Appalachian Trail on Bear Mountain Ribbon Cutting

New Section of Appalachian Trail in Bear Mountain State Park Opens This Weekend  Who: The New York-New Jersey Trail Conference’s all-volunteer Long Distance Trails Crew worked for nine months on 40-plus crew trips, donating more than 3,000 hours to relocate a section of the Appalachian Trail on Bear Mountain in Bear Mountain State Park. The crew was led by Long Distance Trails Crew Chief Chris Reyling and Crew Leaders Erik Garnjost and Bob Fuller. What: Ribbon-cutting ceremony to open a new, sustainable, .2 mile-section of the Appalachian Trail Where: Ribbon cutting site is very accessible, only a short, five-minute walk (two-tenths of a mile) from the hikers’ parking lot between Exit 19 of Palisades Interstate Parkway and Route 9W on the south side of Seven Lakes Drive, one-tenths of a mile west of the signed Appalachian Trail Crossing on Seven Lakes Drive and west of the Bear Mountain summit road (Perkins Drive). GPS Coordinates: 41.30414, -74.01601 When: Saturday, November 14 at noon (raindate Sunday, November 15)   A new section of the Appalachian Trail on the southwest shoulder of Bear Mountain in Bear Mountain State Park will be opened this Saturday, November 14, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at noon (raindate Sunday, November 15). The new .2-mile section was built by the Long Distance Trails Crew, an all-volunteer group of trail builders from the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference. A dozen core crew members, aided by more than 50 volunteer individuals and a number of corporate and college groups, worked since March of 2015, contributing more than 3,000 hours of volunteer time during 40-plus work trips, to relocate a highly used and deeply eroded section of trail. The new route, which winds its way up through cliffs to reach beautiful views, includes a rock-pinned stone ladder out of a crevice and up the rock face. Immediately following the ribbon cutting, the crew will lead a half-mile guided hike up the new trail, pointing out the many modern trail construction details designed to make it easy to use, sustainable, interesting, and enjoyable. The Long Distance Trails Crew is hard at work on the trails many weekends throughout the season. No experience is necessary; the crew provides on-the-job training and offers a fun and rewarding day for volunteers at any skill level. Contact Crew Chief Chris Reyling at 914-953-4900, [email protected], or Crew Leader Bob Fuller at 732-952-2162, [email protected] for further information.