90 Years of Trail Magic More Trail Magic Ahead What we’ve accomplished: Our trails, volunteers, partners, a timeline in pictures. and trail users will all be more SEE PAGES 6 & 7 numerous and more diverse. READ MORE ON PAGE 3 O UR 90TH YEAR November/December 2010 New York-New Jersey Trail Conference — Connecting People with Nature since 1920 www.nynjtc.org Trail Conference Aids Efforts New Teatown- The Trail Route TKT, which is blazed in distinctive pUrple, Kitchawan Trail begins at the North CoUnty Trailway near to Revitalize Lenape Trail and RoUte 134, and makes its way west across Links Multiple the Kitchawan Reserve near RoUte 134 in Liberty Water Gap Trail in NJ the soUtheast corner of Yorktown. When it By Steve Marano Parks and Trails reaches Arcady Road, it crosses onto DEP land and continUes throUgh the woods and he 34-mile Lenape Trail in Essex in Westchester meadows of Stayback Hill. CoUnty, NJ, is enjoying a bUrst of The trail then follows Croton Lake TvolUnteer energy and sUpport from On October 6, Westchester CoUnty’s trails Road, a lightly traveled and largely dirt-sUr - the Trail Conference, which is providing got a big boost in connectivity with the face road, in order to pass Under the north expertise in trail work and volUnteer train - opening of the Teatown-Kitchawan Trail and soUth lanes of the Taconic State Park - ing and sUpport to area residents who seek (TKT). The new east-west trail links the way. Once Under the parkway, the trail to revitalize the trail. north-soUth rUnning North CoUnty, Briar - retUrns to DEP lands and climbs Bald The Lenape Trail connects 19 parks in O cliff-Peekskill, and Old Croton AqUedUct MoUntain, passing throUgh beaUtifUl forest N A Essex CoUnty and is argUably one of the R trailways; Teatown Lake Reservation’s net - and isolated old meadows that afford stUn - A M oldest and most UniqUe Urban greenways in E work of more than 15 miles of trails; and ning views of the Croton Reservoir, V E T the Northeast. Seventy percent of the trail S three coUnty parks in the towns of York - northern Westchester, and the distant passes throUgh parkland or other natUral Volunteer Peter Avalar paints a blaze along town and Cortlandt—Kitchawan Preserve, HUdson Highlands. areas; the rest is on-street. This 30-year-old the Lenape Trail in Essex County, NJ. John Hand/Bald MoUntain, and Croton On the soUthwest side of the coUnty’s trail, first blazed in 1979, has been created Gorge. EventUally, the HUdson River Trail John Hand/Bald MoUntain Park, the TKT and maintained nearly single-handedly by ticeable in Urban settings. In fact, an infor - at Croton will also be linked to the trail intersects with the Briarcliff-Peekskill Trail - Al Kent (pictUred below), a Trail Confer - mal sUrvey that I completed this sUmmer network. way. This can be followed soUth to ence member and retired employee of the revealed that at best only one in 20 resi - The new 6.5-mile TKT is the cUlmina - Teatown or west to Croton Gorge Park and Morris CoUnty Parks Department. dents is even aware of the trail rUnning tion of a 13-year effort by Teatown to tie the New York State-owned Old Croton Al is a trUly remarkable individUal who throUgh their neighborhood. together the three major north-soUth trail - AqUedUct Trailway. at the age of 84 still performs maintenance The revitalization project that kicked off ways and for the first time to provide hikers nearly every day throUghoUt the year on this past sUmmer is a mUlti-phased effort access to Kitchawan’s rUgged, wilderness both the Lenape Trail and Patriots’ Path in intended to address this issUe head on. Not area. The project was spearheaded by Morris CoUnty. While Al has reblazed the only will the entire 30+ miles of trail be Teatown volUnteer Geoffrey Thompson trail where needed over the years, it is reblazed, bUt it will be marked in strategic, and involved the collaboration of the Trail extremely difficUlt for any one individUal, high-traffic locations with professionally Conference, the New York City Depart - let alone one in his mid-80s, to maintain printed metal medallions large enoUgh to ment of Environmental Protection (DEP), more than 30 miles of blazes. Many of the advertise the trail’s existence. The medallions and coUnty and local governments. R E P trail’s blazes have faded and some have dis - will display the trail name in bold letters DEP provided a 25-foot-wide hiking A R D appeared entirely, making it hard to follow. along with a distinctive arrowhead logo, and trail easement across its lands on Stayback H G I E Of more significance, the pUblic is virtU - inclUde a website URL where those interest - Hill and Bald MoUntain. This corridor is to L ally Unaware