January/February 2007
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www.nynjtc.org Connecting People with Nature since 1920 January/February 2007 New York-New Jersey Trail Conference — Maintaining 1,675 Miles Of Foot Trails In this issue: New North Jersey Maps...pg 3 • Election Results and the Environment...pg 4 • Know Your Bedrock...pg 7 • Hike List...pg 8 ith 1,675 miles of trail to main- • Along the Appalachian Trail (AT), tain and numerous shelters to in both New Jersey and New York’s Can You Still Wwatch over, the NY-NJ Trail Dutchess and Putnam counties, there Conference offers many opportunities for are 20 opportunities for both shelter public service in the great outdoors. As we caretakers, corridor monitors and Get There add new trails to our network and as volun- AT maintainers. teers cycle in and out of service, new • New maintainers are needed along the maintainer positions are created and others Long Path and Shawangunk Ridge From Here? open up. And there are always opportuni- Trail as new sections are opened and ties to join our regional trail crews. We now others become vacant. track more than 900 volunteer maintain- • The Highlands Trail needs the help of ers, who clip brush, clear blow-downs, pick two in New York and two in New Jersey up litter, and generally keep our region’s to keep the trail clear and blazed. footpaths and shelters open for public use. • In the Catskills, 17 vacant positions are As the new year begins, we seek to fill listed in our files, including several lean- some 75 maintainer openings and add vol- to caretakers as well as trail maintainers. unteers to our crews. Training is provided • In the eastern New Jersey area from the at our spring and fall maintainer work- Farny Highlands to Pyramid Moun- shops; our workshop this spring is set for tain to Ringwood State Park there are April 21 and 22. another 15 maintainer positions open. Our current vacancies are summarized • In western New Jersey about seven GEORGETTE WEIR GEORGETTE here. Contact Heidi Adami or Larry maintainers are needed. Maintained footpaths connect people with nature, such as to this viewpoint in the Catskills Wheelock at the NY-NJ Trail Conference • In the area including Black Rock known as Huckleberry Point. The Trail Conference seeks to fill 75 maintainer positions office (201-512-9348; [email protected], Forest, Storm King Mountain, throughout our region, including 17 in the Catskills. Enjoy a public service experience in [email protected]) to find the best Schunemunk Mountain and the great outdoors with your family, friends, colleagues, organization, or on your own by match for your location and interests. becoming a trail or shelter maintainer. continued on page 5 partners, particularly the Palisades Inter- MAJOR WILLIAM A. WELCH pices) in which Jack serves as an instructor, 2006 NY-NJ Trail state Park Commission, has shown us a TRAIL PARTNER AWARD have admired and greatly benefited from talent that can only inspire. He under- To a non-TC member partner who has given his dedication and thoroughness. Conference Awards stands the delicate balance between the long/significant assistance Dedicated service to the hiking community needs of the hikers in our parks and the WILLIAM HOEFERLIN AWARD and to the Trail Conference was recognized bureaucratic structures set up to manage Jack Shuart For exemplary service to trail maintenance/ and honored at the Annual Meeting with them. His civil and even-handed approach For the past decade Jack Shuart, Assistant management/protection the presentation of Trail Conference awards to getting a job done brings prompt Regional Forester in the Division of Parks for 2006. Those honored were nominated response from all those who work with and Forestry of the New Jersey Dept. of Jakob Franke by Trail Conference members and approved him. His clear understanding of agencies’ Environmental Protection, has volunteered The 75th anniversary by the Board of Directors. management needs and requirements has hundreds of hours to train and certify of the conception of resulted in doors being kept open to him scores of TC blow-down crew personnel in the Long Path is a fit- RAYMOND H. TORREY AWARD that could easily have been slammed shut chainsaw safety. Trained to United States ting time to honor TC’s highest award, for significant/lasting with a less diplomatic approach. Volunteers Forest Service guidelines, Jack has willingly Jakob Franke, Long contributions and hikers owe an immense thanks to Pete and enthusiastically given his time to Path South Trails Heckler. His work and influence have ensure that our chain sawyers meet essen- Chair, who has Pete Heckler resulted in significant improvements of our tial safety standards in the performance of demonstrated Pete Heckler this year became only the sev- trail systems throughout the region. their