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Trail Walker - Sept./Oct. 1998 |
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For and About Our Members
Guest editorial - by David Lillard AHS
Trail News
First thru-hiker completes the Long Path - by Ed Walsh
Hawk Watch
National Trails Day Celebrated in Big Way
Book Reviews
To the Editor:
New York Ramblers' Diamond Jubilee
Ask Dr. Rosen: Four Legs Good, Two Legs Bad, Three Legs Compromise
14th Edition of the Appalachian Trail Guide now
available
ATC awards $5,350 in Outreach Grants to Trail Conference's NJ AT
Management Committee
Summer Trail Crew for Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
The View From Albany - by Neil Woodworth
Governor Announces Partnership with The Nature Conservancy to Study
Ecological Resources Within State Parks
Hunting starts in New York and New Jersey
Eastern Mountain Sports Club Day will be Tuesday, October 27, 1998, when Trail Conference members will receive a 20 percent discount on purchases. Be sure to have your membership card handy when buying. If you have lost your membership card, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the Trail Conference office and request a new one.
Congratulations to three Trail Conference members who received the Vibram Volunteer of the Year awards for the states of New Jersey and New York. For New Jersey, Lynn and Timothy Murphy of Aberdeen were awarded the honor in recognition of their long-standing monthly trail work efforts on behalf of the Monmouth County Parks System. Lynn and Tim also maintain a Trail Conference-adopted trail in northern Jersey as well as their closer-to-home maintenance efforts. In New York state, Irene Szabo of Mt. Morris, active with the Finger Lakes Trail Conference, was singled out as the NY Volunteer of the Year for her scouting, flagging, clearing and maintaining efforts for several miles of the Finger Lakes Trail. She also measured the western section of the Finger Lakes Trail and compiled three guides for hikers, which she periodically revises. A past president, vice president and Board member of the Finger Lakes Trail Conference, she also developed the document for securing easements from private landowners, as well as contributed the first easement to the Finger Lakes Land Trust.
There is a new toll-free telephone number for the Congressional switchboard in Washington, D.C.: 800-504-0031. As member Dennis Schvejda says, "Put it to good use!"
Skylands Clean, an active environmental group in the Wyanokies area, has opened an office at 153 Skylands Road (Ringwood NJ 07456) and hired Kathy Baker as their first staff person. Your invited to visit their website at www.skyclean.org and contact them my mail or at [email protected].
Do you buy books online? If so, please consider using the link 
at the bottom of our homepage to
BarnesAndNoble.com. The Conference gets a commission on every book you buy when using this
link -- and it will cost you nothing extra. You must use the link for the TC to get the
credit.
Help us welcome the Catskill Hiking Shack as the 23rd store to join our discount program. The new store, which opened July 9th, is owned by TC member Susan M. Krafve. She writes, "we are a specialty backpacking/hiking store at the base of the Catskill Mountains at the intersection of Routes 17 (Exit 113) and 209 in Wurtsboro (Sullivan County). Outdoor enthusiasts in this region are current forced to travel as far as 60 miles to find the kind of quality gear we offer. Tourists and local residents alike will enjoy the beauty of the Basha Kill, the Long Path, the D&H Canal Towpath, Delaware River, Neversink Gorge and the Shawangunk Ridge." Catskill Hiking Shack offers a 10% discount on all non-sale items to TC members upon presentation of the membership card. Call them at 914/888-HIKE for hours and directions. For a list of all 23 stores, visit our website (www.nynjtc.org) or send your request with a self-addressed envelope to the TC office.
Included in our discount store program is a third unit of the Colorado Outdoor store chain at the Palisades Center in Nyack, NY. This store joins their stores in Manhattan and Wayne, NJ as members of our 23 store network. Call them at 914/348-4703 for hours and directions.
Conference life member Mary Sive is the author of Lost Villages: Historic Driving Tours in the Catskills, recently published by the Delaware County Historical Association. A guide to Delaware County, the book shows readers remains of the days before tourism and second homes became the chief industry. The Catskills were home to quarrying, tanning, and extraction of chemicals from wood as well as lumbering and dairying. Hikers often encounter old cemeteries and cellar holes or walk on former roads. Mary decided to tell their stories. The book is dedicated to the memory of Frank Bouton, a long-time Trail Conference member and a Delaware County native. The 176-page, illustrated book sells for $14.95 plus $3.50 shipping/handling, and NY state sales tax; it is available from the Association at Route 2, Box 201C, Delhi, NY, 13753.
In June, James R. Gell was been appointed the first manager of the new Sterling Forest State Park having been promoted from James Baird State Park in Dutchess County. Said Parks Commissioner Bernadette Castro, "Jim's longstanding sense of environmental stewardship will prove essential to managing this unique and extremely valuable watershed..." As park manager, Gell will maintain the quality of scenic open spaces, watersheds and natural habits as well as provide appropriate recreational opportunities to the public. He will, of course, help prepare the master plan to determine future use and protection of our newest NY State park. Please join with us in welcoming him.
The NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has prepared a multi-page informational booklet on the Slide-Panther Mtn. Wilderness Area in the heart of the Catskill High Peak region. Included is a sketch map of the trails in the area. For your free copy, contact DEC at 914/256-3083 or call Ulster County Tourism at 1-800-dial-uco. You can also e-mail your request to [email protected] or stop by our office and pick up a copy.
An amazing 1300 NY-NJ Trail Conference members have now register their e-mail address with us for e-mail action/information alerts sent to our members about once a month. Trail Walker notices can take several months to reach you by newspaper; if you had given us your e-mail address you would have known months earlier about the trail closing in Wyanokies, new trails opened in the Catskills, new stores added to the discount program and the like. If you have e-mail and haven't yet told us, just send an e-note to us at [email protected] with your name and zip code.
The Murray Hill Canoe Club will host an open house/fall foliage hike on Sunday, October 18 at their Lake Sebago facility. For more information, contact Ed Goufas, hike leader, at (201) 437-3814.
A gift of $500 or more during a calendar year qualifies you for the New York - New Jersey Trail Conference's Torrey Society. For information and a brochure please call the Conference's office at (212) 685-9699.
reprinted with permission of the American Hiker, August 1998
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The drama of hiking trails
On Broadway, actors are lip-syncing to digitally recorded singing. It's somewhat bizarre that people would pay 70 bucks to see a "live" dramatic performance in which the singing isn't actually live. Producers claim this technique is necessary. Otherwise, they ask, how could actors sing and dance at the same time, or deliver a consistent quality "performance" night after night?
A lot of people accept it, but to many people performance is about quiet surprises. I remember Richard Burton's first performance of a play called Equus. He spoke so softly that 3,000 viewers sat motionless lest the slightest sound overwhelm the rattle in his throat or "pha" of his every drag on a cigarette. It was slow, it was subtle, like a walk through a forest.
Without passing judgement on whether the big spectacle of taped music is better than the live performance, suffice it to say the two offer dramatically different experiences to their audiences because they are intended to do so. The big sounds and mechanical devices of a Broadway spectacle are necessary ingredients of that experience, just as understated movements and long silences define the experience of intimate theatre.
Often what we pursue in our lives, jobs and recreation comes down to a desired experience. A pathway, for example, designed for quiet, slow travel and the enjoyment of nature away from mechanical conveyances provides a certain experience. It is the experience of a hiking trail, where the going is gradual; where moving downhill involves no rush of adrenaline but takes nearly as long as going up; where silent walkers are rewarded with the startling racket made by a surprised grouse; where even the most ambitious backpacker travels fewer miles in a day than a bicycle can before the sun burns off the morning dew; where the tiniest of creatures are observed going about their business in a way that brings perspective to our own. Tranquility rules the footpath.
We might say this is the very purpose of a hiking trail. That is, in fact, what the American Hiking Society board of directors has unanimously said in our new policy statement on mountain bicycling after months of input from members: that hiking trails are developed and managed to provide the experience of quiet, slow travel and the enjoyment of nature away from mechanical conveyances, including mountain bikes (AHS Action for full policy).
That's a hiking trail.
There are splendid trails which can accommodate people traveling on bicycle as well as people traveling on foot. Provided those trails are designed and managed to accommodate both - with the consent of both travelers - those trails are an important part of the mix in our national network of trails. People who are mutually interested in those trails have a lot to gain by working together to build and maintain them. But these trails are not hiking trails, because the experience such trails offer is purposefully different - and incompatible - from that of hiking trails.
It's really time for hikers to stop labeling mountain bicyclists as eco- terrorists or worse who don't appreciate nature. The way a bicyclist enjoys the outdoor experience is simply different.
It is also time for mountain bicyclists to understand that the experience of a hiking trail is fundamentally altered by the presence of bicycles and other mechanical conveyances. The purpose of a hiking-only trail is simply incompatible with the purpose of bicycle trails. Foot trails are for foot travel, while other trails are managed to accommodate their intended uses.
We have to admit we have tough issues to work out and we should work them out together, but working together begins with the recognition of the very meaning of a hiking trail. The idea of Trails for All Americans doesn't mean every American on every trail, it means a community of activists respecting differences as well as finding common ground.
Real dialogue is complex. It doesn't employ warm and fuzzy phrases like "trail sharing," as though we were fighting over a box of chocolates. Hikers need to face this, too. For example, arguments over soil erosion or trail safety are often management questions; they typically can be resolved through proper design and construction techniques, weather-related restrictions and education. But those matters are better taken up only after a decision has been made about the purpose of a given trail. Purpose comes first, then decisions about the types of travel appropriate to the purpose, then design and management that accommodate that travel using techniques which enhance the purpose.
Seems like a lot. Maybe that's why it's called "trail work."
