Carmel Valley resident’s Eagle Scout project helps make CVREP trail safer
Boy Scout Alec Garton recently completed a mile marker project on the CVREP trail for his Eagle Scout award.
By Karen Billing
Carmel Valley Boy Scout Alec Garton recently completed a mile marker project on the Carmel Valley Restoration Enhancement Project (CVREP) trail that runs through the scenic habitat near Highway 56.
Alec, a member of Troop 717, did the work to earn his Eagle Scout award, His project was launched into action after the death of a jogger on the trail last year. On July 11, 2009, Eric Leonard, 50, had a fatal heart attack while jogging on the CVREP trail with his dog. Emergency responders noted at the time that it was difficult to find Leonard’s exact location, as it is on any trail without markers.
Alec had been looking for a project that would help serve the community when he read about the incident in the newspaper.
“I’m on the Torrey Pines cross country team and I thought the mile markers would be a good way to help my team, but also other runners and bikers who use the trail to make it more safe and practical,” said
Alec, a junior at Torrey Pines High School.
He took GPS coordinates of every post for the fire department and worked with Jon Lotta, from the Parks department, on the locations.
“He was a big help,” said Alec of Lotta.
Alec’s nine-mile markers start at the beginning of the CVREP trail on Carmel Country Road and appear every quarter-mile on the two-mile path. The first one bears a plaque with his name on it.
Alec and 10 of his fellow scouts, as well as some neighbors, helped dig the holes for the posts along the trail. Alec made the posts out of wood, painted them brown and used a plunge router to carve out the numbers and letters, which was much harder than he thought it would be. Although he’d never used a plunge router before, Alec was pleased with how it turned out.
The cost of the marker project was made possible by donations from Alec’s church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, off Carmel Valley Road.
Alec will now submit the project for review to earn his Eagle Scout designation. A ceremony will likely be held next year,
“I feel really good because doing the project was really hard and it’s a great accomplishment,” Alec said. “A lot of hard work and commitment went into it and I learned a lot.”
Related posts:
- Scout makes improvements to CVREP trail
- Death on trails prompts concern
- Vehicles banned on CVREP trail
- Ceremony held in Del Mar for new Eagle Scout
- Scout builds canyon bridge to earn Eagle standing
Short URL: http://www.delmartimes.net/?p=19905
Posted by Lorine Wright
on Dec 20, 2010. Filed under Carmel Valley, News.
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