Trails Association getting closer to connect Laurel and Creeper trails

An inter-connected trail network throughout Johnson County and Damascus is a long-term goal of the Johnson County Trails Association (JCTA). For JCTA President Philip Burtt-Henderson, it starts with how to finish the Laurel Creek Trail and connect into Damascus, a focus of the last two years following Helene. "At the moment, whether it's Trade, Neva, Doe Valley or Butler, they're all kind of separate, right," Burtt-Henderson said. "It's hard to walk around in Johnson County, so we're trying to find a way to connect it." For JCTA, the Laurel Creek Trail is the highlight trail in the county. It was built around two decades ago with a federal earmark grant in the Cherokee National Forest along the old Laurel Railway. The Laurel Railway was a narrow-gauge railway that used to run from Mountain City into Damascus and then further on down into Virginia, North Carolina and the rest of Tennessee. After Helene, the Laurel Creek Trail was devastated, especially towards Virginia. The storm washed out the creek all the way down to bedrock and destroyed huge portions of the trail. The community has been coming together to help make the needed repairs. JCTA received about $75,000 in small-donor grant money, bringing in hundreds of tons of rock while putting in countless hours of volunteer work. They paid some contractors to help with rebuilding severely damaged portions of the trail. Where the Cherokee National Forest stops going into Virginia, it becomes the Jefferson and George Washington National Forest and the Mount Rogers Recreational Area. JCTA is working with and received permission to continue the trail another half mile down into Virginia. As Burtt-Henderson reflected, the process had its surprises. "It's really cool because we've uncovered the old Virginia Highway that was there. We found some of the old pavement," Burtt-Henderson said. "We found old aspects of the railroad as well, and we got involved with the "Rails to Trails Conservancy." JCTA joined the "Trail Accelerator Program," to make sure that the trail is built appropriately and incorporated with nature. They've rebuilt the trail to be able to survive the next 50 years without much major maintenance. For JCTA, this is their first cross-state connection into Virginia. They have about another three quarters of a mile until they finish and connect to the Virginia Creeper Trail. "That three quarters of a mile is complicated, and it's going to be expensive," Burtt-Henderson said. "We will have to cross the river a few times. It's probably going to cost us $2 million or so for three quarters of a mile because of the engineering." Part of rebuilding and expanding the trail system of Johnson County is following the path of history, revealing stories and helping make new connections among the people and places. "We've had some great meetings with Washington County [Va., and] Abingdon and with Mayor Katie Lamb in Damascus," Burtt-Henderson said. "We're looking for other partners too, other nonprofits in the region, the Trail Conservancy for the [Creeper Trail], and others. There's more conversations to be had but there's definitely great potential for partnerships across the border." Mainly, JCTA seeks to engage people wanting to be involved who enjoy trails. The master plan is to eventually build 100 miles of connected trails in the county. The next objective is to develop a comprehensive implementation plan with reliable cost estimates to begin pursuing collaborative grant funding opportunities with community partners. The board at JCTA is eager for public feedback and asks people to get in touch and engage on social media. Soon, they will start having public input evenings and fundraising events as they find out what people are most interested in. Burtt-Henderson said someone recently contacted JCTA saying they have a whole railroad axle. They will be displaying it and ask anyone that may have any old railroad equipment found along what will be the new trails, to please get in touch and get it included in trail exhibits. Stay up to date on the latest happening at JCTA on their Facebook page and learn more at their website jctrails.org.