Croton Trails Crew hits the Croton trails
For its latest maintenance outing on the village's myriad byways, the crew turns a stretch of oozing mud into a walkway any hiker would be proud to negotiate.
After: Trails Crew proudly shows off newly constructed “puncheon” on North Highland trail (multi-selfie by crew chief Terry McGarty.) Before: See below.
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It’s 8:45 am on Saturday morning, and Terry McGarty is already stationed at the North Highland Avenue trailhead of Croton’s Highland Trail, the trunk of his vehicle loaded with tools, planks of thick wood, and a battery powered chain saw. Terry is the chief of the village’s Trails Crew. Most villagers probably—or should—know about Croton’s Jan Wines Memorial Trail System, named after the Crotonite who first conceived and planned the village’s trails more than 30 years ago (and first chair of the Croton Trails Committee, as it was first known.)
With the recent heavy rains, hikers would not be able to walk more than about 50 yards up the Highland Trail without running into a muddy stretch (right next to a small lagoon) so goopy that a city slicker journalist wearing only tennis shoes would be sure to sink right into it (and did, full disclosure.) So Terry and his all-volunteer trails crew has come to build what is known as a puncheon, a wooden walkway that will allow relatively dry passage.
About seven months out of the year, the Trails Crew gets out on the trails system every second Saturday to repair trail markers, prune away invasive species (such as Japanese Barberry, which takes up much of their time), and generally make the trail passable for young and old alike. At times in the past, the Trails Crew has been a stand-alone body known as the Trails Committee; but currently, it is a sub-committee of the Croton Conservation Advisory Council, of which Terry McGarty is also a member.
The trail system got its start in the early 1990s, when Jan Wines, an expert in water treatment and engineering, began working with village engineer Dan O’Connor to convince developers and homeowners to allow easements and rights-of-way for a trail system, even as residences were being built. Without that foresight, there probably would not have been much of a trail system, especially in areas of the village that are now more densely inhabited.
The Highland Trail, for example, which in parts provides dramatic views of the Hudson, runs along the Hudson National Golf Club, which helps to maintain it, and other trails often skirt property lines in the village. “The golf club does an amazing job, without having to be asked,” Terry tells us. The Trails Crew also gets a lot of help from Croton’s Department of Public Works, especially when a big job—like removing a downed tree—presents a bigger challenge, as well as local scouts who play a big role in helping to maintain the trails.
Terry says that about half of the crew’s work consists of keeping invasive species like Japanese Barberry and Burning Bush under control. These plants are still sold by some nurseries, and while there is controversy over what should and should not be called an invasive species, anything that overgrows the trail system must of course be treated as an enemy.
By the end of the morning, the Trails Crew has turned the muddy bog into a fairly easily passable trail segment thanks to the skillfully constructed puncheon (see photo at the top.)
“For the next cleanup, we will be doing general maintenance,” Terry tells us, including “cutting up downed trees, cutting back and removing invasive plants, etc.” The crew depends a lot on reports from people using the trails to know what problems may arise. Contact information can be found on the Trails Crew’s page on the village Web site.
Happy hiking!
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Wow! I am so impressed and thankful for this massive clean up! What a gift to nature and everyone! I love seeing this! Thank you for reporting on this and everyone else involved in the cleanup!