Trail Topics, Reports from the Trail Management Directors Welcome and May Be Submitted to the Editor
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Finger Lakes Trail NEWS Spring 2014 Inside... A Visit with the Interloken Trail Yet More on Trail Privies Two New Columns President's Message Pat Monahan Spring is making its first attempt at shaking one of the coldest during the Spring Conference at Cazenovia College. I encourage winters in my life. I am glad to shed the Mad Bomber hat, you to attend and have your voice heard at the meeting. layers of fleece and those bulky winter boots for something a As you make your membership commitment with us, I would little more fashionable for mud season. All kidding aside, any also encourage you to consider membership with the North day is a great day to take a hike on the FLT. Country Trail Association (NCTA). The North Country Trail I must take a moment here and reflect on the loss of a friend, (NCT) coincides with the FLT along the main trail from the NY/ FLT leader, and fellow hiker. Jarret Lobb, Vice President PA border in Allegany State Park to the end of the Onondaga of Finance for the Finger Lakes Trail Conference, died on Trail southeast of the Syracuse area for well over 400 miles. December 24, 2013, in his fight to recover from a lifelong Dual membership has twice the benefits to support all aspects of problem heart. He was a man of courage. He loved his family. a shared footpath. (As an added benefit, a portion of your NCTA He was brilliant in all financial matters. He held a vision for membership contribution returns directly back to the FLT!) the FLT to be “Forever” as written in our mission statement. Finally, I would like to encourage all of our readers to go out He will be missed. and enjoy the FLT. While you are out on the trail please be As promised in the previous issue, I would like to provide a prepared to respect our landowner’s wishes. We are guests on brief summary from the Board Retreat held on November 15- their property and must act as guests. Check your map, our 17, 2013. website and even the FLT list serve for current conditions on • The 2013-2016 long-range plan was updated. the trail before you head out for a great day in the woods. If • A 2014 balanced budget was approved including you encounter any issues with a landowner, please apologize for funding for marketing initiatives and all major proj- any misunderstanding and let us know what occurred. Contact ects. us at [email protected] or call the Office at (585) • We will be prudent with our investments as designat- 658-9320. ed for trail preservation and trail improvement. In the meantime, get out the gaiters and “Go take a hike!” • We investigated eight targeted marketing issues to in- crease the public’s awareness of the FLT. As a result, the Board will identify key strategies to implement throughout the year. Marketing and branding of the FLT is a major emphasis for Board activity in 2014. During the month of March, you will receive a mailing about our annual membership drive and our annual meeting. Your membership renewal is critical to the health of our organization. I hope you will continue as a valued member and find a few of your friends to join with you. Your membership helps the Conference fund the many projects that help to build, maintain, enhance and promote a continuous footpath across New York State. Forever. As a member, you can vote on a slate of new Board members (see page 16) at our annual meeting on May 31 Join the FLTC Yahoo Groups E-Mail List The Finger Lakes Trail Conference's e-mail list is a discussion group hosted by yahoogroups.com. Its purpose is to allow the subscribers (approximately 650 people) to communicate information to each other pertaining to FLT hikes and other FLTC activities, and to also allow subscribers to post general hiking-camping-back- packing and/or FLT-related questions that can be answered by any of the other participants. The co-moderators who will oversee the use of this electronic mailing list and offer help with questions are: Larry Blumberg ([email protected]) and Jack VanDerzee ([email protected]). To join the group, send a note to one of the co-moderators, or go to the FLTC website (fingerlakestrail.org) and follow the instructions for subscribing. SPRING 2014 omas Mission Statement et" Th The mission of the Finger Lakes Trail Conference is to build, protect, enhance, and promote a continuous Jackson "J Jackson footpath across New York State. Forever! FINGER LAKES TRAIL NEWS Volume 53 Number 1 DEPARTMENTS Finger Lakes Trail Conference 17 Name that Map! Service Center 6111 Visitor Center Road Answers to the Winter Quiz Mt. Morris, NY 14510 21 FLT Named Hike Events (585) 658-9320 34 Bug Bites Editor CONTENTS Irene Szabo 5 The Ultimate New Year's Eve Experience on the FLT 6939 Creek Road, Mt. Morris, NY 14510. 