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  • Appalachian trail gets a new section in Bear Mountain


    A new section of the Appalachian Trail in Bear Mountain will open this weekend, thanks to nine months of work by volunteers.


    The New York-New Jersey Trail Conference’s Long Distance Trails Crew, an all-volunteer group, contributed more than 3,000 hours this year to relocate a 0.2 mile section of the historic trail in Bear Mountain State Park.


    The section was heavily used and deeply eroded, said Chris Reyling of Hartsdale, who’s the head of the Trails Crew team. The relocated route was built with natural stones to minimize erosion, he said.


    “We hope what we designed is going to last for a long time,” Reyling said.


    The Appalachian Trail runs for nearly 2,200 miles from Springer Mountain in Georgia toMount Katahdin in Maine, passing through 14 states, eight national forests and six national parks.


    The Bear Mountain section of the trail was originally built in 1923 by the Trail Conference, and the organization has been working on multiple trail renovation projects in recent years.


    The opening of the new section will be celebrated with a ribbon-cutting event at noon Saturday.


    Following the ceremony, the crew will lead a half-mile guided hike up the new trail, which includes a rock-pinned stone ladder.


    Akiki Matsuda:
    Twitter: @LohudAkiko


    If you go


    What: Opening of Appalachian Trail’s new section in Bear Mountain.


    When: Noon Saturday (rain date is Sunday).


    Where: From the Palisades Interstate Parkway Exit 19, get on Seven Lakes Drivetoward Perkins Memorial Drive. The meeting location is about 0.1 miles west of the Appalachian Trail Crossing on Seven Lakes Drive (GPS coordinates: 41.30414, -74.01601).


    How to help: The Long Distance Trails Crew team welcomes new volunteers. No experience is necessary. Email crew chief Chris Reyling at [email protected], or crew leader Bob Fuller at [email protected] for more information.
    Comments 8 Comments
    1. coach lou's Avatar
      coach lou -
      Attachment 32664


      Trail work is awesome.......when you get the chance, get out there!
    1. Captain Bluebird's Avatar
      Captain Bluebird -
      Is this new section at the base where the AT goes under I-40?
    1. coach lou's Avatar
      coach lou -
      Quote Originally Posted by Captain Bluebird View Post
      Is this new section at the base where the AT goes under I-40?

      Skipper....Maybe you mean I-84, near Nuclear Lake? There is a nice stair case there. This is on the south side of Bear Mtn. New York. Between 7 Lakes Road ans Perkins drive


      Attachment 32877
    1. wolf's Avatar
      wolf -
      I worked on the first stone steps from bottom to road...hope this is as good as we did
    1. coach lou's Avatar
      coach lou -
      Quote Originally Posted by wolf View Post
      I worked on the first stone steps from bottom to road...hope this is as good as we did
      You will have to get out there and see for yourself!
    1. Bonzo's Avatar
      Bonzo -
      This section is awesome. Just did it a few weeks ago. It used to be straight up the mountain and was very rough and rock and comical. There would be thru hikers and then just tons of people from nyc and around trying to go up in flip flops and high heels. The new section is stepped and really nice. It’s much more pleasant than before and has a nice tutorial at the bottom showing how it was built.