Friends of the Mountains - to - Sea Trail

NOTE: This is a SUNDAY workday to avoid turkey hunting season.

• If you can not volunteer for the entire day know that your contribution is greatly appreciated.

Enjoy a complimentary biscuit and coffee before a short safety and organizational briefing after which we will disperse to various activity locations.

Meeting location: Meet in the Food Lion parking lot at intersection of Sherron Road and Highway 98. The address is 115 Sherron Rd., Durham, NC 27703. GPS: 35.97563, -78.79278

PLEASE RSVP to jdbrewer104@gmail.com / 919-900-0483 by Wednesday, Apr. 22, 2026 for this workday.

BAD WEATHER POLICY: If the workday is canceled due to bad weather a mass email will be sent by 10:00 PM the evening before the event to all who RSVP'ed to jbrewr104@gmail.com. So please check your email first thing the morning of the event before leaving for the meeting site.

If you are new at trail work please let us know and we will pair you up with an experienced person.

What you will need to provide:
Work clothes and solid shoes or hiking boots.
Proper Clothing for the Weather!
Plenty of water
Bag Lunch
Work gloves, if you have them (If not, we have some)

We have the tools that will be needed.

WORK SAFELY! This is the most important thing, and our main goal.
In particular:

• Use tools carefully. If you do not know how to use a particular tool, or what to do in a particular circumstance please ask.
• Do not work too close together and be careful with rakes, shovels, and mattocks to avoid hitting the person next to you. When walking past another volunteer, please say something so they know you are there.
• Do not lift anything heavier than you can comfortably lift and lift with your legs not with your back.
• Know you own limits. This is not a race. We will be working on and maintaining this trail for years to come. Take plenty of breaks.
• Make sure to drink plenty of water, even when it's cold outside.
• There are holes in the ground to step in, branches to trip over, thorns, wasps, poison ivy (fortunately not too much of that on this segment of trail), ticks, chiggers, and other hazards. Please be cautious.

Have a good time. This is a scenic area. There are box turtles, heron, woodpeckers, deer, beaver, and other wildlife in this area as well as scenic views of the lake.

TASKS for this workday: Specific project details may be added as the workday approaches.

TYPICAL WORKDAY TASKS:
TRIMMING: Cutting branches and logs across the trail.
RAKING THE TRAIL: It is necessary to rake the trail tread clear of leaves, branches, other debris so that we know where we need to level the trail, fill holes, etc. Please use caution while raking to avoid poking others with the rake handle.
PULLING OUT SMALL SAPLINGS FROM TRAIL TREAD: There will be some small saplings in the trail tread. If these are cut off they tend to grow back from the roots, so we need to either pull them by hand (if they are very small), dig them out with a mattocks, or if they are up to an inch in diameter, pull them out with the weed wrench.
FILLING HOLES: These need to be filled if they are within the 2' wide trail tread, or if they are within several feet of the trail on either side. We have shovels and buckets for this purpose.
LEVELING TRAIL TREAD: Walking across the side of a hill is tiring and increases the likelihood of injury. The finished trail tread should be, in cross section, close to level.
REMOVING TRASH: We have trash bags to pick up trash along the way. We will carry the trash out to one of the ends of the trail section.

Thanks to:

• Great Outdoor Provision Company for sponsoring our breakfast biscuits from Bojangles for Sunday workdays.
• Starbucks off Falls of Neuse Road and Durant Road for the coffee.
• REI Co-op, whose local stewardship grants support our volunteer trail crews, add new miles of footpath, and improves signage helping more people find and follow the MST.

MST Trailhead at Falls Lake at the end of Boyce Mill Road, we will park in the new parking in front of the orange gate. Expect to walk on natural surfaces and carry some weight and have fun!

Dress for the weather, Long sleeves, long pants and sturdy shoes recommended. Bring your own water and snacks. We will provide the tools for the cleanup (grabbers, gloves, bags, buckets)