Frozen Frogs Underfoot Hiking without Pain Wood frogs and peepers can Know how to avoid heel spurs, freeze solid and live to sing ankle sprains, and shin splints. again. How do they do it? READ MORE ON PAGE 11 READ MORE ON PAGE 7 O UR 90TH YEAR January/February 2010 New York-New Jersey Trail Conference — Connecting People with Nature since 1920 www.nynjtc.org Volunteer Profile Bob Messerschmidt New AT Boardwalk Being Built Maintaining 4 miles of trail for 50 years Over Great Swamp in Pawling By Jim Haggett, Chair, Dutchess/Putnam AT Management Committee new Appalachian Trail boardwalk Hiller Brook carried with it silt from the over the past four years in an effort to mit - project in our region began as do surrounding hillside. The silt accumulated, igate the now common flooding of the Amany trail projects: with a deluge. greatly restricting the brook’s flow and, in trail. Cinder blocks were placed to serve as From near Rt. 22 and the AT train stop the years since, causing it to frequently spill stepping stones, but they were engulfed by on the Metro-North Harlem line in eastern over and flood the AT. the soft earth. Additional puncheon was Dutchess County, the AT traverses the Great built using donated wood; however it was a Swamp on a 50/50 combination of a regular constant battle to keep it in place during dirt footpath and wooden puncheon before 15 inches of rain periods of intense flooding. A long-term reaching a bridge that spans the Swamp Riv - during one week in 2005 solution was needed. S A er. (Puncheon is a walkway in which boards Very early on the Dutchess-Putnam AT N O J or logs are parallel to the trail and are sup - Management Committee and others from T R upended trail conditions E B ported by sills that rest on the ground.) The the Trail Conference began planning a O Bob Messerschmidt accepts the Extra R Trail parallels Hiller Brook for a good part of and a crossing that had solution in coordination with Bob Sickley, Mile Award from Estelle Anderson, this 1600-foot distance. associate regional representative for the Central Jersey Trails Co-chair. For 20 years this arrangement worked worked for 20 years. Appalachian Trail Conservancy, and Davis without incident. Reus, from the National Park Service’s Bob Messerschmidt of Bridgewater, NJ, Then, during the week of October 8, Appalachian Trail Park office. Drawing is a quiet man. Not one to call attention 2005, an almost unimaginable amount of A number of local volunteers headed by upon experience at other locations along to himself. He sees something that rain—approximately 15 inches—poured Frank Dogil, Jane Geisler, and Ollie Simp - continued on page 5 needs doing, and does it. Sticks with it onto the area! The flow of all this water in son instituted various (no cost) measures over the long term. Like working as an engineer for the Bell system through all of its manifestations over the years until Three-Hike his retirement. Like maintaining 4 miles of the Posts Brook Trail in New Series Explores Jersey’s Norvin Green State Forest for 50 years. Like giving to the Trail Con - the Shawangunk ference, making contributions above and beyond his dues and volunteering Ridge Trail for the past 25 years. A long-time hiker, Bob was intro - The Trail Conference teamed up with duced to trail work some 50 years ago member club Mid-Hudson ADK to offer a when the Trail Conference asked his series of three hikes in October and club, then the Somerset County Hikers, November that together covered most of to maintain the Posts Brook Trail. He our 40-mile Shawangunk Ridge Trail was among the club members who took (SRT) project. The goal was to expand on the job. He continued as the trail’s awareness of this special trail and the plan - R I E maintainer when the club disbanded in ning and work required to create and W E T the early 1990s. “It’s a beautiful trail,” maintain it. The hikes were open to Trail T E G R Bob says, “wooded, relatively moderate Conference members, ADK chapter mem - O E G in terms of difficulty, but with some ups bers, and the general public; 21 individuals Jakob Franke (left), Long Path South Supervisor, and Andy Garrison (second from right), and downs. It’s a joy to hike on it. I participated in one or more of the section SRT Supervisor, helped introduce the Shawangunk Ridge Trail to hikers this past fall with a enjoyed maintaining it very much.” hikes (not including the leaders). hike series planned with Mid-Hudson ADK, a Trail Conference member club. Now age 77, Bob decided in 2009 Georgette Weir and Jean-Claude Fouere, that it was time to “hang up my lop - members of both the Trail Conference and Trust for Public Land, The Nature Conser - mation about some of these updates can be pers.” But that didn’t last long. Bob ADK, coordinated the series with support vancy, and the Land Trust Alliance. found at