Yikes! Don’t Put Your Hunting Season Hand on This! Find relevant info and links The Japanese angelica is for New York and New Jersey, invasive, but DON’T cut it. including great no-hunting READ MORE ON PAGE 9 hiking areas on our website. Fall 2013 New York-New Jersey Trail Conference — Connecting People with Nature since 1920 www.nynjtc.org How do you like your Breakneck? By Kali Bird flora, fauna, and history; steered dozens of And thanks to the vision and generosity “You know this is a scramble, right?” visitors back onto trails they missed; and of those who live along its banks, hard- One person in the group of eight pokes assisted multiple injured hikers. [See a letter working nonprofit organizations, and the his head up and asks, “What’s a scramble?” from one assisted hiker on page 2.] Neither New York State government, we have the “It’s climbing, but you don’t need fancy NYS Parks nor local emergency responders ability to freely recreate in and be inspired gear. You’ll want to have both of your received a single call while we were on the by this defining, majestic landscape. It is hands free.” Each stares down at the coffee ridge during that time. my hope that everyone takes the opportu - cup, water bottle, or cell phone in their Our New hand and then sheepishly at the two people in the group who brought backpacks. Headquarters “Do you have a map?” I ask. Some head-shaking. After I explain that Is within Reach they are about to scramble up three-quar - Learn how you can help us earn ters of a mile to an elevation over 1,200 feet $500,000 by October 31 and put your to enter more than 7,000 acres of hilly ter - name on our Darlington Honor Wall. rain, they agree that a map would indeed Please visit Our Darlington Schoolhouse be helpful, and we begin to plot a course blog at http://blog-dsh.nynjtc.org for their hike. This is a typical encounter that I have R I had with first-time visitors to the Break - E W E T neck Ridge trailhead. Breakneck Ridge is T E G easily the most strenuous ascent in the R O E Hudson Highlands, and yet many G unknowing visitors arrive in flip-flops and Our trail stewards + info table add up to a Breakneck Ridge visitor center. without water on even the hottest of days. Based on our counts, the Trail Conference nity to explore the beautiful Hudson $750K It is no wonder that the Hudson Highlands estimates that in the pleasant-weather Highlands. For the more intrepid—the State Park office and local emergency months more than 2,000 people scramble up journey starts at Breakneck Ridge. responders regularly receive calls from lost Breakneck Ridge each week to behold some and injured hikers. For these reasons, the of the most historically significant and inspi - The Trail Conference hopes to resume park managers turned to the Trail Confer - rational views in our nation. From even the the Breakneck Ridge Trail Stewards ence and asked for help. first of the three peaks on the ridge, at just program next year, starting on $500K And so, in August, the Trail Conference under 1,000 feet above sea level, hikers are Memorial Day weekend. To support hired me and Brett Schollman to assist the rewarded with a panoramic Hudson River this program, go to our website, click hordes of hikers that arrive each weekend, view, with West Point just to the south and on Donate, and type “Breakneck many not knowing what they’re about to Storm King Mountain front-and-center. Stewards” in the instructions box. get themselves into. I am fortunate to live in such an amazing Through Labor Day, Brett and I staffed a place. Described as “the landscape that Kali Bird of Beacon, NY, is an Education table along busy Route 9D at the foot of the defined America” by the National Park Program Specialist for the Cary Institute of $250K “most popular trail in North America” Service, the Hudson River Valley is one of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY. She (according to Trails.com) or hiked along the the most beautiful and inspirational previously worked as a Natural Resources trail, sharing info about how to hike safely regions in our country. I love to share with Assistant for Scenic Hudson. Brett Schollman while respecting this great natural resource hikers the story of Storm King’s survival— of Cortlandt Manor, NY, is a snowboard in the Hudson Highlands. it is known across America as the birthplace instructor and Appalachian Trail thru-hiker. Over just the first four weekends of of environmental protection, thanks to a He completed his hike in 2011. August, we helped equip more than 5,000 landmark judicial decision that gave con - visitors with maps and information; servationists