The floods of February 2018 and the Pumpkinvine

Elkhart County experience record floods from the Elkhart River and other bodies of water in February, but the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail excaped major damage. Between County Road 35 and County Road 37 there is a low spot that was covered for a distance of over 150 feet, but in a few days, that water receded. That's at least the second time that area has been under water.

However, when compared to the damage done to the Abshire Trail and the trail around Fidler Pond, that area of standing water was an inconvenience, not a disaster. As I rode the Pumpkinvine recently, I was thankful that the railroad engineers of 1890s who built the Pumpkinvine had the wisdom to elevate the railroad bed so that it would not be flooded. The section of the Pumpkinvine pictured here is one part of the trail that is not on the old railroad corridor.

A printed newsletter

Every time a new physically printed Friends of the Pumpkinvine newsletter comes out, I ask myself if printing a hard copy of a newsletter is still a good idea? It is expensive to design, print and mail, and I see that other trail groups send out electronic newsletters. I know of only one other trail in Indiana that prints a newsletter -- the B&O Trail in Brownsburg, Ind.

Then today something happened that underscored the difference between print and electroic newsletters. I wrote a letter to the new president of Goshen College, Rebecca Stoltzfus, and her husband, Kevin Miller, inviting them to the Friends of the Pumpkinvine annual dinner April 24. Since I did not know their address and I didn't want to send a letter to both of them to the college, I decided to drop it off in person at their house, a location I knew. I thought it would be helpful to put a newsletter and brochure with the letter, also. I wrote the letter, picked up the extra newsletters at the Goshen College printing office and then drove to their house. Kevin was home, and I gave him the materials and talked with him briefly about the dinner and the Pumpkinvine, which he has not seen. However, I discovered that his daughter is dating someone who works at Pumpkinvine Cyclery, and he naturally had heard about the trail, so we had a connection of sorts

How much better it was for me to be able to give him a printed brochure and newsletter, rather than refer him to a website with basically the same information? (I had links to our website in the letter, also.) I think it made for a much more cordual and helpful exchange, compared to telling him to go to a website, which I would have needed to do without a brochure and newsletter in hand.

So, I'm still a proponent of a physical newsletter that I can hand to people. I'll bring the extra copies of the last three newsletters to the annual dinner, with the hope that new supporters will pick them up.

Soft trail section

From January to April, the crushed-limestone section of the PV from SR 4 to CR 28 is soft and as a result, becomes quite rutted from the bikes that ride the trail. Riding on it when it is this moist put a coat of dust on your bike frame, chain, derailleur, wheels, and usually your legs as well. And the ruts you create make it more difficult for subsequent riders to ride.

As as result, many of us avoid that section of the trail, and for those of us in Goshen, it means we just avoid riding on the PNT altogether because the cleanup involved is a hassle.

I suspect that walkers and runners also experience some of the same frustrations as the biker. Their shoes would become caked with dirt.