- David Lillard
We have been informed by the landowner, Sam Braen of Saddle Mountain Ltd. (a.k.a. VanOrden Quarry) that all trails on his land are now closed to public use. This Passaic County property, north of Norvin Green State Forest and near the Weis Ecology Center, includes the trails on Saddle Mountain, the eastern side of Assiniwikam Mountain and the lovely Pine Paddies. Specifically closed are the north section of the Hewitt-Butler Trail; northwest section of the Wyanokie Circular Trail; the beginning of the Wyanokie Crest trail; and a mid-section of the Mine Trail. Signs have been posted.
A sign noted in the Sunrise Mountain parking lot advises that from Labor Day until October 31, parking there will be limited to 2 hours. This is due to the tremendous volume of visitors to the Sunrise Mountain pavilion and viewpoint during fall foliage season. Please make note and plan alternative parking choices for Stokes hiking in September and October.
A one-sheet sketch map of the new Sterling Forest State Park is now available from the Trail Conference office. Produced by the NY State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, this black-and-white photocopy shows the location of the three official hiking trails (Sterling Ridge, Allis and the AT) as well as the park/private land boundaries, highways, no hunting zones, lakes and woods roads. This is NOT a very good map for hiking but can orient you to the lay of the land. A Trail Conference-produced hiking map is several years away. For your free copy, stop by the office (232 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, Manhattan, weekdays 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., or send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to "Sterling Forest map", in care of the Trail Conference office.
A new hiking trail linking Alder Lake with Balsam Lake Mountain in the Catskill Forest Preserve was dedicated on National Trails Day, Saturday, June 6th.
The Mill Brook Ridge Trail, which begins at Alder Lake, travels through the heart of the Balsam Lake Mountain Wild Forest, winding past lake and meadow, following brooks and ridges for nearly seven miles, culminating in a steady climb to the summit of Balsam Lake Mountain. A new lean-to overlooking a beaver meadow midway along the new trail was also dedicated.
Volunteers from the Finger Lakes Trail Conference, NYNJTC and the Adirondack Mountain Club helped construct the trail. The lean-to was both funded and constructed by volunteers from the Adirondack Mountain Club's Mid-Hudson Chapter. The route of the trail is shown as "proposed" on current editions of our Catskill Trails Map #42 (Grid 6-G/F). The new leanto is located near a spring. about a third of the way from Ader Lake towards Balsam Lake Mtn.
The Open Space Institute recently purchased a key parcel of land on the Helderberg Escarpment adjoining John Boyd Thacher Park. Thanks to the efforts of the Long Path North Hiking Club, a new section of the Long Path was opened on National Trails Day. This new section of trail is approximately four miles long and brings the total distance covered by the Long Path to over 332 miles.
As of September 1 of this year, the requirement for a Long Path end to end patch and certificate will include this new addition to the trail.
To date there have been 56 people who have completed the entire trail. For further information on the requirements or a tally sheet, send a SASE to: Ed Walsh, 11 Kwiecinski Street, West Haverstraw, NY 10993-1410.
On May 31, 1998 Mary Ann Nissley of Chalfont, Pennsylvania became the first person to hike the Long Path from the George Washington Bridge to John Boyd Thacher Park in a single trip. Although many others have hiked the entire trail, (55 at last count) all of the others did it as a series of day hikes or short backpacking trips. Until now no one has backpacked the whole trail in one trip.
Mary Ann had originally planned to hike the trail last year, but a series of trail closures caused her to cancel her plans. Instead of hiking the whole trail, she traveled from the George Washington Bridge to High Point in New Jersey where she ended her trip. Disappointed, but hoping for better conditions she returned this year determined to complete the trail.
She started her trip this year with two day hikes with her companion of last year, Violet Davis. On May 4 they hiked from Woodbury to Salisbury Mills, and then the following day from Route 6 to Woodbury. Violet went on to hike the next sections of the LP with Cherie Clapper of the Long Path North Hiking Club while Mary Ann returned to the beginning of the trail at the George Washington Bridge.
Her planned itinerary was to hike from the bridge to the Appalachian Trail intersection in Harriman Park and then follow the AT south to High Point in New Jersey where she would pick up the Shawangunk Ridge Trail north. This route was adopted as part of the Long Path in 1992 and is the preferred route for a through hike of the Long Path.
Despite heavy Spring rains (see photo), black bears and the ever present porcupines in the Catskills, Mary Ann was able to finish her hike on May 31 at the end of the Indian Ladder Trail in John Boyd Thacher Park. Mary Ann was interviewed in Schoharie County by a reporter for the Cobleskill Times Journal. A summary of her hike is included elsewhere in this issue.
