FoOTNotes Vol. 3 / No 3 (November 2006)
- FoOT Annual Meeting: The second annual membership meeting for the
Friends of the Ouachita Trail was held Saturday, November 18, at Queen Wilhelmina Lodge,
which sits astride the trail, high atop Rich Mountain. 35 FoOT members and USFS guests
celebrated the continuing progress of the organization. President Jim Gifford highlighted
the group's progress in man-hours reported from 783 two years ago to 2745 this year.
More importantly, he pointed out that trail conditions have changed dramatically from 77
miles of "Red" trail two years ago to only 2 miles of "Red" this month.
Kris McMillen talked about upcoming maintenance plans, including the December "East End Extravaganza". Loretta Melancon summarized the current trail adoption status and spoke about ongoing publicity efforts. Mike Sims gave an update on the website and efforts to make a simpler, inter-active report format. Tom Ferguson, Ouachita National Forest, made comments thanking the group for its efforts.
Following the meeting, FoOT treated the attendees to lunch at the lodge. After lunch members and guests were seen heading for the trail for hiking or riding. It was a beautiful fall day.
Next year's meeting has already been set for the first Saturday in November, so put a circle around Saturday, Nov 3, 2007. Don't miss out. - FoOT Election of Directors: The primary business of the annual
meeting is to elect Directors for FoOT. Three of the nine directors were up for
re-election this year: Seth Buys, Loretta Melancon, and Jim Gifford. All three were
re-elected for terms expiring in 2009. The other current directors are:
Todd Henne, Pete Ireland, and Glenn Wortham (terms expiring in 2007)
Ed Hawkins, Kris McMillen, and Mike Sims (terms expiring in 2008)
- New Ouachita Trail Maps available from USFS: The USFS recently
published a series of maps of the Ouachita Trail. These maps cover the 192 miles of
trail in the national forest in a series of eleven segments (about 18 miles per page).
The maps are detailed quad chart style with explanatory notes and mile marker references
for major landmarks. This is a major improvement in the USFS provided map of the trail.
The maps can be downloaded for free from the Ouachita National Forest web site. On the "maps" page, go down to the detailed list of trail maps and select "TR-1 det" / Ouachita National Recreation Trail (detailed segment maps). The complete file is about 3.5 mb ('pdf' format). I wouldn't try this on a dial up connection. You can also print from the web site without downloading individual pages.
www.fs.fed.us/r8/ouachita/maps
One caution: Those of us who have been using the Tim Ernst guide for a long time and are familiar with his "section" numbers to describe the trail need to be forewarned. The "segment" numbers in this new map series are not the same breakdown. - New FoOT Saws now available: FoOT recently purchased three new 24"
Fanno hand saws available for members' use. These excellent new pruning saws are a major
leap forward for hand saws. I used one a couple of weeks ago and was cutting through
8 - 10" trees in minutes. It was remarkable. A lot of downed trees that used to require
a chain saw can now be cleared with these new hand saws. Caution: A ten inch tree can
still bind badly if not supported properly.
FoOT Tool Master Billy McMillen has given custody of two of the new saws to the Dreaded FoOT Patrol; the third saw is available in the FoOT tool locker at Jessieville Work Center. - Ouachita Challenge: The Ouachita Challenge, hosted by Ouachita Cycle
Club, was a huge success last year, and financially rewarding to FoOT. Ouachita Mountain
Cycle Club thanked FoOT for asking our volunteers to serve as marshals or support
personnel with a donation of over $1000. Those of us who did participate had a lot of
fun, and helped make a significant donation to FoOT.
We have already been asked to help next year, so those interested should mark the dates now for the weekend of Mar 31 - April 1 (no foolin').
©2008 Friends of the Ouachita Trail
