossible to get away.

Hoping to make the Jamboree but after seeing my paycheck from calling in sick 2 days and not getting any overtime its gonna be very close, and ofcourse I didn't mention to my supervisor in time to throw my sick days on those days so I would get paid.

Yeah the Q78-15 TSLs come with 27/32nds also. A couple Boggers come with 28/32nds and 29/32nds, and that is the most tread the offer. If only Super Swamper made the TSL tread design in a Agriculture Tire for skid steer loaders (they make skidsteer tires but not that aggressive).

Hope you can make it out to the workdays. With 4 Wheel Parts giving away an 8,000LB winch at the end of the workday season, and $50 4 Wheel Parts gift cards every workday who knows you might win. :compwork:

 

[DRaider90]

Another update from the world of Uwharrie Volunteering. This time without tracks, but tires on a nice Saturday afternoon.

Thanks to the support of we were able to rent an S175 and an Auger attachment to get some work done on the trails.

Just a sampling of the pictures:

We installed guard rail at 2 locations on the Rocky Mountain Loop trail, plus one location on the Falls Dam trail. It was an interesting workday to say the least. The first guard rail install was at the bottom of a steep tail ditch (drainage ditch), and the Bobcat decided it was to steep/slick to get back out of. Took a good 30 minutes to winch it out, still waiting to see the video. In the process of getting in/out of the tiny bobcat I ended up pulling a muscle in my leg which made the day even more interesting. The smaller/less stable wheeled machine ended making the day take longer, but we still got all the guard rail installed, and the day before (Friday) I filled in a water hole and cleaned out some tail ditches (almost got stuck then also).

Trying to make each dollar go as far as possible by renting a smaller wheeled machine came back to bite us, but we didn't let it ruin the workday. The lesson has been learned, heavier/more stable tracked machines while running the risk of having a track come off are still much more suited for trail work. Thanks again to for the support which allowed this workday to be as productive as it was even with setbacks. Even what we consider setbacks with a Bobcat out there is 10x better than trying to do it by hand.

 

[Ghost]

Great job Eli. Glad to see the work getting done. Has anything been decided on the Daniel tree or the problems with the new bypasses?

 

[DRaider90]

Great job Eli. Glad to see the work getting done. Has anything been decided on the Daniel tree or the problems with the new bypasses?

I haven't been on Daniel but the official word from the Forest Service is the Daniel tree (presuming your referring to the one with the root that has been busting out windows) has been completely removed and the "Gatekeeper" (aka V-Notch) obstacle has been filled in. This was due to a vehicle fire up beyond the 1st ledge, and to get to the jeep to put the fire out they had to fill it in, plus partially filled in the first ledge.

As far as the new bypasses issue goes it has been put on the back burner until other re-routes can be addressed including 2 that are coming soon. One re-route on Slab Pile, and one on Dutch John. They are scheduled in the same time frame as the new trail project (Lake View Trail).

 

[XJfreakHO]

When did this happen Eli? I haven't been since mid April.

 

[DRaider90]

When did this happen Eli? I haven't been since mid April.

If I remember correctly the Jeep Fire was the weekend around May 6th. Besides the Jeep fire they also had 2 different emergency EMS helicopter airlifts on the lower end of Daniel also in that time frame (I think both were both ATV related). Even if Daniel isn't an extreme trail by out west standards, its still a black diamond trail for a reason.

 

[XJfreakHO]

That sucks. Daniel is far from difficult even by NC standards. Hate it happens, but also wish there could be preventitive measures, maybe keep a group leader at cotton place to offer to lead newbies on busy weekends, or maybe a scheduled time to meet and leave with a leader.

 

[DRaider90]

Maybe its just me... but the kid in the blue shirt in the background looks odd... I don't know if its the perspective of the photo or what.

 

[DRaider90]

Having learned our lesson with the S175 (aka the RC Bobcat as I call it now) this September we rented a T750 for the workday. We had about as good as you can get, a brand new machine with only 45 hours on it. Friday we had a "pre-workday" which ended up me using the 4in1 Combo Bucket to fill in some nasty erosion ditches in the middle of the road on 553 right before the Flatwoods parking lot. I dug out dirt for fill from a tail ditch further up on the Falls Dam trail then hauled it via bucket to the worst areas on the road. Compacted the dirt using the 10,000 LB Bobcat so hopefully the patch jobs will hold up for a while.

