NATIONAL TRAILS DAY
ADK 85th Anniversary Celebration
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Adirondak Loj

Lake Placid, New York

ADK THANKS THE SPONSORS WHO HELPED MAKE

NATIONAL TRAILS DAY A GREAT SUCCESS

Corporate Sponsors - Pictures

Chapter Sponsors - Pictures

Working with three-hundred-pound rocks to build water bars and set stepping stones on the Indian Pass Trail, building an extension of a universal access trail at Heart Lake, and digging drainage ditches on the Jackrabbit Ski Trail, this is just a sampling of the activity during the Adirondack Mountain Club’s (ADK) National Trails Day Celebration.

On Saturday, June 2, I had the opportunity to visit with a handful of the many groups of volunteers working on trails in the High Peaks Region. There were scores of people working with rock bars, shovels, pick-axes, and loppers to help improve Adirondack trails—and they were having a great time doing it.

On the Indian Pass Trail volunteers were working with rocks the size of beer kegs to build water bars and stepping stones on an extremely muddy stretch of trail. When I reached the crew and its leaders, two volunteers from the Adirondack Forty-Sixers, they were setting several enormous rocks to create a solid path.  

There were over a dozen volunteers having a blast re-routing a 100-yard stretch of trail on the hike to Marcy Dam. They quickly finished some impressive side hill benching and brushed in the entire stretch of old trail to be sure hikers never use it again. The new trail will drain more efficiently and is at a more moderate grade—an improvement that will be noticed by skiers this winter.

 

First thing in the morning I visited with the volunteer crew working on the Northville-Placid Trail at the trailhead on Averyville Road. This was an all-star crew with ADK legends: Marilyn and Peter Gillespie, Carol and David White, Nat and Lois Wells and former pro-crew boss Joe Brant. Next I caught up with the volunteers working on the Jackrabbit Ski Trail. Here Tony Goodwin led a group digging drainage ditches down the last steep section of the classic ski trail before reaching the Lake Placid Club.

 

In the afternoon I returned to the Adirondak Loj where a group was working on the Marge Tierney Memorial Trail. This universal access trail gives people who use wheelchairs or require a firm, level surface for mobility a trail from the High Peaks Information Center to the edge of Heart Lake. The trail ends at an accessible viewing platform overlooking the lake and the MacIntyre Range in the distance. On National Trails Day, a dozen volunteers extended this trail from the viewing platform to the Adirondak Loj.

 

 

 

 

I made it back to the Loj in time for State Senator Betty Little’s visit to ADK for National Trails Day where she announced the State Trails Supporter Patch. Joined by North Elba Town Supervisor Shirley Seney, DEC Region 5 Director Betsy Lowe, and ADK Executive Director Neil Woodworth, Senator Little unveiled the Supporter Patch. The patch will be sold across the state and proceeds will help maintain the state’s public trail network and promote outdoor recreation.

By late afternoon other groups arrived back at the Adirondak Loj. One group of volunteers spent the day working on the access trail to the Beer Walls, a popular rock climbing area south of Keene Valley. Another group built a new mountain biking trail in an extensive mountain bike trail network in Wilmington Wild Forest. Yet another group climbed Algonquin Peak with two Summit Stewards to learn about the rare and endangered alpine vegetation on the summits of the tallest mountains in the Adirondacks.   

ADK made sure the hard work from all of our dedicated volunteers didn’t go unrewarded. In the evening, ADK hosted a home-cooked dinner for all of our volunteers. The dinner featured ingredients from local farms and food producers. The cheeses, ground beef, vegetables, herbs, and ice cream all came from farms in the Adirondack region and ADK’s wonderful cook, Susie LeClair, prepared an absolutely superior meal with these fine ingredients. Microbrew beer was provided by Cooperstown Brewery and Three Doug Knight played bluegrass tunes as our volunteers enjoyed the National Trails Day Celebration into the night. 

ADK gratefully acknowledges the following

businesses for sponsoring National Trails Day Projects:

Adirondack Rock and River Guide Service

 

High Peaks Cyclery

 

Cooperstown Brewing Company

 

Eastern Mountain Sports

Thank you Adirondack Mountain Club Chapters

for Sponsoring National Trails Day Projects

Albany Chapter

Genesee Valley Chapter

Glens Falls - Saratoga Chapter

Lake Placid Chapter

North Woods Chapter

Schenectady Chapter

 

In-Kind Sponsor

 

GrandyOats and Organic Trails

National Trails Day 2007 is hosted by the Adirondack Mountain Club in partnership with the Northern Forest Canoe Trail, the Adirondack Ski Touring Council, the Adirondack Forty Sixers and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Region 5.