Hiking enthusiasts improve area wilderness paths

June 4, 2006

By DAWN DE BUSK

Frontiersman

PALMER - A handful of Valley residents dedicated to the use and maintenance of the 25-plus-mile Crevasse Moraine trail system celebrated National Trails Day by picking up shovels, hoes and rakes and building a trail-hardening system on the first eighth-mile of the trail.

&#8220We usually have two dozen people show up, but there were seven other events going on today, including the Curtis Menard Run,” said Warren Templin, the outdoors recreation specialist with the Mat-Su Borough Parks and Recreation Department. A second work party will be scheduled later in the summer to continue the project to upkeep the non-motorized-user trail system, he added.

However, the small group made some headway Saturday, tilling the earth 2 inches down, pushing the dirt aside, placing down a white fabric, and then laying a grid on the trail, covering it with dirt, and compacting it with heavy machinery, Templin said.

The grid, which was pioneered by the National Park Service a decade ago, creates more stable ground, he said. It stops erosion and actually floats above the mud during break-up. A person could sink to their knees on the trail, but if they walk on the geo board, it will hold them up, he explained. Also, when races are held at the Crevasse Moraine trail, 300 runners passing over the hardened ground wouldn't ruin its integrity.

&#8220In fact, they put this on the White House lawn because the grass grows through it, but it can support helicopter landings,” Templin said.

Templin said a group of volunteers will be putting in an elevated structure over McRoberts Creek on the Plumbly-Maud trail today from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The structure for motorized and non-motorized users will protect the stream, he said.

Also, on Saturday, volunteers tackled the trail in the railroad right of way that connects Palmer to Moose Creek outside of Sutton - again, in observance of National Trails Day.

Trula Acena, with the Crevasse Moraine Trail Association, said she uses the trail five times a week, and supports the trail through maintenance projects and public awareness.

&#8220We're really trying to get this trail on the map,” she said. &#8220We don't want to lose this trail system because it's the only one right in the core. It's 15 minutes from most places.”

A portion of the land is owned by the Mat-Su Borough Central Landfill, and may be jeopardized when its cells fill and it needs to expand - but that could be delayed with more vigilant recycling, she said.A bed tax grant will pay for completion of the lower loop and lighting for skiers during the darker winter months, Acena said.

Palmer resident Kathy Thompson donned work gloves, and delayed work on some of her household tasks to help maintain the trail she's used for 12 years.

&#8220We use the trails year-round for skiing, snowshoeing, hiking and horseback riding, and we need to make them last for the community. Plus, it's a beautiful area,” Thompson said.

Stephanie Burchell showed up in denim overalls and a baseball cap to do her part, because she uses the trail system regularly, she said.

&#8220The Valley is experiencing so much development that we need to keep our wildlife and nature resources. We need areas where we are able to go into nature, especially ones that are easily accessible for everyone,” Burchell said.

Contact Dawn De Busk at 352-2252, or dawn.debusk@frontiersman.com.