Guisborough August Maintenance Day

Its August but that’s not scaring the rain away. With possible storms due for this months dig day a few people were put off coming along. In the end it was just myself and Sean, but as always I was suprised at just how much we got done. Due to the lack of volunteers we were forced to focus on clearing the rampantly growing vegetation and a bit of clearing the trail.

The recent logging on the Black Track has done no damage to the actual trail, but it was littered with loose bark and sticks. As there are less trees the grass has really shot up next to the trail so we started by cutting the edges around the rock steps on the first section of the Black Track. We then worked our way along, cutting back grass and brambles as we went. We raked off some of the loose bark and checked some drainage.

Black Track - GuisboroughI only remembered to take one picture so there it is.

We eventually got to the end of the Black Track and tidied up the loose rocks. We will get back to that section before winter hits and finish it off. Just after the rocks we removed some overhanging branches, so the whole trail should once again be nice and fast.

We then had a wander over the new section we will be starting soon, and discussed some ideas. It is a nice long section of trail and there are loads of options.

The undergrowth was also taking over on the Secret Path Climb, so we hacked that back as we made our way up to the fallen tree over the rooty section. This was easier to remove than expected so the roots are once again clear, opening up all the lines.

By this point the rain was coming down so we made out way back down. Huge thanks to Sean once again. Im sure our efforts will be appreciated by many, even if they dont realise it.

Next months dig day will not be the 2nd Sunday (14th September) as we will be at the Guisborough Forest Festival, hopefully signing up some new volunteers. I’m hoping to maybe reschedule for the 28th September, at which point harvesting should be finished over the new section.

As always thanks to Orange Bikes for there continued support. By default Sean wins this months raffle prize.