Saturday rolled around and we split into 2 groups, one to go drag guard rail from the Spray Field to the site we were installing it on Falls Dam. And two, the 3 of us (including myself) that were to block off an illegal spider trail behind the Flatwoods Parkinglot (within walking distance of the Falls Dam site). It ended up taking the 2nd group 2 hours to drag guard rail so we had plenty of time to devise ways to block off the spider trail. We winched logs into various spots around the Flatwoods parking lot (where the Bobcat couldn't get to) to block the spider trail, then using the bucket on the Bobcat as a grapple we placed 5 massive stumps to block it off also in one area.

Finally the guard rail arrived (over 200ft of it) and we got to installing it. The goal was to block off various spider trails, and contain a camping area that was going further and further back into the woods connecting the spider trails. A lot of the following pictures I took from inside the Bobcat so that should explain for the Auger being in view etc.

We blocked off the Area with cones,barricades, and signs for safety. The Forest Service took it a step further and they wore lime green high-visability vests. Having accidents on the trail on past workdays with dirt bikes/atvs speeding by has been an issue in the past, so this has been the solution.

Here is the T750 with the Auger:

Some of the Volunteers/Forest Service on Lunch Break (there was a total of 9 of us I think):

Getting ready to move (and moving) the long sections of guard rail:

Drilling holes, installing guard rail, cleaning out drilled holes, etc:

 

[DRaider90]

Done drilling holes, looking back at the work site from the trail in the Bobcat:

You can see some of the guard rail we put up, and the bucket for the Bobcat sitting there:

Wrapping up work on the last pieces of guard rail. As you can tell we had to work around people camping on the side of the trail.

A nice look at one long stretch of guard rail we put in:

As the other volunteers got to leave for the day I still had an hour ride in the Bobcat driving it down Forest Service roads to the Spray Field where we lock it up for storage (until it can be picked up Monday to be hauled back to the rental place). It was a LONG tiring bumpy sore ride, but here is the Bobcat as I left it with the Auger placed inside the bucket:

Sadly I didn't get any pictures of the road repair, or the log/stump placing to block the spider trails. Both times we were working just about non stop not allowing much time to stop and take pictures. But at least you got to see the guard rail install, which was the big project.

No one likes the fact that we have to put up guard rail to keep people on the trails, and from creating spider trails that damage the areas around the trail system. But its the current way of keeping the higher ups happy in the Forest Service circle that regulate the trail system. A key part of that regulation is the open/closed status of the trails, which we prefer the open status. The guard rail ends up being a necessary evil to keep the trails open, which I prefer trails with guard rail than no trails at all.

Thanks again to SEC and in general for supporting the Friends of Uwharrie and making these workdays possible. Without your guys support we wouldn't be able to get the amount of work done that we do. :cheers:

 

[PacificEd]

Eli, we are certainly glad we were able to help with funds. While funds are only a part of it, the volunteers that put in the time, effort, blood, sweat and tears to get the job done is extremely important. Without you guys getting the projects complete, nothing would be getting done.

Guys, FOU is opening NEW trails while providing necessary trail maintenance.

Good job to FOU for getting the job done!

 

[Cnickgo]

Fantastic! Eli, if you could post upcoming work days here that would be a big help(or email list? I know I signed up at the last Jamboree but have not recieved anything). I don't really prefer NC4x4 and subsequently don't see the FOU updates. I think we have some other people on here that are the same way, that I know would come out and give a helping hand.

 

[DRaider90]

Fantastic! Eli, if you could post upcoming work days here that would be a big help(or email list? I know I signed up at the last Jamboree but have not recieved anything). I don't really prefer NC4x4 and subsequently don't see the FOU updates. I think we have some other people on here that are the same way, that I know would come out and give a helping hand.

The workdays generally fall on the 3rd Saturday of the month, unless they are moved to accommodate a special event etc. The next workday will be October the 20th. There is a mailing list that is sent out to all the club representatives and a few individuals pertaining to each workday by Terry Savery with the Forest Service. I could forward an e-mail/contact information to her, or give her e-mail to the person that needs to be on the e-mail list.