BUCKEYE TRAIL ASSOCIATION Trailblazer FOUNDED 1959 WINTER 2014 VOLUME 46 NO. 4 Take a Hike in Dayton Karen Cisne On Friday, October 25, 2013, officials from Five Rivers Metroparks, the City of Dayton, the Buckeye Trail Association and the North Coun- try Trail Association gathered at Deeds Point Metropark (Troy Section, point 5) on the banks of the Great Miami River in Dayton, Ohio to celebrate the designation of Dayton as a “Trail Town.” Dayton Mayor Gary Leitzel’s announce- ment made it official: “Now, therefore, the city of Dayton does hereby proclaim that Dayton, Ohio is a Buckeye and North Country Trail Town and commends the Buckeye Trail Association for its work in developing and maintaining the Buckeye Trail. And furthermore, encour- ages all residents and visitors of Dayton to take a hike on the Buckeye and North Country Trail.” Thus, Dayton became the second and largest city on the Buckeye and North Country Trail so designated. Brent Anslinger, Program Operations Manager for Five Rivers Brent Anslinger Metroparks, defined “trail town” for the audience. He said Recognition of Trail Town Status – Mayor Gary Leitzel, BTA Executive Director it is a community through which the Buckeye and North Andrew Bashaw, and NCTA Director of Trail Development Andrea Ketchmark Country Trail passes that supports hikers with services, promotes the trail to its citizens, and embraces the trail as a resource to be protected and celebrated. Dayton City Commissioner Nan Whaley said Dayton was grateful and excited for the designation saying, “It’s not every day that Dayton is the largest community that is part of something that reaches 4,600 miles.” She added that Dayton is proud to add an urban flavor to the trail and to use the opportu- nity to highlight one of the city’s greatest amenities, the Great Miami River. (continued on page 2) IN THIS ISSUE... 3 News and Notes from the Board 10 For the Love of Ohio’s Buckeye Trail! 14 Opportunities Abound! of Trustees 11 Supporting Other Trails—the Bruce 15 Buckeye Trailfest 2014 4 On the Trail Trail Conservancy 16 The Columbus Foundation 5 Winter Activities 12 A Series of Remarkable Experiences 17 BTA Funds Report and Hiking Life Lessons 6 Schedule of Hikes and Events 18 Welcome New Members! 13 Restoration at Lockington 8 Amazing Environmental Partner… 19 2014 Work Parties a Coal Company? Gets Underway 9 Meet Your Volunteer… www.buckeyetrail.orgRyan Lawrence TAKE A HIKE IN DAYTON (continued from page 1) Until I attended the celebration, I was unaware of the strides my hometown has made in fostering a healthier urban and suburban lifestyle by providing and promot- ing trails for hiking and biking throughout the region. It is the combined effort of the City of Dayton, Five Rivers Metroparks, the Trailblazer Buckeye Trail Association and the North Published Quarterly by the Country Trail Association. Their work put Buckeye Trail Association, Inc. Dayton on both the Ohio trail map and the P.O. Box 254 National trail map. Worthington, Ohio 43085 A section of the Buckeye Trail system 740-394-2008 Circulation: 1,200 runs through Taylorsville Dam Metropark (Troy Section, point 9) where I often walk Liz DeBraal with my young grandsons. It is located near Editor Vandalia, just north of Dayton where I now Derek Atkinson live. Vandalia is designated the “Crossroads Production of America.” Lincoln’s old National Road crosses the old Dixie Highway in the center of Vandalia. When I drive on Rt. 40, the old Brent Anslinger DEADLINES National Road, I take pride in reflecting on Following the Blue Blazes Wherever They Go, Deadlines for submission are its history. February 1 for the Spring issue, Great Miami River Recreation Trail Similarly, when I walk through May 1 for the Summer issue, August 1 for the Fall issue, Taylorsville Dam Metropark, I now appreci- and November 1 for the Winter issue. ate the fact that under my Nikes is a footpath that traverses 1440 miles of Ohio, thanks to the Buckeye Trail Association. Furthermore, thanks to the North Country Trail Asso- ciation’s work with the BTA and other trail organizations to manage and maintain 4600 SUBMISSIONS miles of trails in seven states, the more fit and adventurous can take a left on the same Liz DeBraal 672 Whisperlake Rd. path in Dayton and hike to New York, or turn right and go clear to North Dakota! My Holland, OH 43528 hometown has earned its new title—Dayton is a “Trail Town!” [email protected] ADVERTISING Andrew Bashaw 740-777-6BTA (6282) [email protected] Disclaimer: The articles and all information in this publication have been prepared with utmost care. However, neither the Buckeye Trail Association nor the Editor can guarantee accuracy or completeness of information. Opinions Brent Anslinger Brent expressed in the articles, columns and paid advertising are not necessarily Celebrating with the Wright Brothers, Deeds Metropark those of the BTA. Trail Tal k Check us out . .trailtalk.buckeyetrail.org twitter.com/hikethebt buckeyetrailfriends.org Trailblazer is printed on recycled paper. youtube.com/user/BuckeyeTrailTV facebook.com/groups/buckeyetrailfacebook.com/buckeyetrail 2 BTA Trailblazer Winter 2013 www.buckeyetrail.org BTA Board OF TRUSTEES OFFICERS News and Notes from the Melissa Reed, President Constance Pond, Vice President Ruth Brown, Secretary Board of Trustees Debbie Zampini, Treasurer TRUSTEES Melissa Reed Deven Atkinson, Franchot Ballinger, Dan Crandall, Liz DeBraal, Pat Hayes, Buckeye Trail trustees and staff met for our annual end-of-summer business meeting on Byron Henry, Mark Henry, Scott Kamph, John Knouse, Darryl Smith, Adrian Vanko August 23-24. Unlike the three board meetings in Dublin – in March, June and Decem- ber – the Annual Retreat extends over several days and includes overnight camping, BTA StaFF & COMMITTEE CHAIRS sharing meals, getting to know each other better, and in some cases meeting and min- Andrew Bashaw gling with families of participants. We have frequent committee meetings throughout Buckeye Trail Association Executive Director the year by telephone conference; at the Retreat we have them face-to-face. All of this PO Box 5, Shawnee, OH 43782 happens at our beautifully refurbished Barn on Tappen Lake, about a 5-minute walk 740-777-6BTA (6282) from the Buckeye Trail itself. Buckeye TrailFest John Knouse On Friday afternoon, the Budget, Finance and Long Range Planning Committee (BuFiLo) met in nearby Deersville to review budget requests for 2014. This work was Awards & Recognition Mary Hamilton done under the leadership of Vice President Connie Pond with assistance from Treasurer BTA Century Barn Debbie Zampini. The committee readied a provisional budget for consideration by the Mary Hamilton full board the next day. The budget is still provisional at this point and may be further Budget, Finance & Long Range Planning amended in December when, as required by our bylaws, it is presented to the board for Connie Pond adoption. Bylaws On Saturday, we approved the minutes from the June meeting, reviewed financial Mary Hayes reports which had been e-mailed previously to all board members, and discussed the Cartography Herb and Susie Hulls proposed budget. Other reports followed, including one on moving the bats from the Barn to the many houses we’ve put up for them on the Barn grounds. Mark Henry will Computer Service Coordinator Steve Miller supervise a work party to eliminate entry points before the bats return for next year’s Mail Secretary season. Another item on the agenda dealt with a CafePress proposal. Darlene Karoly had Dorothy Anson suggested offering our t-shirts, cups and other items for sale through the CafePress web Nominations site. Following a discussion at the June meeting, we voted at the Retreat to begin using Jeff Yoest CafePress in addition to our existing on-line store. Darlene put together the CafePress Property Search listing, the link to which you can now access on our web site. Jim Runk We saw the results of several recent appointments as we reviewed proofs of the first Sales Manager Trailblazer produced under Liz DeBraal’s editorship. We were pleased to meet Barry Barry Unger, Interim Unger, our new AmeriCorps volunteer. During the coming year he will take over volun- Scholarship Elmo Layman teer coordination, formerly under Garry Dill’s direction. Trail Maintenance Supervisor The Trail Management Team (TMT) assembled to fill out the calendar for the Jim Sprague remainder of this year and all of next year. We also set dates for board meetings and Trail Management Team other events. You may consult the Trailblazer or the web site for the listings. Pat Hayes, Interim Chair We finished up board business on Sunday morning. Richard Lutz, continuing in Trail Preservation a third year with us as an AmeriCorps volunteer, reported on the trail corridor plan- John Knouse ning project he has undertaken to connect segments of the trail, increase the number of Trail Preservation Fund campsites, and generally improve the hiking experience. Bill Schultz Connie Pond reported that the second edition of Follow the Blue Blazes is on sched- Volunteer Placement Barry Unger ule and proposed a digital photo contest to create the illustrations for the book, with Webmaster the announcement of winning entries to take place at next year’s TrailFest. John Knouse Mary Hayes updated us on plans for Buckeye TrailFest 2014, which will be held at Camp Akita the in Hocking Hills on April 24-27. Check out the camp’s website, campakita.org, for a virtual tour of the facility. Detailed information from John, including how to register, will be coming soon. We adjourned in mid-morning, to reconvene at the next board meeting in Dublin on December 14. www.buckeyetrail.org BTA Trailblazer Winter 2013 3 On the Trail Andrew Bashaw Margaret Mead once said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.