Special thanks go to Violet Davis, who accompanied Mary Ann last year and again this year on the beginning of her hike; Janet Goloub who hiked with her this year from High Point to Denning and helped with a long car shuttle; Eudora Walsh, Wally and Sylvia Van Houten who opened up their homes and allowed her to enjoy a bed and shower; Cherie Clapper and Mark Traver of the Long Path North Hiking Club who met her on Vroman's Nose in Schoharie County and presented her with a LPNHC t-shirt and patch; Guineveve Anderson who provided water, a sandwich, crackers, cheese and rhubarb sauce; Fritz near Cannady hill who provided a sandwich, soda and German jerky; Mike Willsey, Long Path Supervisor in Albany County, who provided an opportunity to slack pack the last section of the trail without her pack and most important was there to meet her at the end of her trip; and last, but not least, Ed Sidote, the Finger Lakes Trail End to End Coordinator, who introduced her to the Long Path after she had completed her end to end trip on the FLT and also provided a ride from Albany County back to her car at the Denning lean-to in the Catskills.
Besides her Long Path hike, Mary Ann has also through hiked the Finger Lakes Trail in New York, Pennsylvania's Horseshoe Trail, the Long Trail in Vermont, the Ozark Highlands Trail in Arkansas, the Ozark Trail in Missouri, the Michigan Shore to Shore Trail, the John Muir Trail in California and that other long distance trail, the Appalachian Trail (twice). Congratulations Mary Ann!
- Ed Walsh
Wildcat Ridge Hawkwatch started its second fall season on August 15th. The watch site is located just off the Four Birds Trail (of the Farny Highlands Trail System in northern Morris County, NJ), 3.1 miles north of the Hibernia terminus of the trail. The watch will be covered by humans on a full time basis, 7 days a week, until November 15th. Wildcat Ridge is a sanctioned watch for the Hawk Migration Association of North America, and is in its 12th year of counting hawks through the Rockaway Valley portion of the New Jersey Highlands. Join them for the fall flight and fall colors: peak flight is mid-September, peak color is mid-October. For more information and directions, see the website: http://www.netcom.com/~billyg.
The Trail Conference celebrated National Trails Day 1998 with a multitude of events.... including the opening of the newly-built Duggan Trail in Black Rock Forest, the dedication of a new trail over Millbrook Ridge, and a new lean-to in Beaver Meadow, in the Catskills, and a weekend of trail skills training at Camp Smith in the Hudson Highlands.
Forty hikers and volunteers joined NY State Dept. of Environmental Conservation Region 3 Natural Resources Supervisor Bruce MacMillan at the dedication of the new trail over Millbrook Ridge. After the trail ribbon-cutting, all hiked on up to the lean-to in Beaver Meadow on the Millbrook Ridge Trail. There, a second ribbon-cutting occurred, and the lean-to's finely-routed name sign was installed. Both the new trail and lean-to are direct cooperative efforts of the Finger Lakes Trail Conference, the Adirondack Mountain Club, the NY-NJ Trail Conference and the NY Dept. of Environmental Conservation.
The Essex County Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs awarded its 1998 Trail Keepers Award to Bill and Berthe Myles of West Orange, NJ, on National Trails Day. Honored for their many years of dedication to open space preservation and environmental protection, and especially for their affection and care for the trails of South Mountain Reservation within the county park system. Bill and Berthe live on the edge of South Mountain, and when they walk its trails they always have pruning snips and plastic bags to cut away the errant branch or carry off scraps of litter. In 1992, Bill, with Berthe's assistance, wrote Harriman Trails, A Guide and History, published by the NY-NJ Trail Conference, a comprehensive volume describing the trails in Bear Mountain and Harriman State Parks which benefitted from his exhaustive archival research. Subsequent to that publication, Bill prepared a monograph, South Mountain Reservation-100 Years, 1895 to 1995.
The Draft UMP (Unit Management Plan) for Belleayre Mountain Ski Center shows the real value, in dollars and cents, of having a strong and vocal constituency "The Coalition to Save Belleayre".
Actually, of course, Belleayre is in no real danger- it's just that no one is satisfied with things as they are.
Belleayre currently achieves in the neighborhood of 70 to 80 thousand visitors annually, and operates at a deficit of $260,000 (p. 36). To achieve a balance of operating costs with revenues, the UMP calls for spending over $12,370,000 for a variety of capital and other improvements - a sum that would cover the operating deficit for 47 years. Meanwhile, the rest of the forest preserve, both in the Catskills and the Adirondacks, limps along on a pittance.
Proposed projects are indicative of the profligate deference shown this sacred cow. The $20,00 sought for one, new Interpretive Trail is as much as the Region 3 Forest Preserve program gets for all the projects listed in all the UMPs for that Region in a year. At a time when private groups are resorting to raising funds to restore five fire towers in the Catskills by selling tee shirts and holding raffles, The Belleayre UMP budgets $100,000 to build a new Observation Deck on the summit so skiers can take in the views. Half that amount would probably restore all the existing fire towers to usable condition.
Included in the UMP are new parking lots that are not needed, (Objective is to attract 3,500 skiers per day - calculated capacity of 5 existing parking lots is 3,950 page 55) yet are planned at a cost, with roadways, of $600,000.
