- We had a great volunteer turn out for the July 10 synchronized count! All locations except for 2 were full. I had to volunteer in Boston, which I didn’t mind in the least bit! Overall, the weather was beautiful and there were lots of trail users out that morning. This data should be interesting to compare to future 2012 synchronized trail counts!
- The data that our volunteers collect(ed) will be compiled at the end of the year into a trail use report that will further help TTOC, other trail organizations, and local businesses understand how much traffic the GAP trail received during the 2012 trail season.
- The success of the July synchronized count will hopefully be mirrored on the August 12 trail count. I have been busy planning and advertising for this count that’s right around the corner! We are still seeking numerous volunteers to help with the trail count; it’s hard to recruit people during August mostly because everyone is going on vacation. TTOC continues to seek volunteers, so if interested please contact us! The count will take place 12 PM to 2 PM.
- Our manual trail counts are a bit behind for July due to weather, vacations, and other unpredictable circumstances. We are currently making up for our lost time/information by conducting our July counts now.
- Unlike last month’s spider debacle, I’m happy to announce that the Deal counter no longer has a spider living inside of the scope! However, as a preventative measure, I researched ‘spider deterrents’ online, finding a list of IPM methods. The most reasonable and sensible idea was to concoct a spray of dish detergent and essential oils (lavender, tea tree, etc.) to keep spiders at bay. I tested this method today, so we will see how well it works when I’m out on the trail doing next month’s manual count!
- We are concerned that many of the trail counters are very wet. We are currently research methods to keep the counters dry to protect this equipment.
Updates will be posted next month, so stay tuned…
~Rachael Christie
