little lick creek bridge
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jeff
May 3, 2012, 9:21:01 PM5/3/12
to Mangum Track Club
A dedication of the recently completed span across the Little Lick
Creek will take place on May 19. This bridge helps to connect
sections 14 and 15 of the Falls Lake Trail making for 60 miles of
continuous mostly single track trail from the Falls Lake dam all the
way to Penny’s Bend Nature Preserve north of Durham. In addition,
the paved Upper Neuse Greenway heads in the opposite direction from
the dam for 6.5 miles with even more greenway mileage coming soon.
This morning I ran the 4 miles of section 14 from the Baptist Rd
trailhead to the Little Lick Creek to get an eyeful of the bridge.
Long stretches of this section are covered in pine needles making for
soft passage. There are views of the lake, but the winter vistas
have disappeared as the green canopies of spring expand. Wildlife
presence on the trail was limited to the infrequent spider web, two
box turtles, one black racer, and a couple folks doing the Edwards-
Hunter tango. Really. I had no idea that Falls Lake was a multi-use
trail. There are a couple places where the trail comes close to
private residences. The dogs who reside there are all bark, no bite.
At least thru this morning.
Ramps have been installed at the bridge since my last visit in
January. The Friends of Mountain To Sea Trail volunteers put in a lot
of time and effort to landscape the area. Just one little problem
this morning. I still wasn’t able to link up with Section 15. After
making my way across the bridge I shortly had to come to a stop
because the Old Rogers Road bed was under water. That wasn’t the case
in January when the travel way on the Section 15 side was high and
dry. Currently, there are a couple of unconnected boardwalk
sections lying forlornly in the shallow waters beyond the main channel
of the creek. Perhaps in the next two weeks more boardwalk sections
will arrive or perhaps the lake level will go back down. Or both.
The run back to the car was uneventful but very warm.
Creek will take place on May 19. This bridge helps to connect
sections 14 and 15 of the Falls Lake Trail making for 60 miles of
continuous mostly single track trail from the Falls Lake dam all the
way to Penny’s Bend Nature Preserve north of Durham. In addition,
the paved Upper Neuse Greenway heads in the opposite direction from
the dam for 6.5 miles with even more greenway mileage coming soon.
This morning I ran the 4 miles of section 14 from the Baptist Rd
trailhead to the Little Lick Creek to get an eyeful of the bridge.
Long stretches of this section are covered in pine needles making for
soft passage. There are views of the lake, but the winter vistas
have disappeared as the green canopies of spring expand. Wildlife
presence on the trail was limited to the infrequent spider web, two
box turtles, one black racer, and a couple folks doing the Edwards-
Hunter tango. Really. I had no idea that Falls Lake was a multi-use
trail. There are a couple places where the trail comes close to
private residences. The dogs who reside there are all bark, no bite.
At least thru this morning.
Ramps have been installed at the bridge since my last visit in
January. The Friends of Mountain To Sea Trail volunteers put in a lot
of time and effort to landscape the area. Just one little problem
this morning. I still wasn’t able to link up with Section 15. After
making my way across the bridge I shortly had to come to a stop
because the Old Rogers Road bed was under water. That wasn’t the case
in January when the travel way on the Section 15 side was high and
dry. Currently, there are a couple of unconnected boardwalk
sections lying forlornly in the shallow waters beyond the main channel
of the creek. Perhaps in the next two weeks more boardwalk sections
will arrive or perhaps the lake level will go back down. Or both.
The run back to the car was uneventful but very warm.
jeff
Oct 23, 2012, 8:42:35 PM10/23/12
to mang...@googlegroups.com
On Sunday revisited the area where Sections 14 and 15 of the Falls Lake Trail meet. Boardwalk is fully in place. Dry traverse is easily doable. That puts 60 miles of FLT in play. All miles will offer plenty of color this week. Photos here (note: first 8 are from January, the rest from a couple days ago):
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