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April 2010 volunteer trail work day!

Submitted by dirtmerchant on Mon, 04/26/2010 - 10:15am
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April TMD

Submitted by Lust4singletrack on Mon, 04/19/2010 - 8:29am
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Removing invasive species from proposed Summit trail.

We will take another stab at removing the invasive species from the Summit ave worksite. We have coordinated with FPC and they will treating this area with a herbicide in May to compliment all of our hard work over the past couple of months. And help keep the invasive species from coming back. This will be our last shot before the treatment to really knock back the unwanted plant life where the new trail will sit.

Wear sturdy shoes and bring your favorite gloves. If you do not have gloves we can lend you a pair. Since we will be doing lots of cutting of vines and small plants you are also welcomed to bring your favorite non motorized cutting tool (trimming shears, loppers and the like will all come in handy). If you don't have any cutting don't worry, we have plenty for you to use.

Worksite

January 2010 Volunteer Trail Work

Submitted by dirtmerchant on Tue, 01/19/2010 - 4:35pm
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A big "Thank You" and pat on the back to all of the approximately 35 people who came out on a COLD Saturday, Jan 30th to volunteer and help make the Wissahickon Park a better place.

We brought a fight to the ocean of invasives plants on the hillside directly below Summit Ave, along the corridor of our proposed new BYPASS trail. Great job everyone. We proved our determination and mettle to the Fairmount Park Commission and Wissahickon Restoration Volunteer representatives who were present. We want to thank those gentlemen, Dave and Steve, for their guidance and assistance with our work. Also, thanks to Luis and Starbucks Coffee for helping keep us energized and warm!

Project details here: Summit Ave Bypass

July Volunteer Trail BUILD Day

Submitted by dirtmerchant on Mon, 07/27/2009 - 10:13am
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Our July Volunteer Trail Work Day held on a hot and steamy Saturday (July 25th) was actually a NEW trail BUILD day working directly for the Fairmount Park Commission, which is a first for PMBA. We worked with Jason Mifflin, a FPC volunteer coordinator, and two of their summer interns, and built a brand new natural surface trail that is 700 feet long extending from the intersection of Poplar Drive to Lemon Hill Drive parallel to Kelly Drive, directly across from Boathouse Row. Philadelphia recreationalists can now get off the Kelly Drive paved trail and into the woods at this location, and the future plans are to extend the trail all the way up to Girard Ave.

Thanks to all who braved the hot temperatures and came out to support us and the FPC. A huge thanks to the FOW for allowing us to use their expensive toys: SK500 and Canycom.

Here are some pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/jpearce08055/20090726KellyDriveTrailBuild#

June Volunteer Trail Work Day a SMASH

Submitted by dirtmerchant on Tue, 06/30/2009 - 10:00am
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PMBA hosted our monthly volunteer trail work day, sponsored by the FOW, in the Wissahickon Valley Park on Saturday June 27th and, as usual, it was a smashing success. We continued to make sustainable trail improvements on the upper trail section south of Janette St trailhead heading towards the Walnut Lane bridge underpass on the Roxborough side. We worked on the flat section that was a complete mudhole in June because of all the rain, and made some small reroutes as well as many nicks and rolling grade dips to keep the water flowing over the trail rather than down it or simply sitting and making mud pools. Enjoy it! 

We handed over a check for $1000, our donation from the 3rd annual Rally in the Valley proceeds, to Kevin Groves at FOW to show our continued dedication to the Susainable Trails Initiative project. Dave Bower from the FPC was on hand to help and witness the awesome partnership we have with this group and we appreciate him being there. Thanks again to all who attended the Rally and made this donation possible.

On top of that, at the same time other PMBA members hosted a ride clinic which had over 25 riders! Good times are spreading in the Wissahickon thanks to all our dedicated volunteers! It was so cool to see so many new riders getting into this incredible sport/activity/healthy lifestyle.

Thanks to all who helped out and made this day a success, especially Tom Coyle, Paul & Lou Harris, Dave Dannenberg, Kevin Groves, Neil Silverman, Kenn Rymdeko, Heidi Grunwald, Jon Pearce, Rob Krotee, Dmitri Zorine, Bill Brewer, Kris Molendyke, KellyAnn Bostick & Karl Scheuerman. Our good friend Jan Deruiter was back with his delicious pulled pork which was icing on the cake!

October TMD story

Submitted by dirtmerchant on Wed, 10/29/2008 - 4:04am
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Does this sound familiar? PMBA hosts yet another TMD, sponsored by FOW, in weather that would make most people hibernate, and it was a HUGE success! That is exactly what happened on Saturday October 25th in the Wissahickon Valley Park.

32 volunteers logged 129 hours continuing on a trail project we began back in June. A lot was completed, thanks to a great group of volunteers, and the enthusiasm of the new volunteers from the American Society of Civil Engineers!

Volunteers split into two main groups. The first group worked on a lower section of trail and:

  1. Closed off an unnecessarily wide area, by gathering and planting rocks and placing logs and other debris. This makes the trail narrower and feel more like "single track."
  2. Created a short re-route onto a more sustainable side slope over bedrock
  3. The second group went a little further up the trail and:
  4. De-bermed the down-slop side of the trail with the SK500, so that it no longer has the “gully effect”
  5. Re-graded all of the de-bermed area and rock-armored one section of the trail for better storm water drainage

Click for photos

Sept 2008 TMD success despite weather!