5 Calling all Computer Geeks! Phone (585) 658-4321 6 Walking into Autumn on the Interloken Trail [email protected] 9 End to End Album: Irene McCarty Editing Assistance 11 Wegmans Passport Program Winner: Jo Kish Brenda Reeb 16 Invitation to the Annual Meeting and Board Nominees Graphic Design 18 2013 Contributions Jennifer Hopper 20 Howard Beye Winter Hike End-to-End Update 23 Car Spotting Blues Jacqui Wensich 23 The lO d Maintainer Walking through Time 24 Donation in Memory of Bob Muller Irene Szabo, Tim Wilbur 28 FLT Members: Join the NCTA, Too A Naturalist's View 29 2014 Steuben County Hike Series Randy Weidner 30 Jarret Lobb Remembered A Walk on the Wordy Side 35 Our Money Marla Perkins 36 Spring Weekend at Cazenovia College FLT Archives 42 The Minnesota NCT Hiking Celebration Georgeanne Vyverberg COLUMNS Finger Lakes Trail News is the official pub- Inside front cover... lication of the Finger Lakes Trail Confer- ence, Inc., and is published four times a year President’s Message by the Finger Lakes Trail Conference, 6111 4 Executive Director's Report Visitor Center Road, Mt. Morris, NY 14510. Comments and original contributions are 12 Trail Topics, reports from the trail management directors welcome and may be submitted to the editor. 22 A Walk on the Wordy Side Send address changes to : 25 From the Archives Finger Lakes Trail Conference 26 A Naturalist's View Copyright © 2014 by Finger Lakes Trail 39 End-to-End Update Conference, Inc. COVER: A fine example of the style of stile introduced by Tony Preus over twenty years ago in Chenango County to help hik- FLTC Office Hours ers over fences. This one aids us high above Bowman Creek on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Friday 9:00 to 2:00, but there are some exceptions, so call Map M25, a short walk west of the Chenango River, south of Ox- ahead if you want to be sure: 585-658-9320 ford. Find the register in the photo? Photo by Warren Johnsen www.FingerLakesTrail.org Finger Lakes Trail News Spring 2014 3 From the Executive Director Dick Hubbard Mind the “ships,” Mates! In a recent article in this magazine, I spoke about the many underlying partnerships that contribute to our organization. During the past several months I enjoyed working together with our partners as we developed new trail, sought to protect the trail, and opened new partnerships. Clearly, this process is based on our ability to develop strong and meaningful relationships and maintain those relationships over the years. Possibly, by now, you start to see the “ships” to which I am referring ---partnerships and relationships. There are many such “ships,” and another worthy of mention is ownership. Just recently, we expanded waitress by Photo our ownership of property through the At a meeting in Corning in January, left ot right, Pat Monahan, Peggy Coleman, Dick Hubbard, and Phil transfer and creation of the Bock-Harvey Dankert form a task force to work on an upcoming state grant for marketing the FLT. Preserve and additionally through a recent gift of land in the eastern section of the trail. Ownership comes with a commitment to conservation, protection, maintenance and caring, again taking time, work and dedication, but possibly with hands a bit dirtier! Two other “ships” seem to tie all others together. One, and possibly the most important, is stewardship, for stewardship brings with it an ethical value that calls on us to be responsible for managing ALL of our resources. This is where all of our “ships” are docked, tied up and cared for, this harbor named stewardship. It is our money, land, partnerships and relationships, and our interests in each for which we are obligated to care for responsibly. As members, volunteers and workers, and even as casual users of the trail, we must remain focused on being good stewards to be successful. Lastly, the “ship” with the fullest sails is friendship! After all, the Finger Lakes Trail offers a unique place to play, enjoy and nurture oneself. It provides opportunities for liveri fellowship, sportsmanship, craftsmanship and a place eff O to seek opportunities of solitude, group adventure and J challenge. It is a place to make friends and have fun. Join Scott Brooks, new Board member appointed to fill a vacancy, celebrates his end-to-end in: there is a lot going on and we want you to be onboard moment with Dick during a hike in the Catskills at the fall campout weekend. our “ships” to enjoy all of it, sailing for nearly 1000 miles of fun! New FLT Office Hours Monday/Tuesday Contact: Dick Hubbard Thursday/Friday NEW [email protected] 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM 716-604-8380 There are exceptions so please call in advance to be sure someone is in the office.