Becky Denney
Photos by Bob Gestel
11/3/10
Trailbuilding Work Week
October 23 to 31, 2010 on the Ozark Trail
We met at Johnson’s Shut-ins Visitor Center at 8:30 each morning where we signed
the paperwork and shuttled to the worksite on the Pioneer Forest portion of the
Blair Creek section of the Ozark Trail. We rerouted a badly eroded section of
the Ozark Trail and did maintenance on a connector trail to a camping site and
scenic view. We generally worked until 2:30 - 3:00 PM. This allowed us to get
back to camp by 4:00 PM. We had free camping at Johnson’s Shut-ins State park as
well as help from their trail crew. One of our cooks served us German cusine as
well as helped with the trail work! The day ended around the campfire with talk
of past adventures.
As the Midridge Municipal Orchestra plays a victory march Bob and Paul cut the
ribbon on the rerouted section of the Ozark Trail. The work was completed ahead
of schedule and under budget.
The crew, Thursday, October 28.
The crew, Friday, October 29.
The kitchen and dining area.
Pantry and ice chests.
Dinner.
French Toast. Other days we had omlets and cereal.
Beats and apples, salad and german potato salad.
We ate at Cindy's Country Cafe one night.
Hamamelis virginiana L.
It blooms in the fall while Ozark witch hazel blooms in spring. According to Don
Kurz Eastern witch hazel is the last woody species to bloom in Missouri.
Bob Gestel, Trail Maintenance Committee Co Chair, wrote in the September Eastern
Missouri Group Sierrascape:
“One question often asked is this: Can I do trail work? A simple answer is
"Yes". If you can walk 1 or 2 miles to the work site you should be able to do
one of the many jobs we have, raking leaves off the trail, hand sawing small
trees, clipping and putting up signs and tread work. These are a few jobs you
can choose. Remember you work only as hard as you want.”
Hope to see you on the trail.
For more information contact: Bob Gestel 636-296-975 or rgestel@sbcglobal.net or
Paul Stupperich 314-429-4352 or lonebuffalo@earthlink.net