November/December 2007
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www.nynjtc.org Connecting People with Nature since 1920 November/December 2007 New York-New Jersey Trail Conference — Maintaining 1,700 Miles of Foot Trails In this issue: Crowd Builds RPH Bridge...pg 3 • A Library for Hikers....pg 6 • Are Those Pines Sick, Or What?...pg 7 • Avoid Hunters, Hike Local...pg 12 revamped. There was an enormous amount BELLEAYRE Trail Blazes of Glory of out-blazing the old markers, putting up new markers, closing trails, clearing the By Brenda Freeman-Bates, Senior Curator, Ward Pound Ridge Reservation trails of over-hanging and fallen debris, Agreement Scales reconfiguring trails, walking them in the different seasons, tweaking the blazes, and Back Resort and having a good time while doing it all. A new trail map has also been printed, Protects Over with great thanks and gratitude to the Trail Conference for sharing its GPS database of the trails with the Westchester County 1,400 Acres of Department of Planning. The new color map and brochure now correctly reflect Land in New York N O the trail system, with points of interest, I T A V topographical lines, forests, fields, and On September 5, 2007, Governor Spitzer R E S E wetlands indicated. announced an agreement regarding the R E G This amazing feat would never have been Belleayre Resort at Catskill Park develop - D I R accomplished so expeditiously without the ment proposal after a seven-year legal and D N U dedication of volunteers. To date, a very regulatory battle over the project. The O P D impressive 928.5 volunteer hours have agreement between the project sponsor, R A W : been recorded for this project. And by far, environmental groups, New York State, Y S E T the majority of those hours were spent and New York City will allow the project to R U O in the beautiful woods, not only blazing move forward but in a significantly scaled- C Ward Pound Ridge Reservation's 35 trail miles are much improved thanks to volunteers. Above: trails, but forming comradeships, enjoying back form. The agreement is consistent David Roider, Heather Schneider, Gail Blumenfeld, and Brenda Bates set out to do some work. nature, working hard, and feeling good! with joint testimony provided by the Trail But alas, as always, there is still more to Conference and Adirondack Mountain ard Pound Ridge Reservation, new guide book, Walkable Westchester , in be done. We will be adding many more Club (ADK) to the Dept. of Environmen - Westchester County parkland, is the development. Our continued communica - junction markers, with the goal of getting tal Conservation and the governor’s office. Wlargest park in the county, consisting tion led to the New York – New Jersey Trail every junction marked, and we are taking of 4,300-plus acres and more than 35 miles of Conference holding a trail blazing work - on bigger projects of trail maintenance trails. The park is a biodiversity preserve, with shop here in October of 2006, in which such as installing water bars. So if you are This acquisition much to offer including camping, picnicking, our first trail got re-blazed and a core of interested, we would love your company nature experiences of all kinds, a nature museum, volunteers was recruited. Among these and your labor. Just give me a call at 914- will ensure that the and hiking on the extensive trail system. recruits were three gentlemen in particu - 864-7317, and you too can be part of a views from the These trails, however, were in dire need lar—Jim Fitch, Fred Howley, David wonderful thing! of reconfiguring and re-blazing. Over the Roider—who have been blazing their Catskill High Peaks many years (the park was established in hearts out ever since. They have been here 1925), there have been a variety of blazing once a week for about a year now, missing will not be impaired. techniques, colors, and configurations, and only a few weeks out of that whole time, the trail system had become very confus - and have managed to recruit even more ing. Calls from lost hikers were routine, regular volunteers. They have also held To the Trail Conference the most impor - and between the poorly blazed trails and an meetings to keep the momentum going, tant aspect of the agreement is that the outdated map, it was difficult for us to and filed progress reports with the Trail construction of the resort, located in the determine their location. The addition of Conference. heart of the Catskill High Peaks, will be junction markers several years ago helped As there was so much work to do, I had limited to the west side of Belleayre Moun - with this, but major work still needed to be anticipated the trail work would take at tain, adjacent to the Belleayre Mountain done. And then... least a