Cherokee County Saddle Club Projects:

The first phase of trail development at the Garland Mountain Horse & Hike Trails (GMHHT) located in northwest Cherokee County is nearing completion. This new Cherokee County park will provide approximately 13.5 miles of forested trails for equestrians and hikers. The first phase providing 6.5 miles of trail is continuing on schedule to open later this summer (2009), including a large parking lot and other amenities. Included in the first phase is 2.7 miles of an old Jeep road that runs through the entire park. The road will be gated to reduce unauthorized entry. Unfortunately, over the past many years some people found it convenient to dump trash along one accessible portion of this road.

Starting in late April, crew leader Kathy Hansen has led an effort to remove much of the visible trash. She has been assisted at times by Kathleen Corcoran, Carolyn Stambaugh, and Cindy Wiltrout. They bagged small items and piled the bags along the old road. They also dragged tires, mattresses, and other larger items out of the nearby woods and placed them along the road for later pickup. On June 24th Kathy and Steve Ralston, the Cherokee Recreation and Parks Agency (CRPA) project manager for GMHHT, each brought their UTVs and hauled the collected trash to a dumpster that Steve had arranged for this cleanup. Kathleen Corcoran, Carolyn Stambaugh, and Larry Wheat assisted Steve and Kathy on this final cleanup effort.

A large dumpster was nearly filled with the trash hauled out of the park grounds. The GMHHT project team is especially grateful to Kathy, Steve, and the other volunteers who contributed to removing this unwanted trash. Future trail riders and hikers will have a more pleasant experience thanks to their efforts.