We had a strenuous, but very productive work day on Saturday 4/2/16. The weather was perfect for trail work, it was sunny and stayed in the mid-50s throughout our working hours. We had fourteen volunteers come out for a combined total of 73 work hours. We had a crew of four LHORBA members head up from the Johnstown area that were a huge help. Our thanks go out to Maynard Witherell, Fran Chappell, Rich Maher, and Rob Dorchak. They were were joined by FOYC/ LHORBA members AJ, Vickie, and myself. Lisa Meadows, the Environmental Education Specialist here at YC was a big help and really promoted our event heavily too. She attended and is largely responsible for the remaining seven volunteers who came out to lend a hand.
Under Max’s (Fran’s dog) close supervision; Rich, Rob, and Fran did a fantastic job replacing two of our time-weathered bridges on Damsite Trail. After discussing bridge design with Rich, we have some lumber left over, so we’ll probably be constructing another bridge with it soon.
With the three LHORBA amigos focused on the bridges, this allowed Maynard, AJ, Vickie, and I to focus on the Damsite Trail extension, further bench cutting/defining of the Damsite reroute, and working on signage. The preliminary layout for the Damsite extension was roughed in, but there is still a significant amount of bench cutting and other work before we can call it complete. I’ll update the map soon to highlight where this is located.
Many large trees were also cut that had fallen across the Damsite Access Road that parallels the lake.
I’ll post again if/when we plan to hold another organized trail day in the coming weeks or months. It would be great to get some more LHORBA members out that ride Yellow Creek frequently to help us finish the Damsite Trail extension. I think it’s going to turn out to be a really fun, alternative way to ride down to the spillway.
You can also see one of the new trail markers funded by Friends of Yellow Creek. Keyed to the map, this signage should help experienced riders and first-time visitors enjoy the trails.
Aaron Kovach
Friends of Yellow Creek remembers our founding board member, Patrick F Gates, 86 of Nanty Glo, who passed away on March 17, 2023. Pat was an enthusiastic, no-nonsense volunteer. H was always ready to help, whether planting trees, registering bike racers, or building picnic tables. When we rehabbed a pontoon boat for the Friends group, Pat showed up with a battery he’d purchased for us at Walmart — “I thought this would be useful.” He also made connections and sought donations from other groups for the park. Pat was born April 10, 1936 in Hollsopple. Pat was a United States Marine Corp Veteran and retired from Bethlehem Steel. True to form, Pat made sure to renew his own membership for 2023, signing up in December, beating all the rest of us. Here he is pictured after helping us sink posts for a canoe rack at the lake.
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