After
Before
February Trailblazers Report By Katrinka Westendorf
The weather on December 9th could not have been better for a trail maintaining work session — sunny , with temperatures starting out in the 30 ’ s but warming up quickly . Our small but determined group began at the end of the Balmoral Ridge loop and hiked down toward the Lake . The section of the Balmoral Trail along Lake Linganore and below the homes on Balmoral Overlook received most of our attention . We performed light maintenance — pruning back some of the slow-to-die vegetation ( in the winter ), as well as removing small tree limbs , branches , vines , and leaf litter from the sides of the pathway and in the trail bed itself . We also removed ( with a chain saw ) some larger diameter trees that were hanging across and above the trail at various heights .
Each situation was evaluated to see if we were comfortable cutting and removing these large trail obstructions . Had we decided they were out of our scope of work , we would have turned
the job over to the LLA Maintenance Staff . After we finished working on this flat section of trail we continued , into the woods northeast of the last home and followed the hilly path up to the original Balmoral Trail ( parts of which are now the Hamptons multi-use trail and parts of which are now the “ hiker-only ” trail ). These sections of the trail were for the most part clear ( the vegetation had died down and there were few invasive vines encroaching into the trail ), so we just enjoyed a leisurely loop hike on parts of the trails . We circled back on the multiuse trail to the trail head at the end of Balmoral Overlook . It was a short but productive work session .
In early December one of the Trailblazers Committee Co-Chairs met with LLA Operations Manager Brett Hamilton and LLA Natural Resource Manager Sam Hunter to discuss various trail issues and current and potential trail projects . We visited a couple of areas that may be candidates for both trail upgrades and a new trail project . In lieu of the usual monthly work sessions we will again be offering Trailblazers-led hikes throughout the Lake Linganore area in the winter months . These hikes are usually on some of the more remote trails in the wooded sections of the community . The hikes afford residents a chance to visit trails they might not have been aware of , and to possibly see some of the wildlife that is active in the winter woods and to quietly view other forms of nature they may not usually notice . We would love to introduce you to a side of the community you have not seen and enjoyed .
The next scheduled hikes are on February 10 and March 9 ( 2nd Saturdays of the month ). Look for more information in the Community Calendar and in the Friday Flyer . You can contact the Committee at LLATrailblazers @ gmail . com with questions you may have concerning trail-related issues and other trail information . ______________________________
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