of the existence of this UniqUe ed can obtain maps and information. be maintained and managed by Teatown. Opening ceremony for the Teatown- resoUrce. The trail is marked entirely with The project began in early sUmmer when Since March of this year, staff and volUn - Kitchawan Trail. yellow blazes, which, while acceptable in a Montclair High School 2010 gradUate teers of Teatown and the Trail Conference Collaborating for Community Trails traditional forested areas, are almost Unno - named Ian Vanderklein, working Under constrUcted the new trail. Improvements “The completion of this trail represents the Trail Conference sUpervision, Used a GPS were also made to existing trails in the realization of a long-held dream,” com - to docUment all existing blaze locations coUnty’s Kitchawan and John Hand parks. mented Fred Koontz, Teatown’s execUtive and identify problem areas in both direc - The resUlt is the new TKT east-west trail. director. “It will now be possible to hike all tions. Lenape Trail volUnteers are Using this Information kiosks with a map of the way from Yonkers to Yorktown on the data extensively to help direct their reblaz - the trail roUte are being installed at the North CoUnty Trailway, cross the TKT and ing efforts, which are now Underway. primary access points to the new trail. take the Old Croton AqUedUct Trailway all On AUgUst 21, experienced Trail Confer - A map of the trail (below) has been the way back down-coUnty, althoUgh yoU’d ence volUnteer Robert Jonas sUpported oUr developed by the Trail Conference and likely be pretty tired and sore the next efforts by giving a workshop in trail blazing can be downloaded from oUr website morning! BUt what is great aboUt it is that to a groUp of nine individUals interested in (www.nynjtc.org/map/teatownkitchawan- it can be hiked in a variety of mUch short - helping with the reblazing project. In the trail-map). er increments, so it really offers hiking space of jUst foUr weeks, this groUp accom - opportUnities for jUst aboUt anyone.” plished the amazing job of reblazing the Ed Goodell, Trail Conference execUtive entire main east-to-west trail from Roseland director, noted that bUilding trail connec - to Newark, over 30 miles. This inclUded continued on page 11 major reroUtings along mUch of the eastern third of the trail, encompassing nearly all of Branch Brook Park, mUch of Belleville Park, the additions of Booth and Yantecaw Parks in NUtley, and a significant reroUting in Upper Montclair to provide access to the O N A Alonzo Bonsal Wildlife Preserve. R A M PUblic recognition of the trail is already E V E picking Up. The mayor and commissioners T S Al Kent, who 30 years ago first imagined of NUtley are thrilled with the decision to a long-distance trail across New Jersey, reroUte it throUgh the NUtley park system, continues to maintain the Lenape Trail. continued on page 11 Bk Bk VOLUME XXXVII, N UMBER 6 ISSN 0749-1352 Non-Profit Bk US Postage Paid Bk Permit No. 1239 Bk Bellmawr, N.J. Bk Bk Page 2 November/December 2010 helping rebuild the deck and railing on the Re New Section off the Peters Kill Bridge. The work was done during Bare Rock Trail the last weekend of August. It was the Thank yoU for the front page in the Sep - VOLUME XXXVII, NO.6 NOVEMBER /D ECEMBER 2010 finishing job on recent trail work in the area tember/October issUe of the Trail Walker . GEORGETTE WEIR EDITOR of the Peters Kill parking area at Minnewaska The article states that “At 2:20pm on LOUIS LEONARDIS GRAPHIC DESIGNER State Park Preserve that included relocating a Friday, JUne 23, Peter Tilgner and SUzan The TRAIL WALKER (USPS Permit #1239) Correction section of the Red Loop Trail. Gordon (Sterling Forest Trail SUpervisors) (ISSN 0749-1352) is pUblished bi-monthly by the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference as a … and apologies to Eric FUchs-Stengel. painted the last blaze...” The trUth is Peter, benefit of membership. SUbscriptions are His name was spelled incorrectly on page Watery Grave: SUzan, and the soUthern section’s main - available to libraries only at $15.00 a year. 3 in the September/October issUe. Another Chapter tainer, ChUck Holmes, nailed Up the last Periodical postage paid at Mahwah, N.J., and In the September/October issue of Trail blazes. With the exception of the Wildcat additional offices. Postmaster: Send address Thanks from Minnewaska Walker , Susan Sterngold wrote of the emer - MoUntain Trail, all blazes on Sterling For - changes to the address below. Opinions expressed Park Manager by aUthors do not necessarily represent the policy gence of a gravestone in the middle of Pine est trails are metal tags covered with or position of the Conference.