Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
What a celebration – 50 years as West Virginia’s longest trail with 311 miles running through six counties, including Pocahontas.
The trail was celebrated with activities, educational information and fun at the Green Bank Observatory last weekend.
Between mountain biking and hiking excursions, free events and seminars at the GBO and information provided by collaborators, there was a lot to enjoy and experience while also celebrating all the trail has to offer.
Organizations such as the U.S. Forest Service, Mon Forest Towns, West Virginia Rivers Association, Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area were joined by mural artist Heidi Nisbett, Future Generations University, Sweet Springs Resort Park and more.
Visitors were able to collect information – and some swag – as they visited each station.
Mike Jones, who is the public lands campaign coordinator for West Virginia Rivers Association was also asking for help from visitors.
“We’re doing a postcard campaign to [Senators] Manchin and Capito about the Explore Act which is a bipartisan, very popular public lands bill,” he said. “The senate is just sitting on it. They’re not doing anything. We’re trying to urge them along.”
The AFNHA was promoting pollinator gardens, as AmeriCorps Ben Shadis explained. He said the U.S. Forest Service has a big pollinator initiative and is providing outreach and seeds to those interested in helping provide a garden for bees and butterflies.
Arietta DuPre, executive director of operations at Sweet Springs Resort Park, which includes the Historic Turnpike Trail and Watershed Association, was on hand to share the history of the resort, as well as initiatives her organizations are making to preserve the watershed and trail near the Monroe County resort.
“The drinking water at Sweet Springs springs out of Peters Mountain – has been declared four times the cleanest, unfiltered water in the world,” she said. “When you drink that water, there is nothing [in it]. It’s clean. It’s really good water and so we did the watershed to save those waters.”
As for the trail, DuPre explained that a portion of the Historic Turnpike Trail requires hikers to walk on Highway 311, which can be dangerous and makes for a steep walk. She said the organization is in the process of not only moving the trail back onto Peters Mountain, but also connecting it to the Allegheny Trail.
“By us building up the old stagecoach road at the top of Peters Mountain, it will be able to meet them and [the hikers] will be able to hike down the mountain instead of taking the highway,” she said. “They’re losing eleven miles of highway hiking that’s going to be back onto the mountain.”
While a large number of participants were busy hiking and taking in the sights and sounds of the Allegheny Trail Saturday, there were those who stuck around at the GBO to enjoy presentations including mushroom gathering, nature painting and the popular falconry talk with West Virginia master class falconer Collin Waybright.
Waybright began his journey to becoming a falconer at the age of 14 and now travels the state to give educational programs with his rescued raptors.
“Hunting is pretty much the definition of falconry,” he said. “Whenever you actually are doing falconry, it’s when you’re out there in the woods with the birds and you’re pursuing game. Instead of going out with a gun, you go out with a bird. It’s a whole lot different. Instead of you being the hunter, you’re the dog. So you’re the one that’s trying to flush out game for the bird.
“That’s why I got a dog, so I don’t have to be the dog as much,” he added, laughing.
Waybright has trained to hunt with his raptors and still does take them hunting, but he also takes them around the educate people about raptors of the state.
He was joined by three raptors – Rico, the red tailed hawk; Charleston, the barred owl; and Lance, the peregrine falcon.
Rico and Charleston came to Waybright injured and his intention was to rehab them and release them back into the wild, but their injuries were too severe for them to live in the wild again. Lance is one of Waybright’s hunting falcons and was a bit of a showboat.
Lance came out of his box screeching and on many occasions, spread his wings as Waybright spoke about peregrine falcons – the fastest animal in the world. When asked if peregrines were always so vocal, Waybright said not as much as Lance is.
When he was joined by Charleston, Waybright demonstrated the hooting pattern of the barred owl, to which Charleston gave a bit of an annoyed glare. Waybright laughed and said he has been able to call owls to him and they always appear disappointed after they arrive to find that it was a human and not another owl calling.
Also on Saturday, the crowd of presenters, trail officials, trail enthusiasts and visitors gathered for a group photo around three handmade letters, which were erected behind the GBO observation deck. The letters – ALT – were made by Rick Meadows, who was commissioned by Allegheny Trail outreach coordinator Nicolle Flood-Sawczyszyn to make the letters for the celebration.
“She knew I was a woodworker and she had hiked past my cabin and saw my woodmill there,” Meadows said. “I usually make furniture for my kids in Florida. Up here, I don’t do a lot of making anything.”
The letters were made from a black oak tree Meadows harvested on his property which is near the Allegheny Trail. He said he had to cut several trees to make room for his solar panels and wanted to put the wood to good use.
The ALT that Meadows made was joined by another set of ALT letters – this set painted with chalkboard paint. These letters were signed with colorful chalk markers by all those involved in the celebration.