Happy holiday wishes from the Cherokee Ridge Alpine Trail Assoc. to all of our friends and supporters! Once again it is time for our end of year newsletter to update everyone as to what we’ve been working on in 2024. In terms of volunteer man-hours invested in our organization, this has been the busiest year on record for CRATA!
Overlook Tower Project
The restoration and erection of a second fire lookout tower on Overlook Drive in Tallapoosa County has been the primary focus of CRATA all year. The completed tower will stand at 110 feet and overlook the southern end of Lake Martin. We had hoped to complete the project this year, but the restoration and fabrication process proved to move much slower than we anticipated. The good news is that we have finally started going vertical and erecting the steel lookout tower which we acquired from a family in Virginia in 2021. Every piece of the original 85+ year old tower has been reconditioned or replaced with new and stronger steel. That process has been a monumental task.
The tower project consists of numerous phases, all of which are major efforts in and of themselves. Several professional organizations and contractors have expressed their amazement that a small, all volunteer organization, such as CRATA, can complete such a large project with very exact engineering specifications!
The Overlook Tower Project phases are listed below:
Tower acquisition, disassembly and transport to Alabama– Completed November 2021
Note: The tower (Circa 1930’s) was standing at 110 feet tall on our arrival in Virginia.
Land Location & Purchase – Completed September 2022 (8 months)
Note: A home for the tower had to be close to our hiking trails!
Tower Site Preparation – Completed June 2023 (6 months)
Note: Most trees we cut were milled into lumber and pressure treated by CRATA, to be used on the tower for steps and landings. We waste nothing!
Tower Foundation Layout & Prep – Completed August 2023 (2 months)
Foundation Construction – Completed February 2024 (7 months)
Electrical Installation – Completed June 2024
Parking Lot Area – Completed September 2024 (2 months)
Tower Erection – In Progress, Started July 2024
Note: This phase includes adding numerous safety features not on the original tower.
Final Inspection & Engineer Certification – Pending
Grand Opening to the Public – Tower Project will be Finished
It would be difficult to list every CRATA volunteer that has worked on this tower project over the past 3 years. We do, however, have a core group of dedicated people that show up two to three times a week to work at completing this monumental task. Special recognition has to go to those individuals that signed up for their second fire tower restoration with CRATA. Jimmy Lanier, Mike Wilson, Roger Wolczek, Bill Garnett, Harold Banks and John Prophitt were all instrumental in completing the restoration of the Smith Mountain fire lookout tower back in 2012. Talk about dedication to a cause and an organization (or maybe just a little crazy!)!
Of course, we always want to recognize and thank our supporters, donors and numerous local professionals and companies that donate time, materials and services to this project. We really appreciate the unbelievable level of support for this CRATA project and the impact it will have on the Lake Martin area. You are all making this project become a reality!
Tower Structure: Mike and Christina Upton – Sedley, Virginia
Land: F. Allen and Louise K. Turner Foundation, Alabama Power Company
Land preparation: Steve Fuller, Chris McConnell, Clint Weldon, Red Hill and Union Volunteer Fire Departments
Structural/Civil Engineering: Salvatore (Sal) Granada, PE,SE, Opelika, AL
Building Site & Structural Layout: Steve Martin Engineering, Butch Nabors
Tower Foundation: Wayne Bylsma, Sitemix, Contour Engineering, Paul Wright, Eddie Voss, Charles Chambers
Site Materials: Vulcan Materials, M & M Trucking, Russell Materials, Tallapoosa County
Electrical: Dixie Electric, Jimmy Jehle, Mitchell Griffith
Metal Fabrication: Diversified Steel, Chris George, Wendell Hornsby, John Howell
Lumber: (Milling, Treatment, Purchase): Jerry Bynum, Arnold Lumber Co., Russell Do-It Center – Eclectic
Construction Equipment: Russell Do-It Center – Dadeville, Ethan Colley
And many others that make things happen: Tallapoosa Publishing, Lake Martin Resource Association, Tallapoosa County, Lake Martin Tourism Association
Most of all, our dedicated volunteers and donors without whom there would be no CRATA !
The majority of activity on our hiking trails this year has been removing downed trees. The Deadening Trail and the Cherokee Ridge Alpine Trails were the worst and required continuous attention throughout the year. Steve and Julia Thomas, the trail managers for those trails, do a fantastic job of monitoring the trails and clearing/cleaning up trails when required. Clean-up work was also required on the Smith Mountain trails and handled quickly by John Alsobrook, the trails manager at Smith Mountain.
This year also required many clean-up and maintenance trips to Yates Lake trails, located below Martin dam in Elmore County. Most work on the John Scott and Railroad Dam trails is performed in the Spring and Summer. The host property for these trails is the 6000 acre, Alabama Forever Wild WMA (wildlife management area), Hunting season on this land tract is limited and scheduled from October thru May of each year. During that time, the Alabama Conservation Department has asked us to limit use of vehicles on the property. As a result, Spring is usually the busiest time for trail maintenance on the Yates trails. Trail expansion on the Forever Wild property is still planned in the future, however, that project has been placed on hold until we can complete the Overlook tower project.
If you are hiking any of our trails and see problems that need to be addressed, please contact us and let us know. You can call at (334) 245-4534 or email us at admin@crata.org. Your help is much appreciated!
Thank You
All of us working with CRATA thank each of you for your continued support of all of our projects! CRATA has been working for 20 years in the Lake Martin area to provide quality outdoor activities and education to the public, free of charge. The people doing this work are your neighbors that live and work here in the areas surrounding Alabama’s most beautiful lake.
We know that most of you have already donated for the Overlook Tower project, but please consider CRATA as you make your year end charitable donations. CRATA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and all donations are tax deductible. You can donate online byclicking this link or mail your donations to:
The names of all donors contributing $250 or more will be added to the cast metal plaque, to be located at the tower, just as we did at Smith Mountain.
Again, we thank all of you for your continued support and financial help!
