The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Today's Front Page

Related Photos

  • A mountain biker makes her way down the new Arrowhead Trail in the New River Gorge National River at Kaymoor after Wednesday afternoon’s grand opening of the trail system. F. Brian Ferguson

    trail
September 8, 2011

Ready to take a ride

New Arrowhead Trail system opens in New River Gorge

By C.V. Moore Register-Herald Reporter

KAYMOOR — “Let’s ride!” was the rallying cry at the ribbon-cutting of the newly completed Arrowhead Trail system in the New River Gorge National River on Wednesday evening.

After 32,704 hours of labor donated by 1,022 Boy Scouts this July, the 14-mile trail system is now available to hikers, runners and mountain bikers, who showed up en masse to be among the first to make their tracks in the freshly graded earth.

Amid the dings of bicycle bells, representatives from the National Park Service, International Mountain Bicycling Association, New River Bicycle Union and the Order of the Arrow made remarks commemorating the achievement.

Don Striker, superintendent of the New River Gorge National River, emphasized the “spirit of partnership” between the organizations who lent their labor and expertise to the project. With budget cuts for national agencies looming, Striker said he sees the trail as an example of how large projects can get done without earmark funding.

Striker called IMBA “the best of the best” when it comes to trail building, and said the organization taught the project’s leaders how to build a sustainable trail system with minimum expense and maintenance.

The IMBA lists their mission as “encouraging low-impact riding, volunteer trail work participation, cooperation among different trail user groups, grassroots advocacy and innovative trail management solutions.”

Frank Maguire, IMBA’s Mid-Atlantic regional director, called the Arrowhead Trail “the gold standard of trails in the National Park Service.”

The “eyes and ears” of the trail system will be the New River Bicycle Union, a local organization representing the area’s bicycling community. The group is helping with maintenance of the trail and setting a standard of etiquette for users.

“As a community, the torch has been handed to us. We need to step up and take care of it,” said Luke Hrabosky, the organization’s president. “Let’s take ownership of these trails.”

Describing the trails, Hrabosky said “you’ll feel like you’re always in the wilderness,” despite being relatively close to roads.

One of the many outdoor enthusiasts present at the opening, ready to ride in full mountain biking gear, was Maura Kistler. She said she has ridden the trails and is impressed with both their scope and quality, calling them “beautifully built.”

She also noted that they are accessible to multiple skill levels and might be a good way for “a hesitant rider to ease into it.” Another rider called the trails “family-friendly.” Indeed, one particularly “expectant” rider in attendance said, “You can even do it if you’re eight months pregnant.”

“We always hear that the Boy Scouts are a game-changer,”  said Kistler. “Well, here is the first thing we’re seeing from them, and if it’s a harbinger of things to come — top notch.”

Those speaking for the Boy Scouts were equally complimentary to the community where their work was based this summer. 

“You don’t complete $1.6 million worth of trail building without this kind of community,” said Jonathan Hillis, national chief of the Order of the Arrow, which is the “honor society” of the BSA that led the trail-building project.

“This project is not just the end of our time here. This stacked loop is not the culmination. It’s the commencement of a history between the Boy Scouts and the community, and we will be back,” he said before snipping the red ribbon.

To access the Arrowhead Trail, take Gatewood Road out of Fayetteville until you reach Kaymoor Road on the left. At the end of the road, at Rocky Top Retreat, take a right to find the parking lot for the trail.

—E-mail: cmoore@register-herald.com

Text Only
Today's Front Page
  • FvilleVigil1 Fayetteville candlelight vigil

    Community members and local chuch leaders gathered Sunday evening for a Memorial Day candlelight vigil at Huse Memorial Park and Mausoleum in Fayetteville.

    May 28, 2012 2 Photos

  • 52nd season for Outdoor Dramas to begin June 12

    Theatre West Virginia’s 52nd season will be “Where Legends Live,” focusing on bringing to life West Virginia’s history and local legends.

    May 28, 2012

  • W.Va. political leaders honor nation’s veterans

    From snow-laden Valley Forge to the battered walls of the Alamo, on the blood-stained beaches of the French coastline, in the frigid mountains of Korea and the steamy jungles of Vietnam, and the blistering sands of Iraq and Afghanistan, there is one constant: American heroism.

    May 28, 2012

  • Bodies believed to be missing family found in woods

    Four bodies recovered from a wooded area in Nicholas County near Carl, off Brushy Meadow Creek Road, Saturday are believed to be a missing family from Rainelle, reported First Sgt. Michael Baylous, public information officer for the West Virginia State Police.

    May 27, 2012

  • founder1 Founder’s Day celebrates city’s history

    Coordinators were pleased with the number of people who attended the fourth annual Founder’s Day at Beckley’s founding father’s estate, now the Wildwood Museum.

    May 27, 2012 2 Photos

  • auction NIE Auction and Flea Market coming Saturday

    With more than 200 items to be auctioned off and more than 100 flea market vendors, no one will have to go home empty-handed at Saturday’s 17th annual Newspapers in Education Auction.

    May 27, 2012 1 Photo

  • wvsom WVSOM holds 35th commencement

    More than 170 freshly minted physicians walked across the stage Saturday morning during the 35th annual commencement ceremony at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine.

    May 27, 2012 1 Photo

  • Beckley’s Founder’s Day a success

    Coordinators were pleased with the number of people who attended the fourth annual Founder’s Day at Beckley’s founding father’s estate, now the Wildwood Museum.

    May 26, 2012

  • WVSOM has 35th annual commencement ceremony

    More than 170 freshly minted physicians walked across the stage Saturday morning during the 35th annual commencement ceremony at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine.

    May 26, 2012

  • school A fun day at school

    Students who participated in a school fundraiser at Cranberry-Prosperity Elementary School sprayed their principal Becky Smith during a hot Friday. Smith was decked out in flippers, goggles and floaties during the fun. Smith paraded past students as they drenched her with water guns.

    May 26, 2012 1 Photo