We have quite an exciting year ahead for Metrotrails with even more connections and exploring to be done all over the New York and Philadelphia Metropolitan area! Participation has been great for Winter months and promises to continue to be so!
Our Holiday NY City hike this year saw over sixty participants! That does not top last years 77, but that's just fine!
Read on for the schedule of upcoming hikes further in this message.
I would like to welcome all of our recent newcomers to the group!
Metrotrails is a growing organization, a NJ non profit corporation with the purpose of assisting with planning, development, maintenance, and promotion of trail systems in the NY/Philly Metro area. We promote our open spaces through this series of hikes that have been going on since March of 1997.
When people ask if we are "the meetup group", please remember we are so much more than that. Metrotrails is actually older than Meetup! People come from various postings including but not limited to Meetup.com.
In addition, we do trail clearing, planning, and marking. We have several projects in completed and more in the works. Our latest completed trail is the Musconetcong Trail from the River Resource Center in Asbury toward Valley Road in Hampton, to help Musconetcong Watershed Association. It was a big project, but we got it done! Now, we are working to complete a foot path connecting two pieces of the Morris Canal Greenway in the new Port Murray Preserve.
Photo by Matthew R. Davis; SGF Studios, Morris Canal Greenway in Port Murray.
This week, we managed to finish initial clearing and some marking of the new trail, which looks great! Of course, we are also moving along with Warren Highlands Trail, our biggest project, which was the subject of our First Day Hike on New Years Day!
A special thanks to all of the volunteers who came out and got so much work done on the trails:
Matthew Davis, Doug DeGroff, Gregg Hudis, Sandy Westermann and the kids, Jennifer Berndt, "Major Tom" Conroy, Brandan Jermyn, Rob Anders, and Jillane Becker.
So what is coming up in the first month of 2015?
This year, as planned, will mark the completion of the entire NJ Perimeter Series. I will be the first person ever to actually hike the entire perimeter of the state. Over 100 separate day hikes have already gone toward this initiative, and 18 or so more will complete it.
The bulk of the hikes remaining are the ones along the Delaware Bay at the southwest end, and along the middle Delaware between Camden and Trenton. We begin in January doing two Jersey Perimeter hikes per month, one in each of these areas.
Sun Jan 4: Bowman's Creek area to Harveys Lake: This hike will mostly follow an old Lehigh Valley Railroad branch northwest of Wilkes Barre (the next one in this series connects us to Rickett's Glen, probably a June hike!).
Sun Jan 11: Philly, Camden, and North: This hike will begin in Philly and we'll walk across the Ben Franklin Bridge to Palmyra along the Delaware! Meeting in Palrmyra, 8:30.
Sat Jan 17: Colebrook and Royalton: Follow an old railroad line and some back roads along the Susquehanna River in this interesting off the beaten path route through the country south of Harrisburg.
Sun Jan 25: Jersey Perimeter Turkey Point and Fortesque: This hike takes us along trails and back roads in the Delaware Bay estuary region, always an interesting time!
Sun, Feb 1: This will be a partnership I'm arranging with several outdoors groups including the Freewalkers and the Shore Walkers, along Hudson River Waterfront Walkway. It is a repeat of a past Jersey Perimeter hike, but there are two places recently opened we did not cover in that section!
Also, watch out for some Friday night hikes in the near future!
Next, I would like to bend everyone's ear just a little bit about a project we at Metrotrails feel strongly about. I'm prepared for some to disagree, but please have a listen at least.
One of the subjects of our furthest hike series' has been hiking the former Ulster and Delaware Railroad. This like is distinguished as having been the only railroad across the Catskills. It was later part of the New York Central system. It stretched from Kingston Point to Oneonta NY. At it's northwest end, it has been long abandoned.
The rail line still has tracks in place out to Kingston Point where trolley excursions run trains. The section here is a wonderful example of "Rail With Trail" rather than "Rail To Trail".
Since the beginning, and our very first hike in fact in 1997, old railroad corridors have been a strong underlying tone for Metrotrails. These routes take us to incredible places we'd not see otherwise, and offer an incredible view of how nature comes back to restore what was taken from it.
HOWEVER, in some places this rails to trails phenomenon is a detriment to active rails and smart public transportation. Metrotrails is supportive of rails to trails, but NOT if it is at the expense of useful, active railroad infrastructure.
This is where we have a problem with a proposed plan in Kingston NY.
A portion of the rail line from the trolley line site on to the active tracks, including the tunnel pictured above, has already had the tracks removed and is under development as a trail. This section is fine, because the tracks no longer go through and a hospital is built over them just to the west.
However, from Kingston Plaza west to the Ashokan Reservoir, there has been an initiative to remove all rails in favor of a rail trail. Catskill Mountain Railroad has been running popular themed trains out of Kingston Plaza, and on the same day as one of our recent hikes on the corridor, a train passed over Hurley Mountain Road out of Kingston for the first time since 1976.
At first, as a trail advocacy group, of course we were for the trail plan. It appeared as though the rail right of way from the currently operated section by CMRR was in poor condition and a trail was the best idea. Then we hiked it.
We found the rail to be all in quite good condition, with no serious washouts all the way from Kington to Ashokan. Furthermore, light weight maintenance trains run these sections of track regularly, and CMRR employs a foreman who keeps this section clear. CMRR already runs another excursion train out of Phoenicia further to the northwest, and only two significant impediments keep them from making a connection between the two points of operation. One is the washout pictured further above, the other is the Boiceville Trestle, which washed out during tropical storm Irene.
We were told there was FEMA grant money available to make the necessary repairs, but the county will not allow this to happen.