the above-mentioned web page Jonas, Central Jersey Trails Co-chair, from SRT volunteers Andy Garrison (SRT Portions of the trail remain to be protected (check the comments section). persuaded him to help out another trail supervisor) and Jakob Franke (Long or located off roads and into natural areas. maintainer in the region. Jonas reports: Path South Trail Chair). Our three hikes gave us a good sense The Trail Conference hopes to offer guided “Instead of dropping out of sight, Bob The SRT was conceived by the Trail of the rugged beauty and diversity of this hikes on new, relocated, and improved trails continued on page 10 Conference in 1989 as a ridge-top trail fabulous trail. Hikers interested in explor - in the future. Watch our website and E-Walk - corridor connecting High Point State Park ing the Shawangunk Ridge Trail on their er, our electronic newsletter, for details. To sign in New Jersey with Minnewaska State Park own can download maps of the trail on up for E-Walker, send your email address, Volunteer Bob Messerschmidt Preserve in New York. Since then Trail our website at www.nynjtc.org/region/ with a note that you want to be on our email was given the Trail Conference’s Conference volunteers and staff have shawangunk-ridge-trail. Information about list to: [email protected]. Extra Mile Award in 2009. worked tirelessly to protect open space on the trail is also included in the Long Path For the full list of awards the Shawangunk Ridge, build the trail and Guide , though some relocations have been announced at the October connect it to other trails in the region, and made since publication of that book. Infor - Annual Meeting, and profiles of recruit maintainers and other volunteers to the recipients, turn to page 7. keep it open for the public. The project has been supported by part - ners that include the Open Space Institute, VOLUME XXXVII, N UMBER 1 ISSN 0749-1352 Non-Profit US Postage Paid Permit No. 1239 Bellmawr, N.J. A plaque memorializes one of the SRT’s The SRT passes through the scenic Basha early volunteers, Jack Hennessy. Kill Wildlife Management Area Page 2 January/February 2010 A Relationship Gets Set in Stone VOLUME XXXVII, NO.1 JANUARY /F EBRUARY 2010 Appalachian Trail Conservancy GEORGETTE WEIR EDITOR LOUIS LEONARDIS GRAPHIC DESIGNER sends volunteers and crew The TRAIL WALKER (USPS Permit #1239) leaders to Bear Mountain (ISSN 0749-1352) is published bi-monthly by the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference as a By Chris Ingui benefit of membership. Subscriptions are available to libraries only at $15.00 a year. Since 2006, Trail Conference volunteers led Periodical postage paid at Mahwah, N.J., and by a group of professional crew leaders from additional offices. Postmaster: Send address around the country have been building a changes to the address below. Opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily represent the policy 1000+ step granite staircase up the east face or position of the Conference. Contributions of of Bear Mountain. From March through typed manuscripts, photos, and drawings are November, teams have been splitting, shap - welcome. Manuscripts may be edited for style ing, and flying rock, transforming the and length. Send SASE for writers’ guidelines. boulder-ridden terrain into the most tech - Submission deadlines for the TRAIL WALKER are January 15 (Mar./Apr. issue), March 15 nically constructed stretch of the entire (May/June issue), May 15 (July/Aug. issue), Appalachian Trail. July 15 (Sept./Oct. issue), September 15 In September and October, and for the (Nov./Dec. issue), November 15 (Jan./Feb. third consecutive year, we welcomed addi - issue). Unsolicited contributions cannot be acknowledged unless accompanied by SASE. tional volunteers and crew leaders supplied For information on advertising rates, please write by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. or call. The Bear Mountain Trails Project is Copyright 2010 by: made possible by several essential partners, New York-New Jersey Trail Conference, Inc. among them the Palisades Interstate Park 156 Ramapo Valley Road (Rt. 202) Mahwah, NJ 07430 Commission and New York State Office of 201-512-9348 Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. e-mail: [email protected] Yet the Appalachian Trail Conservancy editorial e-mail: [email protected] (ATC) stands in a unique position along - World Wide Web: www.nynjtc.org side the Trail Conference as a project partner, reliably supplying volunteers and funding since construction began. To date, contributions of over $500,000 from ATC/National Park Service (the AT is a unit of the National Park system) have helped make it possible for trail volunteers Y from all over the country, both novice and E L K C I Mission Statement experienced alike, to obtain free training in S B advanced stone work.