Eight hardy souls (some would say crazy souls ) came out this morning to continue blazing the new Dallas Branch trail on the Monte Sano Mountain Preserve of the Land Trust of North Alabama.  These hardy/crazy people started out their day at 14 degrees F.  Thankfully, the sun was shining and there wasn’t much wind.

In preparation for the workday, the entire trail was cleared of leaves and debris with a power-pack blower.  This prep-work gave the volunteers a leg up so the group would see more progress.  Shortly after 9 a.m. we began a short walk, tools in hand, to a point where we began working — clipping vines, grubbing (i.e. digging) out trees, cleaning the trail of brush, overhanging limbs, removing rocks, etc. Once we got to work, layers of warm clothes were decorating the trail. We took a short break and ate brownies but didn’t rest too long because we’d begin to get cold again.

The high quality photos were provided by Kenn, who graciously supplied them.

We knocked off at noon and ate pizza together near our cars.  We talked about trails and the hikers social coming up on Jan. 18th, among other things. Tatyana added to the spirit of neighborly love by celebrating the Orthodox Christian Christmas with candy presents for everyone.  As packed up, the group agreed that the pizza provided by the Northeast Huntsville Civic Association was a great plan for each meeting of the McLeod Masters.

If you’d like to get involved with McLeod Master trail work days, just send a text message to 84483 with the word trail and you’ll receive notifications. McLeod Masters specialize in the trails of Land Trust property in Northeast Huntsville.