Central & Western NY Outdoors  
August 

 

~~~ IN THIS ISSUE ~~~                                 

Walking in the Origin of Man

New Book - Take Your Bike 

Rochester has a National Recreation Trail   

Kenneglenn Scenic and Nature Preserve

Keuka Lake Outlet Trail

Southbounders - an Appalachian Trail Movie

Erie Canal Greenway Grants Available

Learn About Orienteering at Zoar Valley

“Cycling Along the Canals of New York State” – Book Release and Discussion

     Walking in the Origin of Man by Rick French

I have made footprints in the mud as far back as I can remember into my childhood. Yet the humanoid tracks I was witnessing had been laid down long before my first tracks. As part of Walking in Africa, I visited the site of what has been written about in National Geographic as the home of “Lucy”. “Lucy” was among the first upright humanoids to walk the earth. In this ancient place I shared with her the feel of space and the stretches of time over a vast land.

Some places on this earth reach deep into ourselves. Being on foot in Africa somehow draws out a primordial connection born inside each of us. The Saber Tooth is gone but gigantic animals still roam freely. While walking, guarded by Masai warriors, your skin can still tingle at the sight of a lion in the distance. Our normal daily surroundings of concrete and beeping cell phones have been shed miles before.

Rising out of the vast Serengeti, we pass deeper into the jungle. We are on our way to reach the extinct crater rim of a dormant volcano. The Great Rift Valley. A name learned in elementary school here, finally after 40 years takes on real meaning in the shape of the land around us.

At night the sounds of the cicada create a symphony. Through the stillness. I see a red clothed figure pad silently around the perimeter of our camp with his spear, the night sky silhouettes him. “Lucy” could still be walking just out of sight. 

To visit this wonderful land this winter yourself, go to www.packpaddleski.com

      New Book - Take Your Bike by Sue Freeman

We rode hard, but it was worth it. This time we jammed even more exciting bike trails – including many new ones into our newest 224 page guidebook.

Introducing: 
“Take Your Bike – Family Rides in New York's Finger Lakes Region,” (available approximately August 8th.)  Like our new hiking book, this one focuses just on the Finger Lakes region and offers 43 trail systems to explore with your bike.   PREVIEW  

New trails include:

• Casey Park in the town of Ontario where you ride parallel to a lake formed in a former iron ore pit.
  

• Ole Erie Canal Lock 56 Trail in Lyons where you circumnavigate a segment of the Erie Canal and pass an operational dry dock.
  

• Bear Trap Creek Bikeway in Syracuse – an easy paved trail.
  

• Spafford Forest – one of my favorites. Climb a short hill then ride a flat ridge through pristine forest with a panoramic valley view.
  

• Cayuga Waterfront Trail in Ithaca provides a tour of the Cayuga Lake waterfront.
  

• Ridgeway Trail – a newly converted rail trail.
  

• The Catharine Valley Trail heads south from Watkins Glen. Six miles of newly packed crushed stone trail is available now and more miles are improved each year. It will eventually span 12 miles.
  

• The Frank J. Ludovico Sculpture Trail in Seneca Falls follows the shore of the Erie Canal and offers a series of sculptures depicting local history.
  

• Kinney Creek Trail in Livonia Center is another new rail trail.
  

• Dryer Road Park in Victor has become a mountain bike paradise with a wide network of trails.

That’s just a sampling. They range from easy paved trails to strenuous mountain biking trails. They all offer fun adventures on bicycles away from the danger and fumes of cars. Click here to review the complete listing of trails and preview the book. Order a copy today and enjoy a late summer and fall filled with new trails to explore.

ORDER TODAY

       Rochester has a National Recreation Trail  

The Genesee Riverway Trail joins over 900 other trails in all 50 states, in being recognized as a National Recreation Trail. NRTs provide for numerous outdoor recreation activities in a variety of urban, rural, and remote areas.  American Trails, the National Park Service, the USDA Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land Management are working together on the National Recreation Trails Program.

The Genesee Riverway Trail is a 15-mile urban trail/bikeway that takes trail users through the scenic, historic, and cultural heart of Rochester, linking parks, historic districts, waterfalls, and more. If you haven’t experienced it, now’s the time! Hike or bike it this summer or fall. Details can be found in “Take Your Bike – Family Rides in the Rochester Area.”