Submitted by dirtmerchant on Tue, 09/30/2008 - 12:05pm
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Despite the sketchy weather forecast, cloudy drizzle all day, 28 ardent volunteers showed up and performed many important tasks on the Phase 1 section of the FOW Sustainable Trails Initiative trail project. These people are hardcore volunteers, let me tell you. Mark even rode his bike there from Bryn Mawr! The work tally came to an impressive 116+ hours. That is no joke. 

Many of the projects completed can not be seen which is most unfortunate because the rock armoring is quite impressive. However, next time you are out on this trail, make sure to check out the stone bench that was made out of a 600 lb. piece of Wissahickon Schist. Also 60+ new trees were planted.

Many thanks need to be made, especially to Kevin Groves, volunteer coordinator from FOW. Many of our trail crew leaders were absent this Saturday and he did a lot of work to fill in their shoes. Mariana and Chris picked up the coffee from High Point in Mt. Airy and we really appreciated that, both the coffee and the delivery. Berenice for taking the pics! Chris and Ben, who are the IMBA representatives on site now, did an incredible job of getting all of us focused and working effectively and efficiently. We will miss having such professionals around when they are done, that's for sure.   

Thanks to all who showed up and made a strong statement as to PMBA's steadfast dedication to help repair the Wissahickon Valley Park for all of its users.   

Click here for the pics!

Sustainable Trail Project Days

Submitted by fishnchips on Tue, 08/12/2008 - 9:36pm
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demotrail20066_000.jpgWith the IMBA crew fully entrenched at the Wissahickon, and with major machine construction well underway, it's time for volunteers to step up and join in the big push. Starting 5pm tonight, (Wed, Aug 23) at Bells Mill, and almost daily over the coming weeks, there are plenty of chances to get involved. This is your opportunity work side by side with some of the most experienced trail builders on the planet. These folks have come from all over the country especially for this assignment; helping out will be both a learning experience and a chance for you to shape the trails hands-on. This exciting project includes 600ft of fresh soon-to-be-cut singletrack!

Two firm days are tonight, (Wed) at 5pm, and 9am Sunday. But you can come almost any time. Please read on after the jump for all the details from Kevin Groves, volunteer coordinator for the FOW.

TRAIL WORK HAPPENING NOW IN WISSAHICKON

Submitted by dirtmerchant on Sat, 07/19/2008 - 5:08am
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IMBA Trail Solutions is in town working on the first official phase of the Sustainable Trails Initiative, a huge project managed by the Friends of the Wissahickon.

Below are the group volunteer dates where there will be a small force of people working on specific projects and we will have additional provisions available, like food and drinks. However, please don’t hesitate to stop by the job site anytime while riding or walking or finishing work or whatever and talk to and possibly work with the IMBA guys. Offer to help them and if there are some things that need to be done, they will accept your offer. Either way you will meet and chat with some very well rounded individuals who have built and rode on trails all over this country. You’ll also show these guys how supportive we are here in the city of brotherly love. Come help out anytime on the following dates, but we’ll be there from 9 am to 2 pm: 

July 20 (Sunday)

July 26 (PMBA Trail Day!)

August 2

August 17 (Sunday)

August 23 (PMBA Trail Day!)

June 28th Trail Maintenance

Submitted by Lust4singletrack on Thu, 07/03/2008 - 2:27am
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On Saturday, June 28th, PMBA with the tenacious support from FOW and the FPC had an extremely successful Trail Maintenance Day, on the Chestnut Hill side of the Wissahickon creek. For those who are curious of the location of the TMD, just trek a bit North of the Valley Green, in the direction of the ever-watchful Indian, not too far after the gazebo, on the ridge overlooking the creek. june08workday1_sm.jpg

The heat and humidity felt overwhelming but didn’t hamper the work as much as one may think, in fact at times, I believe, it helped our stride, increasing our determination to accomplish our goal, wheelbarrows in tow, wrenching dense rocks as wide as a car door, strategically placing them with tons of dirt, combining nature and craftsmanship, increasing the sustainability of the trail and the overall watershed in that section of the Park. 

The SK-500 was rumbling and churning up dirt under the expert skill of Dave Dannenberg, combined with the work horse Canycom, operated by a couple different volunteers, which can easily carry the volume of dirt of 5 overfilled wheelbarrows at a time, helped increase our production throughout the day. 

june08workday1_sm.jpg

Thanks to all who showed up, including the two, one-armed men with slings, the Treasurer and President of PMBA, generously presenting a check of $1,600.00 to the Friends Of the Wissahickon on behalf of all PMBA members. We raised these funds at the Rally in the Valley and they will be used directly for the Sustainable Trails Initiative!!!!!!

PMBA is honored to have partners of such outstanding organizations. You can see our gratitude by our obsession to Protect the Park that offers such a vital spirit to our lives it can never fully be describe only experienced.

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