See http://www.springwaterfiddlersfair.net/

Did you enjoy the neat hike on the Bristol Trail on July 19?  Did you notice the work that’s needed to make it into a real neat trail, friendly not only for hikers, but also for the Twisted Branch mega marathon runners on August 29, many of whom will be entering this part of the trail in the dark?

So, grab your work gloves, loppers, weed eaters, bowsaws, etc. and join us on Tuesday, August 4 or, if it’s raining, the following day.  We’re starting at 8 AM, so we can get done before it gets too hot.  We’re meeting at the picnic tables outside Bob and Ruth’s in Naples, to plan our workday.  You can get a cup of joe, or anything else you’d like, from their fine breakfast menu.  Most important, you can use their plumbing facilities, to start out with an empty storage tank.  Donna Noteware is meeting us there, to get us access to the middle of the trail, through Longsdorf Rd.  This is where those omnipresent multiflora roses are constantly encroaching on the trail

Hope to see you there.  Let’s show how nice our organization can make this trail for our hikers and runners.

Agenda

• Approve minutes – Katherine
• Treasurer’s report – Melissa
• Committee Reports
  • Trail Maintenance – Gene
  • Advertising – Katherine
    • Brochure – First Draft – Mark
    • Rack Card – First Draft
  • Trail Building – Rick
    • Sugarbush Hollow to Pardy Hollow
  • Hiking Group – Wendy
  • New Business
    • Fiddler’s Fair – Parking
      • Chairman
      • Signup Sheet
    • Bicentennial
      • Our role
      • Bicentennial committee communications

The topic for the Adirondack Mountain Club, Genesee Valley Chapter’s program for September is the magnificent Colorado Trail. Bill Cooke will present information about the trail followed by a 25-minute slide show with music showing photos from his 2011 thru-hike, and answer your questions. A sample of the slideshow is available on YouTube.

Bill will also have copies of his book narrating the hike — “Shades of Gray, Splashes of Color: A Thru-Hike of the Colorado Trail” — available for your perusal and purchase.

The 486-mile Colorado Trail wends its way through the Rocky Mountains of the Centennial State, traversing a landscape as changing and diverse as the swirling afternoon clouds presaging the daily summer thunderstorms. In this program, you’ll hear of the challenges such as the struggle of acclimating to high elevations, of hiking long and steep ascents, of coping with a wide range of climatic conditions from freezing cold mornings, to hot baking afternoons, to near daily thunderstorms, to long stretches of limited water.

You’ll see the rewards and triumphs as Bill and his hiking companion Keith “Northern Harrier” Bance savor the alpine meadows whose wildflowers cover every range of the spectrum, bewitching groves of aspen trees resplendent with the morning glow of the sun, the glistening of snowy peaks, stately conifers including the massive Douglas firs, high mountain passes, dry foothills, sparkling mountain streams, gorgeous sunrises and sunsets where both the skies and the rocks shine like beacons from the low sun alpenglow, and much more.

You need not be an experienced hiker to enjoy this program as Bill explains much of the terminology and peculiar habits of long-distance backpackers such that even those whose experience is confined to short strolls in the park will sense the challenges and the rewards of a trek in the Rocky Mountains.

ADK meetings are educational and entertaining. You will hear about future activities and have the opportunity to talk to active members (they are friendly) and ask questions about the club. The meetings are free to all.