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A proposal was submitted to
the Corps of Engineers in December 2005 to reroute the portion
of Section 4 near Ferguson Road. The existing route has the
following drawbacks:
- No parking near where trail crosses
road.
- Dangerous crossing of Ferguson Road
with steep climb to road level. Causes hikers to appear on the
road without warning to motorists.
- Poorly defined trail corridor through
open fields. Blazes recently updated in this area to improve
trail, but no exact trail path is defined.
The reroute was approved in January 2006
and will result in a THIRD major trailhead location for
Perry Lake Trail, with ample parking near the trailhead and easy
access off Ferguson Road. Since prime hiking season occurs in the
fall, winter and early spring, the boat ramp parking area is only
lightly used at this time and will provide plenty of parking spaces
for hikers.
On January 21, 2006 work began with KTC
volunteers clearing the corridor from Ferguson Road to the
west where the trail rejoins existing trail. Work on trail to the
east of Ferguson Road will continue throughout the first quarter of
this year.
Reroute projects include:
- Marking paint blazes along the new
path and removing blazes along the original abandoned
corridor.
- Prep work of trail tread on sloped ground
- Removal of tree stumps and low limbs
- Installing pavestones/steps in ditches where the trail crosses
Ferguson Road and the boat ramp access road.
- Installing a trailhead kiosk with trail map, trail mileages
and contact info.
The map below shows the entire reroute
(in yellow), existing trail (in brown), locations where reroute
joins existing trail and location where reroute crosses
roads:
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