MRATC Activities and Information, Week April 19- 25, 2026

MRATC TRAIL WORK:

Wed. April 22^nd: Earth Day. To celebrate Earth Day we will partner with folks at Grayson Highlands State Park and the Forest Service to work on park projects potentially including blowdowns on spur trails, fire ring dispersal, sign and blaze post resetting and possibly some drainage.  Meet at Massie Gap parking at 9:00. Please e-mail mratcinfo@gmail.com

 if you plan to participate.

MRATC HIKES:

Friday, April 24: Friday hikers meet at Abingdon Lowe’s at 9AM or Elk Garden parking at 9:45. We will hike along the AT to Deep Gap and follow the Mt.Rogers Trail to Rte. 603. This will be a 6-7 mile hike with lots of spring flowers. Hike will be led by Niki Weir.

Please contact Carol Keene at ecmk@aol.com

 if you plan to attend and where you plan to meet up. Please bring lunch, water and appropriate hiking gear. 

Saturday, April 25: First spring wildflower outing at Grindstone Campground. Meet in the parking lot across from the Mt. Rogers Trail on Route 603 at 10 AM. And be sure to email mtrogersatc@gmail.com to be included and hear of changes.

DAMASCUS APPALACHIAN TRAIL DAYS is coming May 15-17. The sign-up schedule to help cover MRATC’s booth at the Trail Center will be sent in next Sunday’s email.

Schedule of Trail Days events:  The digital copy of the Trail Days festival guide is online here.

UPCOMING SPRING BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

Potluck 12 PM

May 2, 2026

25386 Cornelius Dr., 24211

Please RSVP judithannfoster@gmail.com

USFS MOBILE APP

The US Forest Service has a new informational app, National Forests and Grasslands:

If you’re reading this on your phone, click the relevant link to download the app:

• Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/national-forests-grasslands/id6746565710
• Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gov.usda.fs.nfg

Additionally, the USFS has a couple of other mapping products:

• Interactive Visitor Map (IVM)
• Interactive map of the entire country, you can either:
• Search for a name of a recreation asset (trail, trailhead, road, campground, etc.) and it’ll automatically zoom to that location
• Manually zoom to your area of interest
• Use the Tool Icon to save a geo-referenced PDF for use in Avenza.
• Digital Maps
• Standard geo-referenced maps including all USFS assets (Avenza friendly)
• Scales: Forest, Ranger District, Topo, and Legacy Topos
• Save and upload to Avenza

UPCOMING:  MAY 8-10. SPRING NATURALIST RALLY. Field trips have been announced. Follow this link for information.

Spring Rally — Blue Ridge Discovery Center