News & Awards
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"Trail Taming Techniques" classes recognized by Austin American-Statesman
Saturday, December 10, 2005
"BLAZING THE TRAIL FOR BEGINNERS"
Group that builds, maintains trails in parks also trains home gardeners to create paths through their landscapes.
Winter is a great time to ponder building a path in the Central Texas landscape. The pondering part is important, especially in an erosion-prone region where a gullywasher can quickly obliterate a poorly planned trail you've worked so hard to build.
Enter Central Texas Trail Tamers, a group that has built and/or maintained trails in state parks and other public places in Texas, Wyoming, California and Mexico. The organization now offers lectures and hands-on workshops for those who would like to move past the pondering process, but aren't sure how.
"This trail-building stuff is not rocket science; it's just sort of a lost art," says trail tamer Dave DeGroot. "To be sustainable, you need to think quite a bit before you start digging up the earth."
True, you might not need that much expertise if your plan involves laying stepping stones in a small backyard. But plenty of people with Hill Country ranchettes, and urban dwellers who want to make their large lots or steep hillsides more inviting, could benefit from the wisdom acquired by these trailblazing experts.
DeGroot recently led about a dozen people through a recent Friday night class and Saturday trail-building excursion at Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve.
The first lesson: Study the land and the creatures that inhabit it; then plot a design that connects the entire habitat instead of chopping it up into disparate pieces, DeGroot said.
While a field that's naturally clear of trees and fairly level might seem like a logical place to build a trail, it can quickly become overgrown, he said. On hillsides, trails that zigzag (switchback) tend to wash out less than those that head straight down.
Pre-existing trees and vegetation will obviously have an impact on where your trail goes. Most people want to preserve as much natural habitat as they can — and if you share living quarters with an endangered species such as the golden-cheeked warbler, it might even be illegal to disturb the tree canopy on your property.
But if you plan to trim trees, DeGroot said it's sometimes better to remove them altogether than to prune haphazardly. He also recommends removing all bushes within one foot of either side of the trail, including small ones that don't seem like they're in the way. Little bushes become big bushes quickly, and their root systems can disturb the trail as it grows, he said.
Directing water where you want it is another important factor in building trails that will hold up over time in all kinds of weather. In general, the idea is to encourage water to flow across the trail, instead of following its path. If building on a hill, it makes sense to preserve the original drainage of the slope, and to make sure there's someplace lower than the trail for water to go.
DeGroot said you accomplish that by building trenches (two shovels wide) on either side of the trail, by raising the level of the path or doing both. A common mistake that novices make: building trails and trenches that are too narrow. Another big mistake: failing to remove grass or leaves from the trail before piling on surface materials, such as crushed rock, which has a tendency to slide off the loose debris.
"You can't just cheat," said DeGroot, "or you'll be back there next year again."
The hands-on Saturday morning session has several purposes - to move trailbuilding out of the theoretical and into the more strenuous reality for those with paths in their futures; to give the Trail Tamers a shot at attracting new members who will have trailbuilding skills; and to upgrade trails at Wild Basin.
The two-day workshop costs $10, and Central Texas Trail Tamers plans to offer it on the second weekend of each month. E-mail registration information at planning@trailtamers.org or call 394-9998. The group's Web site is www.trailtamers.org.
Tools for building, maintaining trails
Building a trail is a substantial project, and the tools you've acquired for casual piddling in the yard might not hold up to the task. Most of the tools DeGroot recommends -many of them designed to be used in fighting forest fires - are occasionally available locally at home improvement centers or farm and ranch supply companies. They can also be ordered online, he said.
Among his must-have implements: a Pulaski or fire ax for chopping tree roots, a fire rake for removing leaves and other loose materials from the path, and a rock cradle, which allows heavy boulders to be rolled into a net 'cradle' which can then be moved by several people. Find more information on tools at www.americantrails.org.
By Julie Bonnin, Austin American-Statesman
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 Dave and Lynda DeGroot are
demonstrating how to use rock bars.