The plan skirts the issue of compliance with the provisions of Article XIV relating to width of ski trails, and offers no ideas of how compliance can be insured (p. 45). Skiers seem to be far more relaxed about the strict observance of Article XIV than hikers or at least no one outside the DEC is complaining.
If Belleayre can get over $12 million for a variety of needed and nice to have projects, more power to them. But it also shows how effective a vocal and organized constituency can be in getting state funding for their favorite activity.
So why can't the hikers?
- Name Withheld on Request
In April, about 50 past and present members of the New York Ramblers Hiking Club celebrated the Club's 75th anniversary at a New York City restaurant. Following dinner, members reminisced about past adventures. Surprisingly, a common theme was the colorful unreliability of many of the automobiles Ramblers had used over the years to get to and from hikes. Jay Schwarz showed a program of slides he had assembled covering the period from 1950, when he joined the club, up to the present. This was an opportunity for newer members to see older members they had only heard about in Rambler lore and legend. A special commemorative t-shirt was commissioned for the occasion. In addition to the dinner, the anniversary celebration included three days of hiking in the Northwestern Catskills over the Memorial Day weekend.
According to former Club president Jerry Silverstein, the New York Ramblers were founded by Edward Bursht and B.W. Blandford on October 25, 1923 at the summit of High Mountain, Haledon, New Jersey, at the cabin of a Mr. Ellis, the same place where the Paterson Ramblers was founded in 1904. The Club was described in the original New York Walk Book as "having been organized to promote an outdoor and social spirit among congenial people of both sexes." Laura and Guy Waterman, in Forest and Crag, the history of hiking in the Northeast, describe the Ramblers as being "notorious for fast-paced hikes." Both of these descriptions are apt; however, hiking fast is not a Rambler objective, nor are the Ramblers by any means the fastest group. The average Rambler hike is 14 to 16 miles in length, depending on the terrain and time of year; Ramblers like a full day workout. What primarily distinguishes the Ramblers is the creativity of their schedule; new areas are constantly being scouted and new approaches to familiar territory are always being tried. The Club takes full advantage of the great diversity of hiking environments in the metropolitan area, from city parks to beaches, canals, abandoned railroads, wood roads and trails from the Catskills to the Jersey Pine Barrens and all points in between. The Club hikes every Sunday throughout the year with some long holiday weekends and week-long trips farther afield. In addition, the Club has embarked on an ambitious series of Saturday walks, whose goal is to traverse all the streets of Manhattan. So far there have been 33 walks; Kurt Ramig, who conceived of the series, estimates 20 to 30 more walks until completion. (Can the other boroughs be far behind? Is there a patch?) The Club has hiked out West and in Canada, Europe, and Africa. The Ramblers currently maintain the State Line Trail and part of the SBM. In addition, the Club has observed the Torrey Memorial with a hike to the inscription on Long Mountain every year since its inception in 1938.
The Ramblers have attracted people from all walks of life and all economic backgrounds. Possibly the most famous person to hike with the Ramblers was the science fiction author H.P. Lovecraft, who mentions an outing with the Club in a diary entry from the mid-20's. There are currently just over 100 Ramblers. Prospective members are expected to complete 2 hikes before applying for membership; dues are very reasonable - the Ramblers are one of the better hiking bargains around. For a current schedule, contact Christine Irizarry, at 212-781-1809 (e-mail: [email protected] ).If a longer, more interesting hike with an unpretentious group appeals to you, try hiking with the New York Ramblers. Maybe you can be there for the 100th anniversary!
- Chris Zeller
As safety committee chair, I've had the opportunity to review the accident reports of our local AMC chapter for about thirty years. I have no doubt that many of these accidents could have been avoided if hikers used a "walking stick". The "walking stick" can be a staff, a rod, an alpenstock, an ice axe, a tree limb, a bamboo pole, a cane, an umbrella, a sawed off broom handle, a ski pole.
Colin Fletcher, in his book The Complete Walker which was published about thirty years ago, extolled the virtue of a walking stick. He wrote, "I take my staff as automatically as I take my pack. It is a third leg for me". He used a stout 4 � foot bamboo pole which served as a fishing pole and a tent pole.
A few thousand years ago or longer man was a quadruped. As time passed, he became uppity and decided to become a biped. Since that time his stability decreased and his back problems increased.
Having another leg or two does not replace looking where you're putting your feet. The incidence of accidents increases when hikers are gabbing with each other and looking at each other and ignoring the rocks, tree roots, and holes. Avoid stepping on tree trunks; step over them. Tree trunks are slippery.
There are occasions hikers can put their walking sticks to good use off the trail. Several years ago we had a severe, cold winter with loads of snow and ice. The hospital emergency rooms were overflowing with injured patients who slipped on the ice. Many hikers shun walking sticks whereas their counterparts in Europe use them in far larger numbers. American people seem to associate canes with senility and bare heads with virility. This type of thinking can be associated with stupidity.