      Kenneglenn Scenic and Nature Preserve

In February of 2000 the Western New York Land Conservancy, the Friends of Kenneglenn and The Trust for Public Land mounted a $400,000 capital campaign to raise funds to purchase the Kenneglenn Estate in Wales located 30 miles from downtown Buffalo.  Through the successful fundraising efforts of this collaborative group, the WNYLC purchased the Estate in November of 2000 and has established the Kenneglenn Scenic and Nature Preserve.

Kenneglenn is a 130-acre expanse that runs along the spectacular Hunter's Creek gorge. The Preserve features wetlands and forest lands, as well as beautiful views of the gently rolling hills that are characteristic of southern Erie County. The Preserve also has a lodge.  Kenneglenn is adjacent to the protected Erie County owned Hunter's Creek Land Bank, forming a band of protected open space along Hunters Creek.

The Preserve will be accessible to the public for hiking, nature study and educational programs on a limited access basis.

  HEARTWOOD WILDERNESS WORKSHOPS
August 2006 

WNY Land Conservancy’s Kenneglenn Nature Preserve

August 6: Rattles & Rhythms- Make your own rattle from raw hide, wood, sinew, and seeds. Learn about musical and ceremonial uses of rattles in Native traditions. $40 adults/$20 youth. 1-5pm

August 26: Stone Age Cookery- Honoring the South Pacific, we will cook a three course meal in an underground oven, enjoy fresh fish on spits, eggs in ashes, shrimp in bamboo, and flat bread in coals! Healthy appetite required!!! $45 adults/$25 youth. Noon-6pm.

Heartwood is dedicated to preserving Indigenous skills and perspectives.  
To register, call 716-655-7622 or email deaheartwood@aol.com

Western New York Land Conservancy

     Keuka Lake Outlet Trail

For a visual tour of Keuka Lake Outlet Trail, check out the animation on this site:

http://www.winecountrycabins.com/parks/keuka-outlet/index.htm

Not had your fill of the AT yet - now there's a movie.

Shot in the summer and fall, Southbounders captures the unique American
beauty of the Appalachian Trail. See this amazing world, and the hikers
that live in it, in a film that Film Threat declares "feels more
natural than most Hollywood films and has a subtle realistic charm."

http://www.southbounders.com

      Erie Canal Greenway Grants Available

Governor Pataki and the New York State Canal Corporation have announced the Erie Canal Greenway Grant Program. A total of $6 million in competitive grants is available to support efforts to preserve and rehabilitate canal infrastructure, enhance recreational opportunities and promote tourism, historic interpretation and community revitalization throughout the Canal corridor. Municipalities and not-for-profit organizations along the New York State Canal System and the proposed Erie Canal Greenway are eligible to apply.

The application deadline is August 18, 2006. Applications and further details on the grant program are available at the Canal Corporation's website . For more information, contact Sharon Leighton at 518-471-5097 or John DiMura at 518-436-3034.

     Learn About Orienteering at Zoar Valley

There's a fun and informative orienteering class happening in beautiful Zoar Valley on Sunday, August 6th, from 12:00 to about 3:00, sponsored by the Zoar Valley Nature Society. 

The Buffalo Orienteering Club will teach us how to use a topo map and compass to navigate a mix of terrains. Our skills will be challenged when we're sent off in search of controls that have been placed on the "course" by the instructors. 

Pre-register by email to julie@zoarvalley.org or by phone 716-380-1430. Membership in the Zoar Valley Nature Society is all that's required ($5.00 per year per person, or $10 for a family) to help us cover some minimal expenses for this event.

Please bring a compass if you have one.  (We'll have a few extra.) Maps will be provided. We're keeping the class sizes small so everyone gets the most out of the instruction and the adventure. 

Julie BroylesZoar Valley Nature Society
julie@zoarvalley.org
716-380-1430

 “Cycling Along the Canals of New York State” – Book Release and Discussion

The author, Lou Rossi, will give a talk, and encourage discussion, about the history of NY’s Canals, including a description of sites-to-see by bicycle, car, or boat:

Aug 2 @ 7 PM @ “Brewhaus Coffee & Café” (716-433-7822) in Lockport, NY
For more information on the discussions please contact Lou Rossi at lourossi@comcast.net. For more information on the book please visit www.vitessepress.com. 

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