© 2006 Photographs by Amber Novak, Austin American- Statesman Newspaper
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Davy Crocket National Forest ADA Trail Dedication
June 5, 2004
Eleven years ago, Alan Weber our founder read an article stating that the national parks were having difficulty maintaining their trial systems do to lack of people power. So he called Rocky Mountain National Park and asked if he got a bunch of volunteers together and came up there to help address this problem, would they be interested. Obviously the answerer was "yes". So he placed an ad in the Austin newspaper. Over 100 people responded and eventually 3-dozen total strangers headed off to the Park in September of 1993 on what would be come the first event for the Central Texas Trail Tamers. Since that time, 100's of CTTT events have taken place at numerous agency locations in several states and 1 foreign country. Currently CTTT supplies over 3000 hours annually of volunteer labor directly tied to trial construction and maintenance. Prior to serving as President, I sat on the Board of Directors and recall the day we discussed the project we are here to recognize. The Trail Tamers had never attempted a multi-year project and there was some concern being a relatively small volunteer outfit. But we had several dedicated members that really enjoyed coming to the Davy Crockett National Forest who spoke very highly of the hosts they dealt with. So, we took the plunge and some 3 years later we are here recognize their efforts.
I attended the first event when the trailhead was constructed. Since that time several people have participated representing virtually every demographic segment imaginable. From teenagers to WW2 veterans, students, teachers, dentist, lawyers, engineers and plumbers. People from all over the US and several other countries as well. In short, the Central Texas Trail Tamer volunteers represent a cross section of populace who all came together to provide for the betterment of others. So I am happy to accept this dedication on behalf of the Central Texas Trail Tamers, not because it is a milestone for the organization but because this project it an example of everything that is right with America! I would also like to express my gratitude to the staff of the Davy Crockett National Forest. Your efforts make it possible for all of us to enjoy this precious natural asset and they are sincerely appreciated.
By Dave DeGroot, 2004 CTTT President
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Trail Tamers Trail
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 Fred Winkler, The Texas' Volunteer of the Year
June 7, 2003 , By Lynda DeGroot
The Central Texas Trail Tamers had a special surprise in store for one of their long-time members during their June 7 National Trails Day event at Bright Leaf State Natural Area in Austin, TX. Fred Winkler, who at 81 is the senior member of the Trail Tamers, received an award from the American Hiking Society for being chosen as "Volunteer of the Year" to represent the entire state of Texas. He was selected over all other nominees in our huge state!
Fred is truly amazing and one incredibly hard-working man! We all remark that he can work circles around some of us "younger" members. Some call him a "machine"! He's a real go-getter, and when he's not working with us on most of our projects, he's off somewhere else helping with numerous AHS "volunteer vacations" all over the United States. Not one to fly (I guess he had enough of that in WWII), he drives his truck to just about every location no matter how far away! He also donates quite a bit of his time at local parks and preserves during the week while the rest of us are at our other jobs. He simply likes to stay busy!
Fred has been married to his delightful wife, Eunice Winkler, for 54 years. She used to accompany him on numerous camping trips throughout their marriage but has decided to stay home in recent years because "she can't keep up with him anymore." Not many of us can!
So, we say congratulations to a guy that, like the Energizer Bunny, just keeps going and going!
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 Mark Henneke, The Texas' Volunteer of the Year by the American Hiking Society
On June 1, 2002 during a National Trails Day event at Bright Leaf State Natural Area here in Austin, one of CTTT's own hard-working members, MARK HENNEKE, had the truly great honor of being selected as the Texas VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR by the American Hiking Society. Only one person was chosen from each state!
Mark received an award and several other goodies from AHS for his hard work and dedication. Many of you know Mark and know how hard he works. He's almost single-handedly fixing up the trails in Walnut Creek Metro Park. Plus, he's one of CTTT's board members.
If you don't see him working on our projects, you might find him helping the Austin Ridge Riders with some of their own projects. Mark is an avid mountain biker as well as backpacker so if you see him out on a trail somewhere...give him a big "thumbs up" for a job well done!
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WILD BASIN WILDERNESS PRESERVE. Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve conducts trail maintenance on the second Saturday of each month from 9 am to noon. They need crew leaders. Please volunteer to help them out. They need our expertise. Call Mike Powers for more details.
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BUSTAMANTE, MEXICO. In 2003, several Trail Tamers made 3 separate trips to Bustamante, Mexico to assist with the construction of a trail to an enormous cave high on the side of a mountain just outside the town of Bustamante. This cave was the topic of our general meeting in July 2002. After a lengthy delay, we will return to Bustamante over Presidents Day Weekend (Feb. 19-21, 2005) in an effort to complete the much needed trail repairs,
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