There was an ad in AMC Outdoors depicting three hikers going up a hill each using two walking sticks and being observed by a mountain goat. It stated "Evolution is overrated. Why trade in the stability of four legs? On hills and muddy stretches, at stream crossings and in general FOUR LEGS GOOD. TWO LEGS BAD." (Animal Farm)
The ancient sphinx of Egypt was aware of walking sticks. It asked all travelers the answer to a riddle, "What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon and three legs at night?" It destroyed all who could not answer. The riddle was finally answered by Oedipus: "Man; who walks on four legs in infancy, two legs at maturity and three legs, one a staff, in old age."
In summary: Four legs good - Two legs bad - Three legs a compromise.
- Albert P. Rosen, MD
The Trail Conference is proud to announce the publication of the 14th edition of the Appalachian Trail Guide for New York and New Jersey (202p.) The book covers the 163 miles of the trail in these two states and also provides a detailed description for northbound and southbound hikers of each section. Included also are listings of facilities, accommodations, campsites and shelters along and near the trail. This new addition features extensive revisions to trail descriptions in almost every section. Included are recent relocations in the Beachy Bottom area of Harriman State Park, and around Nuclear Lake in Dutchess County.
Accompanying the book is a set of six maps printed on water-proof, tear-proof paper which show the route of the trail. The book and accompanying maps retail for $19.95 ($15.95 for Trail Conference members). To order click here.
The Trail Conference's New Jersey Appalachian Trail Management Committee's four proposals for outreach grants were approved by the Appalachian Trail Conference's Grants-to-Clubs Committee, and $5,350 in ATC matching grants will be received.
The projects to be funded are: "camperships" for several St. Benedict's Prep School students to help with costs for the required AT backpack trip in exchange for their participation with the "Leave No Trace" course St. Benedict's students present to large group users of the Trail - $1,400; creation of a teacher's guide for teaching creative writing using experiences on the AT - $1,100; creation of a NJ Appalachian Trail nature guide to generate interest in the AT and to promote Trail corridor preservation - $1,350; and a generic re-design of the AT Treasure Hunt maps (a previous NJ-specific project) for use in all 14 Trail states, and printing of same.
The Trail Conference's New Jersey Management Committee has been particularly active with outreach program and project proposals, reflecting their aggressive efforts to include many segments of their community in the AT experience. The results of these efforts include better "grapevine" information about local situations and development proposals, a greater awareness of the resource within the community for protection from threats and encroachments, and more community use of this national - but also local - resource.
We thank the Appalachian Trail Conference for its continuing financial support of the goals of our local volunteer AT managers to include a broader swath of our population in the AT experience.
An inaugural cooperative program this past summer put a professionally-led trail crew onto the trails of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area for 11 weeks. The NY-NJ Trail Conference, Appalachian Trail Conference, and National Park Service/Appalachian Trail Park Office and Delaware Water Gap NRA all contributed to cover the costs of the pilot crew program.
Former New Jersey District Ranger Barry Sullivan (now deputy Superintendent at Fire Island National Seashore) conceived the idea for a crew, and enticed both the NY-NJ, and Appalachian, Trail conferences to participate. The DWGNRA matched private funds from both trail conferences with monies from the park's trail account, as well as secured the crew recruitment services of the Student Conservation Association (SCA) to help provide a pool of crew applicants through an AmeriCorps program.
Trail Conference member and long-time West Hudson trail crew leader Larry Wheelock was selected as the crew leader by the Recreation Area, besting several top-level candidates for the position. Larry has been an assistant leader on Sierra Club work trips in the West, graduated from the Student Conservation Association's Wilderness Workskills training course, and has lead crew outings for our West Hudson crew for xx years now. His crew of five have been workers extraordinaire.
As the Trail Walker went to press, after five weeks on the job, the crew had accomplished 57' of cribbing, and water bars built on the Buttermilk Falls Trail; installed drainage ditches, waterbars, and a culvert on the Orchard Trail; constructed trailhead stairs, 80' of sidehilling on existing trail, 4 rock retaining walls, and 120' of new trail relocation on the Tillman Ravine Trail/connector to Mt. Rd.; begun building and installed a "beaver fooler" in Black's Pond; and moved 1 ton of rock, and built 10 waterbars, drainage dips, and 10 steps sown to the Delaware River at the River Bend Campground.
- by Neil Woodworth
It is mid July. The 1998 legislative session is over. A legislative session which began with great promise, ended with few accomplishments and disappointment for many. Very little was actually accomplished in terms of new legislation. The state budget was actually approved only a few days late, but the new process had its own flaws. The budget process and subsequent gubernatorial vetoes poisoned the atmosphere for the restof the legislative session.
The new budget process involved the use of legislative conference committees to negotiate major sections of the budget. These committees included members of both the majority and minority parties in both houses and dealt with specific issue areas like education and the environment. The conference committee process differed markedly from the traditional means of negotiating New York's budget which saw the Governor, the Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and the state Senate majority Leader Joseph Bruno huddled in a room negotiating the budget in relative secrecy.
