Construction work on the Buffalo River trail resumed February 7 and I’ve spent a couple weekends working there so far.  Ken Smith established a temporary headquarters near St Joe, Ark and will move to the group campground at Tyler Bend when it opens on March 14.

Work right now remains concentrated just east of Tyler Bend where we were working last fall.  Now though, we are headed west to connect last fall’s work to the existing trail in the Tyler Bend area.

There are two big work weeks coming up.  The Ozark Society’s Buffalo River Alumni will be at Tyler Bend March 30 to April 5 and as usual some people will be arriving even earlier and/or staying later.  American Hiking Society will have a Volunteer Vacation crew there April 6-12.  I imagine the camp will be set up and work continuing until the end of April.

Anyone is welcome to come join the fun for a day, a weekend, or more.  Volunteers can camp with us for free.  There are flush toilets, fresh water, and even showers.  You’ll need to supply your own camping gear, food, eating utensils, etc.  We’ll supply the tools.  Tasks can include raking, marking the edge of the trail, digging the tread, filling and carrying bags of rock or soil, and more.  Everybody works at their own pace so the job is only as hard as you want it to be.  If you’re interested, contact me and I’ll answer any questions I can and put you in touch with the boss – Ken Smith.

Elsewhere, there are three areas along the planned route that the state archeologist has wanted us to stay away from.  We may soon have clarity on exactly where we can dig so preliminary work in those areas might begin this fall and we’ll be that much closer to connecting all the finished segments in this last 15-mile stretch.