A bunch of Traildogs worked the LOViT Marathon this morning. The race is put on yearly by Phil and Bonnie Carr of Shangri-La Resort. About 70 runners participated this year and enjoyed moderate and overcast weather, perfect for the run. The course begins at the corner of Shangri-La Road and the corner of old Highway 270, proceeds to the Denby Bay Trailhead on the LOViT, and then follows the Trail up to the top of Hickory Nut Mountain, for an out distance of 14+ miles. The return trip takes the cutoff from the Joplin to Tompkins Bend segment across to the Homestead Trailhead, and then back in, accounting for the remaining 12 miles of the marathon. The ‘Dogs working the various aid stations want to thank Bonnie and Varine Carr for supplying the chili and banana pie. Very much appreciated! This was a great event, and everyone, runners and Traildogs, …Click to read the full article
The fall weather this morning was perfect as Traildogs Robert Cavanaugh and Jerry Shields cleared a dozen trees from across the trail on section three (Joplin to Hickory Nut Mountain) and on the old fire tower spur on top of Hickory Nut Mountain. Most of these trees required chain sawing to remove the blockage. The storms that passed through this area in late August and early September brought down several dead spars that had blocked the third section from being fully utilized by mountain bikers. The trail was covered in several places along the trail by small limbs that had been pruned from the hickory trees by a tiny beetle known as a “twig girdler” (Oncideres cingulata). The twig girdler chews the small limbs like a beaver, then drills a hole in the pruned limb and lays its eggs in the limb. See the attached photo of their work. Seems …Click to read the full article
On Feb. 7, 2012, we had seven volunteers assisting in the clearing of the old Fire Tower spur trail and the tower site. The old site was badly overgrown with vines, briars, and numerous fallen trees. After five hours of clearing, we had located the concrete anchors of the tower, the foundation to the watchers’ cabin, a water cistern, and what we believe was a stone cooler used for perishables at the site. We also found the two National Geological Survey medallions installed in 1953. The trail from the Hickory Nut Mountain Trailhead sign to the tower site is only .15 miles and just a ten minute hike from the parking area. The photo gallery below includes a rough proposal for the interpretive sign we plan to install at the site, along with photos of the construction, including the cabin foundation. Jerry