The Heyl Trail offers connections to the Appalachian Trail from both Elm Street and Bragg Hill Road. Mountain bikers sometimes include it in loops that they make. Part of it coincides with the VELCO power line right of way, which has a crushed-rock construction access road used for replacing power poles.
On Sunday, May 21 nine adult volunteers, plus one junior and one canine, mustered to perform a reroute of the segment near Bragg Hill Road, which is prone to being overgrown and soggy. They realized that the area at the summit of the trail, where it turns towards Elm Street could be improved by bypassing a seasonally wet spot. So, the crew split in two to address both problems, simultaneously.
The lower crew raked and trafficked a new track from the previous trail to the VELCO road and installed signposts with arrows, indicating the trail direction.
The upper crew identified a new route, among several possibilities to bypass the wet spot and cut through the brush bordering the wooded area to rejoin the woods road that defined the existing trail.
Having started the work at 8:00 am, the volunteers carried their tools out at 10:30 am.
The volunteers were:
- Will Archer (with Mave)
- Jim Faughnan
- Bob Fisken (co-work leader with Bela)
- Steve Flanders
- Jonathan Frishtick
- Peter Griggs (co-work leader)
- John McCormick
- Gerry Plummer
- Cathie Redpath
Story and photos by Stephen Flanders
Norwich Trails 