The new conference committee process worked reasonably well in terms of reaching agreement between the Senate and the Assembly. However, The Governor and his staff were effectively excluded from participation in these bilateral negotiations. The two houses agreed on a budget which contained an increase in spending over the Governor's proposed budget. The budget approved by the Legislature was larger than the $71 billion budget which the governor submitted in January. It contained a number of school aid and local assistance initiatives.
The approved budget deleted some of the Governor's budget initiatives, including his proposal to create a land stewardship category in the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF). The Legislature re-directed the $26 million which the governor had proposed to use to augment spending for the upkeep of state parks and the Adirondack and Catskill Forest Preserves. They proposed to spend the money instead on ski center improvements, local waterfront revitalization, a Brooklyn land acquisition project, municipal landfill closures and coastal rehabilitation projects.
To the fury of many members of both houses of the Legislature, Governor Pataki vetoed over $750 million of the legislatively-supported budget items. He vetoed the previously described $26 million of legislative changes to his EPF land stewardship proposal and introduced a supplemental budget bill to restore the $26 million to the proposed new land stewardship category. More about this later.
The final budget did contain $72 million in new funds to buy land, $32 million from the EPF, $40 million from the Environmental Bond Act (including unspent funds from the 97-98 budget, we will have $108 million to purchase Forest Preserve, conservation easements and state park land in Fiscal Year 1998-1999). This amount is a major increase over the $50 million available to buy land the previous year. It is the largest amount ever appropriated for buying state park land and Forest Preserve land in a single year. ADK and the Trail Conference spent a lot of time lobbying for this money and our efforts were well rewarded.
Projects eligible in FY 98-99 for these funds, and of importance to the Trail Conference, are: Fahnestock State Park, Hudson River Greenway trail segments, additions to Sterling Forest, Albany Pine Bush, Taconic Crest Trail, Bear Pen/Vly/Roundtop Mountain parcels in the Catskills, and Shawangunk Ridge/ Minnewaska State Park Preserve additions. ADK and the Trail Conference lobbied DEC, OPRHP and the
Governor's office for the inclusion of these projects as priorities. Our members testified in support of many of these projects at the recent Open Space Plan hearings.
Sadly, the Legislature failed to act on Governor Pataki's proposal to increase the size of the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) from $92 million to $125 million with most of the additional money to be spent for land stewardship needs of the backcountry areas of our larger state parks and the Adirondack and Catskill Forest Preserves. The new money would have come from an increase in the amount of real estate transfer taxes diverted from the state's General Fund coffers to the EPF. Governor Pataki's proposal would have used the new money to create a new funding category in the EPF to finance the care and upkeep of the state's wilderness and state park lands.
Since the late seventies, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has seen a reduction in staff and operating funding for caring for the forest preserve. Since 1978, even without taking account of the loss of value due to inflation, the amount of money appropriated for the care of the Adirondack and Catskill Forest Preserves has plummeted by more than 85%. During that time period, DEC has become responsible for more than 400,000 additional acres of land and conservation easements. Since 1988, non-salary operating funds for dropped by more than 55%. These funds are spent for trail maintenance, wilderness rangers, public education, ranger vehicles, campsite and campground upkeep, signage and unit management planning. The Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) has very similar needs for the proper stewardship of our larger state parks such as Allegheny, Harriman, Bear Mountain, Fahnestock and Sterling Forest.
The DEC money would have been spent for Whitney Park, rehabilitation of some 450 mils of hiking trails, unit management planning, restoration of 9 fire towers (4 in the Adirondacks, 5 in the Catskills), and sewage system repairs to 12 Forest Preserve campgrounds. The OPRHP money would have gone for new user information centers, educational materials and trail maintenance for some 1, 500 miles of hiking trails.
The Legislature's failure to act on creating the land stewardship category has had some immediate impacts. DEC had hoped to use the new EPF funding category to finance improvements to the Whitney Area, enabling the public to use the area this summer. When this did not occur, DEC was forced to borrow funds from other program areas. As a result, in DEC 's Region 5, where both the Whitney Area and the popular High Peaks Wilderness are located, wilderness ranger coverage for the High Peaks will be reduced by a full month during the busy fall foliage season.
The state Assembly, traditionally very supportive of our state parks and Forest Preserve areas, was uncharacteristically hostile to the creation and funding of EPF land stewardship category. The Assembly leadership said they opposed funding these long neglected needs outside of the agencies' annual budgets. In addition, the Assembly stated that they did not want to give Governor Pataki a lump sum of money for the purposes discussed above. Yet, the Assembly turned around and supported a "bricks and mortar" lump sum $8.75 million appropriation for OPRHP from the EPF that violated both of those policy arguments.
For the state Assembly to take the position that the annual DEC and OPRHP budgets should address the great backlog of land stewardship needs is simply not good enough. Each yearly state budget is the creation of both the governor and the legislature. Since 1978, both governors and state legislators have failed to provide sufficient yearly land stewardship funding for our state parks and the Adirondack and Catskill Forest Preserves. Governor Pataki's land stewardship EPF category was the first new initiative to address this disgrace. If the Legislature did not like this idea, what is their remedy?
