Dupont State Forest, Western North Carolina

What a success! Over 60 folks packed into a revival-style tent on a cold Friday night to get the full-on IMBA Trail School presentation. It was a diverse group of mountain bikers, equestrians, trail runners, sierra club members, hikers, and land managers. Not to mention the land manager presentation and discussion earlier in the day where we worked with 12 folks from four different agencies, including the Forest Service recreation coordinator for all four National Forests in North Carolina. The dialogue between the various user groups was outstanding and folks were learning and sharing many new ideas and techniques.

The driving force behind the trail school was Woody and JoJo Keene, Chuck Ramsey, and the rest of the Friends of Dupont Forest. Last fall, The Friends waged a difficult advocacy battle to keep this amazing natural area from being developed as a private, gated development. For those of you who have seen the movie "The Last of the Mohicans", this area includes the many beautiful waterfalls seen in the movie, including Bridal Veil Falls, the one that the Indians actually go behind. Thanks to The Friends, the public can now access this stunning location.

After their victory in the fall, The Friends of Dupont State Forest found themselves with the responsibility of maintaining over 90 miles of trails and gated forest roads, almost the entire length of which is shared use. The Forest Service in North Carolina is short staffed and under funded (a very common problem for many of the public land agencies) and has no staff on-hand to do trail work. The Friends of Dupont State Forest group has performed over 2000 volunteer hours since December.

During the Trail school, five separate stations were set up with each station focusing on a separate trail building skill. Rolling crown switchbacks, rolling grade dips, full bench contour trail, stone crib walls, and proper pruning technique made up the five stations. The 60 attendees were separated into different teams that rotated between each station, so that everybody got the chance to be exposed to and practice each skill.

Woody carefully split up any cliques, groups, and couples in the team assignments, which helped in getting folks to make new friends outside of their usual user group. This also made sure that every team contained someone from every represented user group. It was great to be able to ask an equestrian or a hiker their view on a specific section of trail. Overall it was one of the most energizing and educational trail schools we've taught or attended.

The natural beauty of Dupont State Forest is typical of the Appalachians, with the addition of granite slick rock and thundering waterfalls. The IMBA epic this fall will likely be the most scenic yet. Woody, Jo-Jo, Chuck, Julie White, Forest Supervisor John Pearson, and the rest of the Friends of Dupont State Forest deserve a huge round of applause for their dedication to the land and the belief that by working together they can create a better trail system that will allow all types of users to enjoy the waterfalls and scenery of Dupont State Forest.

Jen and Rich Edwards, Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew