Miccosukee Greenway Workday with Horses – Saturday, August 27, 2022
When I arrived at the Crump Road Trailhead with Quia at 8:20 a.m., it was 80 degrees. I was glad about that as I figured it wouldn’t be a bad heat-filled day to be clearing a trail! Esther D. was the next to arrive with Dana. She is a NATRAC rider and travels all over the country for competitions but happened to be here this weekend! Linda V. was next with Scarlet and then Sharon H. showed up with General. This was our mighty team that set out to clear our single-track trail after you cross Miccosukee Road. We actually started clearing on the way to the crossing and remarked about the high humidity. Once we arrived at the single-track trail, the real “fun” began. This trail was so overgrown we had trouble finding it in spots. The pictures with this write-up will give you an example of the severity of need for maintenance as it was truly impassable. We were really taken back by the amount of growth we experienced as we noticed the county had conducted a prescribed burn and it must have really encouraged growth. We soon realized we would have to work from the ground, so Sharon and Linda started it off and Esther and I held their horses. Later on, Esther joined the ground crew with Linda and Sharon held her horse. I went on ahead and cleared the overhead branches when the underbrush had cleared out. We could not have accomplished the clearing without Sharon’s Super Saw, a small four-inch electric chain saw. I was amazed when she was able to cut through a fallen tree that was at least 8 to 10 inches in diameter. When we saw that tree, we thought we’d have to call it a day! It was tough going for most of the way, but we were able to clear the underbrush as well as the overhead branches and vines all the way to where the trail joins back up with the main trail. Needless to say, we all felt accomplished with the work we were able to do on this 3.5-hour workday! As I left the trailhead, the temperature was 91 degrees.
Sue N.