ADK and the Trail Conference worked very hard this session to secure this funding. We stand ready to work with the state Legislature to find a way to address these compelling needs.
Between now and the next legislative session, ADK and Trail Conference must let their state Assembly members, particularly Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Assembly Environmental Conservation Chairman Richard Brodsky (Dem., Westchester Co.) know how they feel about the importance of funding these land stewardship needs. If they oppose the EPF land stewardship category, will they support another means of providing money, outside of the normal agency budget process, to fund these critical needs?
Only a handful of good environmental bills survived the paralysis and ennui that infected the Legislature after the Governor's vetoes. Regrettably, facing lobbying from the state's personal injury attorneys, the state Assembly refused to act on General Obligations Law section 9-103 landowner liability reform amendments. This legislation would have expanded the tort liability protection afforded to private landowners, who agree to permit public use of hiking trails (such as the Long Path and the Finger Lakes Trail) on their properties. ADK and the Trail Conference supported this measure, it was passed by the state Senate and Governor Pataki was expected to sign the measure.
The Assembly passed a bill which would have permitted casino gambling in the Catskills (Ulster, Greene and Sullivan Counties) and in the Village of Lake George, but the Senate failed to approve the measure.
- Neil Woodworth
Counsel
Adirondack Mountain Club, NY- NJ Trail Conference
New York Governor George E. Pataki announced a long-term partnership with The Nature Conservancy to provide a comprehensive, five-year biodiversity study of New York's state parks. The state will commit $1 million, focusing on rare plants, wildlife and ecological communities found on parkland. The Nature Conservancy will contribute significant staff support and scientific expertise.
The inventory will be undertaken by a team of scientists with expertise in zoology, botany and community ecology. The initiative will be facilitated through support and funding from the Biodiversity Research Institute, created by state law for the enhancement and protection of biodiversity within the state.
"This partnership will advance our scientific understanding of these resources, ensuring that the management and public use of our state parks foes hand in hand with the conservation of natural diversity," said Parks Commissioner Bernadette Castro. "The information will also serve as in important resource for the environmental interpretation and education at our facilities."
Initial priorities for assessment of biodiversity will be Allegheny State Park in western New York, Sterling Forest State Park, and additional state parkland within the Hudson Valley, specifically Iona Island (part of Harriman-Bear Mountain State Park].
Neil Woodworth commented, "On behalf of the 135,000 members of the Adirondack Mountain Club and the New York - New Jersey Trail Conference, we applaud Gov. Pataki and Commissioners Castro and Cahill (of NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation] for undertaking this comprehensive ecological inventory. Good science and sound biological studies will be the foundation for state park management in the 21st century."
The project will greatly enhance State Park's ability to management the natural resources within the Park System, develop additional interpretive and environmental education programs, and identify those areas within parks that have special ecological importance.
New York and New Jersey have announced their hunting schedules for large game, and times when firearms are permitted. We strongly urge hikers to wear safety orange clothing during these times. Dates listed are inclusive.
DEER
Archery: Oct. 15 - Nov. 15, Dec. 9 - 13
Archery, Westchester Co. only: Nov. 1 - Dec. 31
Firearms: Nov. 16 - Dec. 8
Muzzleloader: Dec. 9 - 15BEAR
Archery: Oct. 15 - Nov. 15, Dec. 9 - 13
Firearms: Nov. 23 - Dec. 8
Muzzleloader: Dec. 9 - 15Hunting is not allowed in Bear-Mountain State Park. However, it is allowed in parts of Storm King, Minnewaska and Sterling Forest state parks. Contact (914) 786-2701 for more details about hunting in these parks.
Black Rock Forest is closed to hikers from Nov. 16 to Dec. 8 ., including that portion of the Highlands Trail in the Forest. For more information about the New York hunting schedules, call the Office of Parks & Recreation, (518) 474-0456, or the hunting, fishing and game licensing/sales office, (518) 457-3521.
DEER
Archery: Oct. 3 - 30, Jan. 1 - 30 (1999)
Firearms: Nov. 23 - 25, Dec. 7 - 12, Dec. 16 - 18, Jan. 9 - 30 (1999)
Muzzleloader: Nov. 30, Dec. 1, 14, 15, 19, 21 - 24, 26, 28 - 31, Jan. 1, 2 (1999)SPECIAL HIGH POINT STATE PARK SEASON
Nov. 9 - 12, 16 - 19, 23 - 25.COYOTE
Firearms, muzzleloader, Archery: Jan. 30 - Feb. 15 (1999)Most of Ramapo Mountain State Forest is closed to hunting. Hunting is not allowed on Sundays in New Jersey. For more information about the New Jersey hunting seasons, call (609) 292-6685.
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Last updated: 01/18/01