Walker’s Platform, installed at Marschalls Hut, September 2019.
An update on recent new trail infrastructure and trail maintenance work undertaken by our vital volunteers. Below is a schedule of maintenance events – new volunteers welcome,
Our volunteers undertake installation of infrastructure and trail maintenance work. All equipment, including personal protection equipment, is provided by The Friends. Volunteers will be allocated tasks to match their level of competence and confidence. If required, specific training can be arranged.
Refer to the Volunteer Support Policy for information on recognition of volunteers as well as reimbursement of expenses. To register your interest in any of these events, please click on the hyper link in the Calendar of Maintenance events below or look for Maintenance events listed in the Walk Calendar on our website.
Calendar of Maintenance Events
Regular Shed Maintenance days are held on Thursdays at our Cobbler Creek facility, off Bridge Road Salisbury East in Cobbler Creek Recreation Park.
You don’t have to be an expert handy person to join in.
With the completion of the Black Jack Hut project, Colin is now restocking our timber supplies and cutting lengths to make marker posts and stile steps and uprights. We are also testing the production of a new metal stile design. If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to weld – now is your chance.
Please register by clicking on the link for the event below or by contacting the Office. Registration helps us anticipate numbers and also to plan jobs.
| October | |
|---|---|
| Thurs 3rd | The Friends Shed Maintenance Day – Cobbler Creek |
| Thurs 10th | The Friends Shed Maintenance Day – Cobbler Creek |
| Thurs 17th | The Friends Shed Maintenance Day – Cobbler Creek |
| Thurs 24th | The Friends Shed Maintenance Day – Cobbler Creek |
| Fri 25th – Sun 27th | E2E Maintenance Greenock to Huppatz Hut
The major work will be to install and upgrade stiles across recently installed fencing between Greenock & Kapunda. We will also be marking a minor reroute of the trail through the township of Kapunda. Other jobs will include installing assist poles at a series of stiles along a road reserve between Gerkie & Webb Gaps. Volunteers able to attend on only some days are welcome. The event will be based at Riverton. An accommodation subsidy for Friday and Saturday night and a fuel subsidy will be provided by the Friends. See further information in the item below. |
| Thurs 31st | The Friends Shed Maintenance Day – Cobbler Creek |
| November | |
| Thurs 7th | The Friends Shed Maintenance Day – Cobbler Creek |
| Thurs 14th | The Friends Shed Maintenance Day – Cobbler Creek |
| Thurs 21st | The Friends Shed Maintenance Day – Cobbler Creek |
| Thurs 28th | The Friends Shed Maintenance Day – Cobbler Creek |
End to End Maintenance – Greenock to Huppatz Hut
Please note the change of date – Friday October 25 to Sunday October 27.
Dom Henschke will be leading the next event on our End to End Trail Maintenance program and is looking for volunteers to assist. All volunteers will be welcome.
The event continues the work on this section that was commenced in October last year – keeping the trail in good nick is a never-ending job, so we need help for this trip. The major work will be to install and upgrade stiles across recently erected fencing between Greenock & Kapunda that was identified by the E2E13 walking group. Other jobs will include installing assist poles at a series of stiles along a road reserve between Gerkie & Webb Gaps.
We expect that the work will be completed by early afternoon on Sunday. Volunteers able to attend on only some days are welcome.
The event will be based at Riverton. The Friends will be hiring a 4WD vehicle, but you will need transport to get to Greenock/Riverton. However, if that is a problem, we may be able to arrange transport as well.
Suggested accommodation options are the Riverton Caravan Park (bookings have been made for 2 cabins), or the Riverton Hotel. There is no cost to attend an E2EM event and there will be a complimentary dinner arranged for Saturday night. An accommodation subsidy for Friday and Saturday night and a fuel subsidy will be provided by the Friends.
If you register, Dom will contact you via email with details of accommodation reservations, the meeting location and times for each day.
SECTION NEWS
Grandpa’s Camp gets a platform – Julian Monfries
Following the recent realignment of the Trail over Little Mount Crawford, the crew moved south to Grandpa’s Camp, near Cudlee Creek.
The new platform at Grandpa’s August 2019.
The team, consisting of apprentices, Colin Edwards, Dom Henschke, Paul Bond and Julian Monfries and true workers, Adam Matthews, Mark Curtis, Neil Rivett, Peter Fosdike and Robin Sharland. After some faffing around to get levels correct, installed the platform beside the existing shelter.
The team also examined the water tank. They found the water to be good, however the gutter was desperately in need of a clean, the gutter guard having failed gloriously.To top it off, they submitted a new report about the tank on the Cudlee Creek North/Grandpas camp site listing on the Accommodation page.
More platform rollouts are programmed with two to be installed very soon at Stony Creek and Wilmington, along with a replacement of the tank at Stony Creek, due to the water being fouled.
Platform installed at Marschalls Hut – Dom Henschke
Walker’s Platform, installed at Marschalls Hut, September 2019.
As part of the preparation for the October End to End Maintenance trip, a small team of volunteers visited Marschall’s Hut last week.
As well as checking on the rainwater tank, the team installed a walker’s platform in front of the hut – see the picture to the right.
Thanks to Colin Rozman, Rick Price and Martin Chapman who did most of the work on the day. You can see they had sloping ground to contend with, but the assistance of our dumpy level , they made sure you won’t roll off the edge. Well done, team.
Updating the Heysen Trail Interactive Map & the website gpx file – Dom Henschke
The Department of Environment & Water has advised us that the stock of Heysen Trail Sheet Maps is running low. So the maps are being revised and will be reprinted soon.
We would like the new maps to be as accurate and as up to date as possible, so we are working on a project to update the HT Interactive Map and the website gpx file. This were last revised on 7 July 2016 there are a number of new re-routes to be catalogued. We have collated most of them but we are missing a gpx file for the following section:
- Walk 40 – Wirrabara to Block 9 Road. This walk contains a minor reroute along the Sheep yard Track that was established in July 2015.
If you have a track of your walk along that section, please send it by email to the Trail Development Committee at the Office
Thanks to walkers submitting campsite & tank reports – Dom Henschke
In late July we published a website news item ‘Tanks – an unreliable water source for walkers’ (and sent an email to Trail Development subscribers) asking for your help.
Thanks to the many walkers who have responded to the call. We have received nearly 50 comments on a wide range of campsites and tanks, particularly those in the more remote northern section of the trail. These comments have been published on the website Accommodation list and form a valuable resource to intending walkers and our Office volunteers.
Check the More info including Interactive Map section at the bottom of each location.
Do you have the time to help keep our website up to date?
As you can see from the last 2 items, not all of the Trail Development work is done ‘out on the trail’.
The Friends website provides a great deal of information for our members doing End to End walks as well as walkers from interstate and overseas. The Office often gets news of trail closures, re-routes, changes to fire danger seasons and requests for updates to the accommodation list. It takes a bit of effort to keep this information up to date.
If you have an interest in helping us in this work, there are a number of jobs that you can do at home in your own time. If you would like to help, we’d like to hear from you. Simply send an email to the Office and we will find a job to suit you. We can provide training in WordPress, the publishing software that we use on the website. It isn’t too difficult to use.
Our next issue
The next meeting of the Trail Development Committee will be held on October 14th. Keep your eye out for the next issue of the Trail Development News sometime after that. Remember – if you have ideas or comments please send them through to the Office.