legal standing to protect the answered hundreds of questions about local environment in the public interest. with us. repair, restore, and maintain them. Join Us at the In 1998, the Trail Conference led a coali - Advanced techniques on how to repair and tion of more than 30 organizations in the install crib wall; install or build rock paving, Sterling Forest effort to protect Sterling Forest from devel - steps, drainage structures, stepping stones, opment. We succeeded when New York and turnpikes will be taught as needed. Trails Project State purchased and permanently protected Up to 125 miles of selected trails will be 14,500 acres of forest habitat. Subsequent inventoried, primarily by trained volunteers The Trail Conference has entered into an acquisition efforts have increased the size of utilizing professional GPS Trimble equip - agreement with New York State Parks to the park to nearly 22,000 acres. Our volun - ment and Trail Conference methodology. develop a volunteer-based back-country teers have been working on trails in the Training is provided for all tasks and vol - N trails restoration program at Sterling park ever since. O unteers will work alongside experienced S A M Forest State Park, and we welcome your Recognizing our expertise in developing staff, trained interns, and other volunteers. A N participation. trails and volunteers, New York State Parks O All who participate go home with new skills, S The program will train volunteers to has asked us to expand our work at Interns learned and led trail work at Sterling new friends, a new appreciation for our inventory and assess trails, repair existing Sterling Forest, and we are developing an Forest this summer. trails, and the satisfaction of making a con - trails, and build new ones. If you are an expanded corps of volunteers to assess, tribution to public recreation and health. able-bodied person with an enthusiasm inventory, design, build, and restore the The project got underway Saturday, July For more information, please contact for outdoor service, consider coming out trails in this park. 20 when 26 potential new volunteers Program Coordinator Sona Mason, attended an orientation and Tool Use & [email protected] or 201-512-9348, VOLUME XL, N UMBER 4 ISSN 0749-1352 Safety workshop at the Frank Lautenberg ext. 16. Find upcoming Trail U workshops Visitor Center at Sterling Forest State Park. and crew outings on our website. Weekly workshops and trail service outings have been ongoing at the park since then Note: The Sterling Forest Trails Project will and will continue through October. not involve advanced rock work; training in A series of both entry level and advanced those techniques is available at our Bear hands-on workshops will teach volunteers Mountain Trails Project. how to lay out and design sustainable, user- friendly trails, as well as how to build, Page 2 Fall 2013 What’s a Feedback way up the trail. We were stuck trying to figure out how to get off the trail with my Trail Worth? VOLUME XL, NO.4 FALL 2013 An International Thank-you injured friend and couldn’t think of any GEORGETTE WEIR EDITOR On August 24, 2013 Loneranger wrote on way but keep going up. We were luckily In the case of the proposed Catskill Moun - LOUIS LEONARDIS GRAPHIC DESIGNER our website: saved when trail steward Kali Bird came tain Rail Trail (CMRT) we know, thanks to TRAIL WALKER (USPS Permit #970-100) I am visiting from The Netherlands and up the trail and saw us in despair. I am an economic impact study. The study, enti - (ISSN 0749-1352) is published quarterly by the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference as a found myself at a loose end this weekend grateful that she was around to help us tled Catskill Mountain Rail Trail: benefit of membership. Subscriptions are so I thought I would try to see if I would down the mountain, scouting for the eas - Economic & Fiscal Impact Analysis, was available to libraries only at $15.00 a year. be able to do some hiking. I was very iest route back to the base while avoiding conducted by Camoin Associates. The Periodical postage paid at Mahwah, N.J., and additional offices. Postmaster: Send address pleasantly surprised. poison ivy and other dangerous obstacles. report was commissioned by the Trail changes to the address below. Opinions expressed The directions on the website are excel - The idea of having trail stewards is a very Conference, with support from Ulster by authors do not necessarily represent the policy lent and I got round the route [at Norvin good one and I am grateful that there was County businessman Sean Eldridge and or position of the Conference.