few years, but to my wonderful sur - Trail blazers extraordinaire Patrick Colangelo, Ski Center. The west side of the project site Along came Walt and Jane Daniels, prise, in just under a year the park’s whole David Roider, Fred Howley, and Jim Fitch was previously part of the Highmount Ski wheeling and “GPSing” the trails for their trail system has been re-blazed and have volunteered almost weekly for a year. Center. We strongly opposed plans to develop a resort on the eastern portion of the mountain, known as the Big Indian Lookout Trails and often turns out for Plateau, because of the environmental and Volunteer of the Year blow-down clearing operations. She made aesthetic impacts of the construction of a a substantial contribution to help relocate hotel and townhouses on the prominent Trail Conference member Danielle Her enthusiasm soon led her to also join a section of the Highlands/ Stonetown and steeply sloped Belleayre Ridge. The Bouchard was recognized as Volunteer of the Weekday Trail Crew, which met more Circular Trails, and create a new section agreement provides for state acquisition of the Year by the New Jersey Department of often and so enabled her to contribute of the Monks Trail, both in Long Pond 1,216 acres of land on the Big Indian Environmental Protection in a September more of her time. Soon Danielle was show - Ironworks State Park. Training her sights Plateau, which will be added to the Catskill 29 ceremony in Stanhope, NJ. ing others how to do trail work, serving as on the Appalachian Trail, she contributed Forest Preserve. This acquisition will ensure Danielle first appeared on the Trail Con - an inspiration and squad leader on trail her time and effort toward the installation that the views from the Catskill High Peaks ference hiking trail scene as a volunteer crew days. of new puncheons through wet pastures in will not be impaired. member of the North Jersey Monthly Trail She helped to re-blaze and refurbish Wawayanda State Park. The state will also acquire 78 acres at the Crew, helping to relocate a section of the many miles of the Highlands, Horse Pond As though all of this was not enough, former Highmount Ski Center, which will Crossover Trail in Ringwood State Park. Mountain, Hoeferlin, Cannonball, and Danielle requested a trail that she could be integrated into a westward expansion of personally maintain, and so is now assigned the Belleayre Ski Center. The agreement to a section of the Yellow Trail in the also includes a NYS Watershed conserva - Ramapo Mountains. tion easement on 200 acres of nearby lands. In her spare time Danielle leads area The agreement includes many other hikes for her friends, introducing them to environmental safeguards such as: reduced the natural features of the beautiful North visibility of the resort from Forest Preserve Jersey state parks and forests. Wilderness Areas; redesigned portions of the resort to eliminate the placement of –John Moran most buildings on steep slopes; clustered Chair, North Jersey Trails Committee continued on page 3 VOLUME XXXIV, N UMBER 6 ISSN 0749-1352 Non-Profit US Postage Paid Permit No. 1239 Bellmawr, N.J. TC member Danielle Bouchard was named NJ DEP Volunteer of the Year. She poses with, left to right, Eric Pain, Superintendent Ringwood State Park; Vin Dryer, North Jersey Work Crew and maintainer; and John Moran, chair, North Jersey Trails Committee. Page 2 November/December 2007 From the Chair VOLUME XXXIV, NO.6 NOVEMBER /D ECEMBER 2007 Milestones GEORGETTE WEIR EDITOR LOUIS LEONARDIS GRAPHIC DESIGNER A Trail Conference member told me of an the number of our volunteers. Now we are As board chair I participated in some of The TRAIL WALKER (USPS Permit #1239) article in her college alumni magazine that in the process of planning an even bigger these accomplishments significantly and (ISSN 0749-1352) is published bi-monthly by the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference as a noted the following research findings: peo - move, not so much in physical distance— others not at all. All are meaningful activi - benefit of membership. Subscriptions are ple report feeling happier when they take the new offices will be just a mile or so ties that contribute to a better trail system, available to libraries only at $15.00 a year. part in meaningful activities rather than in west of our current location—but to owning more opportunities for the public to enjoy Periodical postage paid at Mahwah, N.J., and activities that simply bring them pleasure. an historic building sorely in need of trails, and a better, stronger advocate for additional offices. Postmaster: Send address As I step down from six years as chair of the renovation—the Darlington Schoolhouse trails and hikers in the Trail Conference.