At first, I was skeptical about the claims made by rail enthusiasts about Ulster County being against the rails.
Always wanting to offer a helping hand, I made some suggestions on the Facebook page to the Friends of the Catskill Mountain Rail Trail. My suggestions were that the rails should be left in, if not for service, as an erosion inhibitor.
The rail line overcomes arduous terrain, and is always on a fill, in a cut, or along a shelf, which means it will certainly be a problem when it comes to washouts. Putting their crushed stone aggregate surface between and around the rails rather than removing them would inhibit much of this erosion.
The Friends Group on Facebook was quick with their response that this would not work, and that it's never been done before. Of course, having hiked more rail mileage than most anyone, I was quick with a response that included pictures of exactly how this is done in many places.
I left several photo comments with examples like what I have pictured above, where rail has been preserved in the name of erosion control. My responses noted names of the trails, their locations, and how their development was a benefit to development.
This type of development is an itelligent re-use, and it could be done in such a way to preserve an occasional excursion train as well.
I was enraged to see my comments and photos on the page removed within minutes of my posting them. I had not yet taken sides, I was just trying to help out. Then, I found out the county's plans were to scrap the rail and use the money to apply surfacing to the trail.
Next, I read in an opinion article that the planners and engineers had already been paid for the rail trail plan. Not only that, I heard that the company who was to supply the surfacing material for the trail had was said to have made hefty political contributions.
I became very active in the forums to "save the rails". Even the Catskill Mountain Railroad is in favor of "rail with trail", and will gladly assist with clearing and development of such a problem if it does not inhibit the rails.
Soon, I started receiving insulting and at some points threatening messages from people I didn't even know. I asked one of the forum moderators who one particular guy was, and it turned out to be a retired railroad guy working for Ulster County as a consultant. I was told he was using bully tactics and sending similar messages to others who were in any way supportive of the rail with trail plan.
Now, some might even argue that this corridor already IS rail with trail. The current lease between Ulster County and Catskill Mountain Railroad clearly states that CMRR will maintain the right of way and keep it open to hikers, fisherment, etc, as long as it is not an impediment to their active operations. The corridor from Kingston to Ashokan is maintained very nicely. So, why do we need another yuppie rail trail? Cyclists may use it, but it's difficult. Ulster County is insisting that the trail must be eight feet wide.
It was argued that only "one footprint" would be allowed on the sixty foot right of way. Sure, there are some places where a parallel trail route might be necessary to divert somewhat, but in most cases, an adequate space could be made along the tracks, and those looking for an easy mountain bike ride can take the Marbletown Rail Trail south from the same Kingston Plaza, the same location as this proposed trail.
Ulster County has already proven to be proficient at squeezing a trail in alongside an active right of way with their work at Kingston Point pictured above.
The forums for local periodicals have had heated debates on the proposed trail, making claims that it will bring in revenue. I posted about the hikes we'd recently done through Kingston area, two of which were on the Marbletown Rail Trail, both on beautiful Sundays, and on both we did not pass a single other visitor. Further, hikers and cyclists don't spend a serious amount of money on local businesses. We stop for dinner after the hikes locally...sometimes....but this is not going to be the economic boon the trail only proponents suggest.
I was further enraged when my posts on these forums too were removed by moderators, and "comment periods were closed" on others.
On our last hike through Kingston, we found dedicated Catskill Mountain Railroad workers still busy on trackage at dusk. The dedication of these workers, true rail fans working to preserve a piece of Catskill history, is outstanding and contagious.
Ulster County attacks them, stating they have not lived up to lease agreements. First, keeping the 11 mile corridor that is currently clear in such a good state of repair is a monstrous achievement. I personally maintained seven miles of the Columbia Trail in NJ, which required me to walk it with a rake for drainage ditches with one other employee taking at least a day and a half EVERY WEEK. Employees had to be hired strictly to maintain the trail, and it still washed out. CMRR has a special train and crew for this work, and a passion that is doubtful to be found in anyone hired to do the work. Trails like this of course are far too much a burden for volunteers to take on. Another of the pro trail groups sent me photos of the right of way stating they were between Ashokan and Kingston, depicting foot wide trees growing through the tracks, not knowing I'd walked the right of way only the week prior.
My last post on the Kingston Times page saw one of the pro-trail/no rail advocates suggesting to me that I focus my efforts closer to home and stay out of this.
Now I'm going to ask you to picture one day a train from Kingston to Phoenicia, on the same route thousands of tourists took every year to the celebrated resorts, only now they could also serve outfitters with bicycles, canoes, and tubers headed down the Esopus. Ride the train up, bike, paddle, or float back. Or, take the train and backpack the Long Path south to the Shawangunks, then loop back to Kingston on Wallkill Valley or Marbletown Rail Trail with no need for complicated bus schedules.
If the trail is developed, I might hike it again...once. But this is not a resource that will draw people back to Kingston over and over. The rail with trail can compliment each other. Perhaps one day we might even see a regular commuter service back into the Catskills, breathing life back into some of these now depressed locales.
Ryan Lennox, dedicated brush clearing foreman on CMRR
Rails with Trails CAN co-exist if there is enough outcry for it. There may come a day when we NEED our public transportation infrastructure again, even if today it remains only as an excursion line. I encourage everyone to sign the following petition to Ulster Co executive, and note in it support for "rails WITH trails", and support US History!
Metrotrails is dedicated to preservation of both ecological and historic aspects of trail corridors, and it simply makes not sense to destroy a sustainable resource, and in this case the most cost effective with greatest public engagement.
Hope to see lots of you on the trail for out upcoming events! Let's make 2015 our best year yet!
Best Regards
M'ke Helbing
President
Metrotrails
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