Falls Lake /MST Trail Workdays

2010 Calendar Below:

June 5, 2010 – Saturday - National Trails Day
September 25, 2010 – Saturday - National Public Lands Day
October 23, 2010 – Saturday - MST Month
November 22, 2010 – Sunday (deer hunting season)
December 12, 2010 – Sunday (deer hunting season)

New for 2010 - Wednesday Workday for Trail Mainentance
9:00 AM to 1:00 PM - First Wednesday of the Month !

June 2, 2010
July 7, 2010
August 4, 2010

MST - Wake and Durham Counties

Wake and Durham Counties - All land agencies have approved the MST routing from Hickory Hill Boat Ramp to Redmill Road - 7.5 miles. The Friends of the Mountains to Sea Trail (FMST) will host a work day at Falls Lake, a segment of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, on Saturday- see above dates from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The day will also consist of new trail construction (natural surface - hiking only) such as clearing brush, moving logs, and picking up debris. Additional volunteers and volunteer groups are welcomed. Volunteers must RSVP to 919-868-6274 or jdbrewer@bellsouth.net so we can plan work projects and have enough tools. Tools needed for the day include loppers, bowsaws, and mattocks. The FMST will supply most of the tools for this event. Please wear work clothes and bring a bag lunch, plenty of water, work gloves, hiking boots, and sunscreen. Sorry no dogs allowed at our workdays for safety reasons. If you are under the age of 12, please consult us before attending workdays.

NEW - Meeting Spot - All interested should meet at the Red Mill Road site. Take I-85 North to Red Mill Road exit and turn left and travel 4 miles and look for us on the right. This will be just north of Ellerbee Creek. Look for the MST Signs and the tool trailer. If you go past the Eno River you have gone too far.

Falls Lake Bad Weather Policy: The Falls Lake Task Force leaders recently had a meeting to discuss our weather policy for workdays.  If the workday is canceled it will be posted on the website (Falls Lake page) by 9:00 PM the day before the workday.  A mass email will also be sent out after the website is updated about the cancelation.

FMST - Meet Up Group - Wake Forest, NC - Click here to view this Meet Up Group.

NEW for 2009 - Section 17 and 18 from Hereford Road to Hickory Hill Boat Ramp is open - another 2.0 miles of the MST trail on the ground - go hike it and thank a FMST Falls Lake volunteer for making it happen!

Your breakfast for these trail workdays is sponsored by Great Outdoor Provision Co. - a strong supporter of the MST!

Your coffee for these trail workdays is sponsored by Starbucks at Falls of Neuse and Durant Roads - thank them for your cup of joe!

More Information:

Jeff Brewer at 919-868-6274 or jdbrewer@bellsouth.net

Falls Lake Trail Updates:

Barton Boat Ramp - a bridge is out due to tree falling across the bridge and will be repleace very soon. The area is passable but you will need to take your boots off to cross. Posted on 3-15-10.

How we build trail at Falls Lake

Stage 1 – By the time you arrive at the worksite the approve flag line is done with surveys tape (pink or orange) tied to trees. Small “stake flags” are placed in the ground about every 8 to 10 feet to show where the trail tread is to be placed. All of the chainsaw work of major trees is complete as well.

Stage 2 – A team of people with fire rakes or garden rakes come along and remove the leafs and duff from the ground by following the small stake flags.

Stage 3 – A team of people with cutter mattocks come along and hand dig the trail tread into place at a width of two feet wide. The overall goal is to have a nice flat trail (with a small degree of slope to allow for water runoff) to hike on that is root and rock free.

Stage 4 – A team of people with fire rakes come along and do the fine detail work to remove any small roots or correct any tread issues that were accidentally left out from Stage 3.

Stage 5 – A team of two or four people remove the stake flags to be used further down the trail. At the same time white blazes are painted on the trees to guide a hiker on the final trail route.

Trail Quotes at Falls Lake:

“Water is the number 1 trail enemy” – Bad water erosion problems lead to huge trail issues. If the trail tread is constructed properly water erosion will not be an issue.

“Quality is better than Quantity” – Great quality trail means that we will not have so many future trail maintenance issues in the long term. We must build quality trail at Falls Lake instead of seeing how far we can accomplish in one day.

Hiking at Falls Lake - Sections 1-13 from Falls Lake Dam to Rolling View State Recreation area for a total of 37.5 miles

A basic map (Falls Lake Dam to NC-50 - 26 miles) of this section can be obtained by downloading this PDF File and the trail guide below.

A basic trail guide for the total 37.5 miles of this section of the MST can be obtained by downloading this PDF File and using the above Section information.