demanding work. All who have unremitting dedica- enth person to be honored with the Trail attended the Chainsaw Safety Training tion to the growth Conference’s highest award. Pete’s influ- KEN LLOYD CLUB AWARD Workshops (sponsored through the TC HERB CHONG ence and dedication over the past few years TC club member individual who has given under Appalachian Trail Conservancy aus- continued on page 7 has resulted in a much-changed organiza- exemplary service to club tion. His ability to take on difficult tasks without hesitation has brought the Trail Patty Lee Parmalee Trail Conference Purchases Two Properties Conference from a NYC-centered organi- Patty Lee Parmalee zation to a regionally centered one, with a coordinated a five- Along Highlands Trail in New Jersey larger vision and greater influence. His year-long grassroots chairmanship of the West Hudson Trails campaign on behalf of The Trail Conference recently purchased more than two years of work. The protect- Committee and later the West Hudson TC member club Save two properties in Washington Township in ed land is heavily forested and contains South Trails Committee has been exempla- The Ridge (STR) that western Morris County, NJ, that will con- habitat for nine New Jersey threatened and ry. His ability to work constructively with culminated with spec- nect Stephens State Park in Mount Olive to endangered species, including barred owl, volunteers at all levels and with our agency tacular success in Schooley’s Mountain County Park via the cooper’s hawk, eastern box turtle, great March with New York Highlands Trail and Patriots’ Path. These blue heron, marbled salamander, red- State’s purchase of the two ridge-top tracts are part of a complex shouldered hawk, sharp-shinned hawk, 2,500-acre Awosting three-owner, six-parcel project that totals timber rattlesnake, and veery (a thrush that HERB CHONG Reserve for inclusion 74 acres and a $1.1 million purchase price. prefers damp deciduous forests). into Minnewaska State Park Preserve. This is the second New Jersey project for When a mega-development proposal in the Trail Conference, and is the result of continued on page 3 2002 threatened the Reserve’s natural beau- ty and the ecological integrity of the VOLUME XXXIV, NUMBER 1 ISSN 0749-1352 PERMIT #970-100 northern Shawangunks, local residents coa- lesced under STR to wage a spirited advocacy effort to preserve the property in league with a burgeoning band of like- minded organizations and individuals. HERB CHONG STR’s achievement is a paradigm for effec- Pete Heckler, at right, is congratulated by tive citizen action. Larry Wheelock and Jane Daniels. Page 2 January/February 2007 From the Chair Cold Weather Hiking VOLUME XXXIV, NO.1 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2007 GEORGETTE WEIR EDITOR LOUIS LEONARDIS GRAPHIC DESIGNER Just because the weather has turned cold, more than a bit biased towards wool. Wool you should not consider putting your warms and will keep you warm even if wet. The TRAIL WALKER (USPS Permit #970- hiking boots away for the season. Cold What people like to bring along on a 100) (ISSN 0749-1352) is published bi-monthly weather hiking offers its own rewards. winter hike varies a great deal. Consider me by the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference as Views open up when trees lose their a wimp, but I don’t mind carrying the extra a benefit of membership. Subscriptions are available to libraries only at $15.00 a year. leaves. Icicles on a rock face invite you to weight of a thermos, knowing that I will Periodical postage paid at Mahwah, N.J., and stop and touch them. Streams with ice for- have something hot to drink at lunch. I additional offices. Postmaster: Send address mations along the edges or around rocks also take along a computer mouse pad to sit changes to the address below. Opinions expressed are places to pause. Snow crunching under on at lunch. Having gotten wet feet, I fre- by authors do not necessarily represent the policy or position of the Conference. Contributions of foot is a different experience than scuffing quently carry an extra pair of socks, which typed manuscripts, photos, and drawings are though leaves. Footprints in the snow have served as mittens on several occasions. welcome. Manuscripts may be edited for style show animal activity that you would miss I enjoy winter hiking, but not all day and length. Send SASE for writers’ guidelines. in another season. Evergreens with a light because even a 15-minute lunch break Submission deadlines for the TRAIL WALKER dusting of snow remind you that the world makes me cool off too much. Therefore I are January 15 (Mar./Apr. issue), March 15 (May/June issue), May 15 (July/Aug. issue), still has some color. The crisp air is a go to parks within a half hour of my home, GEORGETTE WEIR GEORGETTE July 15 (Sept./Oct.