2008 Projects - New MST Trail Construction and Planning Listed West to East

The Friends of the Mountains to Sea Trail hosts worktrips to complete special work projects so that we can meet our annual goals for creating new trail sections and rehabilitating older trail sections. Project worktrips are a lot of work, but also a lot of fun, and consist of both regular and occasional volunteers. Worktrips generally run through the weekend, with crews meeting near the work site on Friday evenings and departing on Sunday. The FMST includes Task Forces that work all the time on the MST. To find a Task Force near you, click here!

Responsibility for Safety:
Certain risks are inherent in any FMST activity. Each FMST patron member, guest, or non-member hiker agrees to accept responsibility for his or her own safety and the safety of minors accompanying such person. The FMST cannot ensure the safety of any participants on work trips. Each person agrees to hold harmless and free from blame the task force leaders, and FMST, Inc. its officers and patron members, for any accident, injury, or illness which might be sustained from participation in hikes, worktrips or other FMST activities.

Blue Ride Parkway Haywood and Jackson Counties Contact: Piet Bodenhorst (828) 298-8371 The Carolina Mountain Club will focus on trail construction from Balsam Gap South to Soco Gap (12.5 miles) this year.	Lunch Break on the BRP
Bald Knob - Marion, NC Central Blue Ridge Task Force Task Force Leader: Phil Piaski (828) 465-2755 This section of the MST is open and ready for hiking. The FMST will continue some minor tread work on this section of the MST from the North Fork of the Catawba River to the top of Bald Knob in 2007. We supply the tools; we just need volunteers to assist on this trail section. With the assistance of grant money from the North Carolina Trails Commitee's Federal Grant program; the FMST in conjunction with the Grandfather Ranger District the construction of the foot bridge across the north fork of the Catawba River. Click here to see construction photos of the bridge.	Tool Roundup Bald Knob, McDowell County           The view from the top of Bald Knob. Table Rock, Hawksbill, and Grandfather Mountains are seen from the top on clear days.
Blue Ridge Parkway NC-16 to US-421 South Ashe Task Force Contact: Jim Hallsey 336-877-8831 The focus along the Blue Ridge Parkway for 2008 will be continuing trail construction of the MST from NC-16 as we work west to US-421. Click here for all of the workday details. Tent-camping facilities are available to MST trail crews at Doughton Park at no cost during worktrips, courtesy of the NPS.	MST at Air Bellows Road
MST Piedmont Plan - Plans are taking place to show potential MST routes from Greensboro, NC to the town of Hillsborough, NC. For more information on this planning and meetings you can contact Kim Douglass, Central Region Trail Specialist, DENR at (919) 715-1846 or susan.carl@ncmail.net. NEW! - View this PDF file to see the options for the MST from Greensboro to Durham. This map is the result of the hard work of local city and county governments coming together around the table to discuss trail options. Click here to view this PDF file (7.5 MB). The town of Hillsborough, NC has adopted this Resolution in support of the MST, click here to view this PDF file.
MST Trail Construction - West Point on the Eno to Penny's Bend (3 miles) and Penny's Bend to NC-50 (35 miles) - Falls Lake, Durham County. Contact: Jeff Brewer (919) 868-6274 or jdbrewer@bellsouth.net The Falls Lake West Task Force will continue to construct the MST from NC-50 to Penny's Bend. Workdays are held once a month. For more info click here.	Eno River, Durham County
MST East Plan - Plans keep moving ahead as the MST East Plan (Falls Lake to New Bern) comes to be a major project for the MST. This is a 250 mile trail corridor for the MST. Click here to learn more about the MST East Plan view the plan as PDF files. On Friday, July 29, 2005, Congress passed a $286.5 billion transportation bill for the US. We are glad to report that Johnston County will receive $1.6 million dollars for the Neuse River Greenway/MST. This is a "huge shot in the arm" for the MST East Plan. For more information on the TEA-Bill - click here! The FMST releases this Press Release about the MST East Plan (PDF file). See the development of the MST East Plan in Wake and Johnston Counties as of April 2005 - click here to see the (PDF map). MST East Plan Segments in Planning are: Wake/Johnston County Line to I-95 Corridor Contact: Tom Norman, NC-DOT - (919) 733-2804 or tnorman@dot.state.nc.us Selma, NC to Goldsboro, NC - Little River Route The FMST supports the Little River Corridor Routing from Selma to Goldsboro. Read all about it - click here. Contact: Bob Getchell - (919) 735-6529 or littlerivertours@yahoo.com New Bern, NC into the Croatan Forest to intersect the Neusiok Trail/MST Contact: John Jaskolka - (252) 637-6737 or jajask@always-online.com