March 24, 2012 Mason Dixon Hike and Meeting

 

Directions for Carpooling

To minimize the number of cars having to pay the  fee, hikerswill  meet at 9:30 a.m at the south east corner of the Super Fresh Shopping Area on Rte 896 (New London Road) and Hillside Drive.  Persons coming from the west via Rte 273 will reach this intersection by taking a left turn at the first stop light as you approach Newark.  (This stoplight is at the bottom of a long downhill).  The left turn puts you briefly on Delrem Drive, from which take the first right (that comes quickly) onto Windsor Drive and then the next right (that also comes quickly) onto Country Club Drive.  About forty yards before the traffic light at Rte 896, take a left to enter the Fairfield Shopping Center and a quick right to park in the lot near the corner of 896 and Country Club Drive.  From this meeting point we will car pool to the WCCSP Nature Center.

 

Directions to the Nature Center

 

From Rte 896 South head north on 896 roughly two miles to Hopkins Road which is on your right directly at the north end of the White Clay Creek Carpenter Recreation Area and is the next to last intersection before Rte 896 enters Pennsylvania.  There is signage but Hopkins Road is a narrow two-lane road so be alert and approach it at a modest speed.  Descend Hopkins Road to the flood plain (about a mile) and slow when you see the road level out below in order to take a left onto the gravel road immediately at the bottom that comes before the bridge ahead over White Clay Creek.  The gravel road accesses the WCC Nature Center House and parking area on your left in a short hundred yards..

 

From Rte 896 heading south from the north out of Pennsylvania into Delaware, prepared to take a left onto Hopkins Road very soon—it is only the second intersection after entering Delaware, and it is a narrow road,  so approach it at a modest pace.  Descend Hopkins Road to the flood plain (about a mile) and slow when you see the road level out, to turn left onto the gravel road immediately at the bottom that comes before the bridge ahead over White Clay Creek.  The gravel road accesses the WCC Visitors’ Center House and parking area on your left in a short hundred yards..

Park entrance fee

A park entrance fee is charged daily from March 1 to November 30. $3.00 Resident, Vehicle, $6.00 Out-of State This fee allows your vehicle and its passengers to enter any Delaware State Park on the date of purchase.

The Morning Hike

We hope to start of the morning hike from the Nature Center at 10:a.m.  It will be approximately a five mile clock-wise loop, beginning at the White Clay Creek State Park Visitors Center in the Valley, and after an initial twenty minute walk south along the valley road turning right into the bordering piedmont woods to circle up and around for roughly four miles through this scenic area, returning to Creek Road on trail section that parallels Hopkins Road on the south side.  In addition to a lovely mix of rolling and forested hillside woods and fields, the hike features the historic Arc Cornerstone Monument at roughly mile four in the hike.  An added trail loop in the flood plane once returned to Creek Road is an option for any who wish.

 

Lunch and 1:30 P.M. Quarterly Meeting will follow the hike.

 

Potential fines for taking groups of over 10 people on Game Lands.

A runner takes on the Mason Dixon Trail

 

Dupont donates land along Mason Dixon Trail in Newark DE.

Click below:

 

Trail work on Thursdays

High Point Article in York Daily Record.

 

      

Upcoming Meeting 

 

Due to Irene, I am canceling the hike and moving the M-DTS meeting to the Hooper farm at 2 pm.  Please contact me if you need directions Once the hurricane is gone we need to walk the various sections of the trail to see what damage has been done.  Please let us know about any damage.
Jim Hooper
717/252-3784
j.e.hooper@ieee.org

 

 

 

 

Leading the trail From the York Daily Record/Sunday News Volunteers moved part of the nature walk off Route 624 onto safer land. By TERESA MCMINN For the Daily Record/Sunday News York Daily Record/Sunday News   HOW TO HELP Dec 1, 2005 — A small group of seniors Wednesday said opening their hearts, giving their time and digging in the dirt keeps them appearing and feeling young. The volunteers, all of whom are retired, worked to clear about a mile of path for a hiking trail to be moved to a safer location.   They moved the portion of the 193-mile Mason-Dixon Trail off a dangerous part of Route 624 near Wrightsville. Now it crosses properties owned by Safe Harbor Water Power Corp. and County Line Quarry, which run along the Susquehanna River.   Jim Hooper, vice president of Mason-Dixon Trail System, and several other volunteers a few months ago used chainsaws and a Pulaski ax - a combination ax and hoe - to clear growth and vines on the side of a hill for the trail. "I'm excited to get it off the main road," said Hooper, who has been a trail volunteer for 28 years. The Mason-Dixon Trail, a public hiking path, crosses Delaware and Maryland, follows the western shore of the Susquehanna River, extends through Gifford Pinchot State Park and connects to the Appalachian Trail. It was built with member financing and contributions by volunteers who also maintain it.   The York Hiking Club has helped maintain the Appalachian Trail since 1948. The group monitors 40 miles of trail between Route 30 and Norman Wood bridges. A group of retired club volunteers meets weekly on relocation projects such as Wednesday's Wrightsville-area project. Volunteers don't need special skills or experience to help with trail projects.   "There's no government funding in this at all," Hooper said. "We need volunteers all of the time. ... We're finding younger (adults) don't join the club until they are in their 50s." York Township residents and club members Allen and Lore Britton, both in their 70s, have been volunteering for trail projects for more than three decades. "I love it," Allen said. "If I didn't do it, who is going to do it? If I like the trails, I've got to maintain them." He said people who work and walk on hiking trails are healthy for many reasons. "Everybody I know as a hiker has a youthful attitude," he said. "People who do volunteer work are healthier." Freysville resident Ron Gray, 62, is also a club member. He's hooked on trail work. "It's kind of in my blood," he said. Hooper and his wife, Joyce, met while working on hiking trails about five years ago. A lot of people have no idea of the pleasure of a hike through the land that we have," Joyce said. "It's very healthy, and you go home feeling very tired and relaxed. I find nature soothes the soul and clears your mind."   HOW TO HELP Volunteers are needed to do trail work including trail building, cutting brush back from the trail, cutting blown-down trees, blazing the trail and maintaining bulletin boards. For more information: yhc.trails @ worldnet.att.net, http://www.appalachiantrail.org, http://www.masondixontrail.org.